In an interview with FMT, Maszlee laid much of the blame on the tendency of religious authorities to force Muslims to follow their interpretation of Islam instead of encouraging dialogue.

He accused the authorities of attempting to “control the minds” of Muslims in Malaysia.

“This shows a shallow outlook on Islam,” he said. “It is unfortunate when the religion’s scope is narrowed to just ritual matters, whereas it is supposed to be open to opinions, which is why we have many schools of jurisprudence.

“Different views should be resolved through dialogues. This will, at the same time, teach our people to be critical in their thinking.

“I am worried that if the religious experience is not accompanied by a culture of thinking and the willingness to accept diversity, Islam will, in the end, be negatively viewed by the general public.”

Maszlee is internationally recognised as an expert on political Islam. He is a member of IIUM’s Faculty of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Science.

Commenting on the ban imposed by the Johor Islamic Council on 16 preachers, he said the preachers should have been given a chance to explain their views.

The banned preachers include Perlis Mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin. They are accused of causing confusion among Muslims.