Non-Muslim salons: I never said ‘haram’, preacher claims

PETALING JAYA: A Penang-based preacher at the centre of a controversial video has denied using the word “haram” in advising Muslims not to patronise non-Muslim hairdressers.

“If you watch the video carefully, I only said that while there is no dalil (Quranic and Hadith verses) that prohibits a man to hold the hair of another man, it is better to find a shop operated by Muslims to help them in the economy,” Shahul Hamid was quoted as saying by The Star.

This is despite a video recording of him telling Muslims not to have their hair cut or washed in non-Muslim shops and not to send their children to schools managed by non-Muslims.

He also said Muslims should refrain from using the greeting “Happy Birthday” or saying “hello” when answering a telephone call.

According to the daily, Shahul said he had lodged a police report against an online portal for claiming he had used the word “haram”.

This followed a report by FMT based on video clips of Shahul’s speech, which were uploaded on YouTube between 2015 and last month.

Shah Alam MP Khalid Abdul Samad said Shahul’s speech demonstrated an extremist mindset, adding that such lectures depicted Islam as being the cause of division and hatred.

Penang’s exco in charge of religious affairs Abdul Malik Kasim meanwhile avoided answering whether Shahul, who appeared on an Astro Islamic reality programme, has been cleared by authorities to deliver religious talks in mosques in the state.

“As long as he did not deviate from the teachings and the faith,” he told FMT.

Malik added however that Shahul’s views went against the Islamic faith and the latter should not have touched on such trivial matters as Penang was a multiracial state.

Penang mufti Wan Salim Wan Mohd Noor rebuked the preacher for using the term “kafir” or infidel in a multiracial country like Malaysia, adding that such terms were an insult to those from other races and religions.

“He should have used a polite term. As preachers, we have to be careful when delivering speeches.”

Wan Salim added that there was no need to tell people not to visit premises run by non-Muslims, or to advise Muslim parents not to send their children to Chinese-medium schools. -FMT