Malaysia: Hizb ut Tahrir Sends Memorandum to Department of Islamic Affairs Selangor (JAIS)

23 August 2019 - Hizb ut Tahrir / Malaysia (HTM) sends a memorandum of protest to the Department of Islamic Affairs Selangor (JAIS) with regards to the detention of female members of Hizb ut Tahrir by JAIS on 28^th July 2019. More than 50 members of Hizb ut Tahrir convened outside of the department’s Sultan Idris Shah building to protest at the detention.

Hizb ut Tahrir’s delegation was headed by Ustaath Abdul Hakim Othman, the official spokesperson, who entered the building at 3:05 pm and waited for 10 minutes before the official arrived at the lobby to receive the memorandum. The memorandum was well received by Mrs. Siti Aisyah Tusimin, the deputy director of Corporate Communications section, corporate unit of JAIS, who will hand the memorandum to the higher authorities of JAIS.

In the memorandum, Hizb ut Tahrir delivered a strong protest communique against the detention of female members of Hizb ut Tahrir by JAIS during a talk titled “To extend the Ramadhan momentum” in the Progress Body of Selangor State (PKNS) building in Shah Alam. The raid and detention by the JAIS authorities was not conducted according to the procedures and violated the Ahkam Shariah. The memorandum also protested the operation procedures by the JAIS authorities that included harsh interrogation, intimidation, inappropriate behavior which include the confiscation of personal handphone of one of the members.

Into half an hour of the peaceful protest, the members and supporters of Hizb ut Tahrir held posters and banners outside of the building which send some strong messages to the JAIS authorities, which included: “Oh religious authorities! Establish justice for Hizb ut Tahrir! Discussion and not fitnah! We are dawah carriers and not criminals. Detention and intimidation by JAIS is abhorrent, Dawah is an honorable action, knowledge must be supported not stopped, investigation officers must obey Ahkam Shariah, Oh JAIS exercise powers to establish dawah and not stop it and more.

The contents of the memorandum includes the call of the retraction of the fatwa issued by the JAIS authorities which is full of fitnah, lies, factual deviations and confusions against Hizb ut Tahrir. If they (JAIS authorities) would want more information on Hizb ut Tahrir, they must invite Hizb ut Tahrir for a discussion and not to create fitnah, as told by Ustaath Abdul Hakim in the interview.

In an interview after the submission of the memorandum, Ustaath Abdul Hakim hoped that the Mufti department, Islamic Religious Commission of Selangor and Fatwa Committee of Selangor and JAIS authorities will take this protest event by Hizb ut Tahrir seriously to retract the fatwa against Hizb ut Tahrir. “We have reminded the authorities to retract the fatwa against Hizb ut Tahrir but they refused. So we hoped that in today’s protest they will retract their decision,” according to the spokesperson.

The peaceful protest ended at 3:30 pm.

In the raid conducted by JAIS on 28^th July 2019, two female members of Hizb ut Tahrir and two relatives of the owners of the premise who are not members of Hizb ut Tahrir were arrested. Another female member of Hizb ut Tahrir was arrested by JAIS on 31^st July 2019 which comes to the total of five people.

The Delegate of the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir

in Malaysia