Perlis Mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin posted on his Facebook page today that he had obtained the consent of the Raja Muda of Perlis to invite Zakir to the state.
“If his speech in Malacca is banned, God willing, Perlis will be open to accept him.
“I have spoken to the organisers and am awaiting updates,” Mohd Asri, who is also known as Dr Maza, said.
Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar had earlier today said police had disallowed a forum titled “Similarities between Hinduism and Islam”, scheduled for April 17 at Universiti Teknikal Malaysia in Malacca.
Khalid said such forums would not benefit a multiracial society like Malaysia, and had advised the organiser to call it off.
His call received a somewhat mixed response, with some lauding it, and others, criticising him.
Khalid has however, stuck to his guns and said the decision to cancel the event was final. He also issued a warning to others who spouted provocative and seditious statements on social media following the cancellation.
Meanwhile, PAS Research Centre (PPP) director Dr Mohd Zuhdi Marzuki challenged Hindraf, MIC and DAP to send their representatives to Zakir’s forum to prove that the preacher had indeed insulted other religions.
In a statement, Mohd Zuhdi said if the parties managed to prove that Zakir had indeed uttered remarks offensive to other religions, the PPP was willing to extend a reprimand to the preacher.
“We find that throughout Zakir’s various events around the world, he based his speeches on the Quran, as well as scientific facts about Islam – using these as comparisons to other religions,” he said.
He urged all parties to respect Islam as the official religion of the country, the same way Islam respected the rights of other races to practise their respective faiths.
Mohd Zuhdi also urged Khalid to lift the ban on Zakir as the programme was academic in nature.
“In fact, the topic of Zakir’s speech at the university (Similarities between Hinduism and Islam) is a harmonious one and there’s hardly any chance it would cause damage as alleged.”