Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin

Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin has been a mufti for the Malaysian northern state Perlis since 2015. He had previously served as Mufti of Perlis from 1 November 2006 until 30 November 2008. Born in 1971 in Bukit Mertajam, Penang, he was educated at the religious secondary school Al-Irsyad in Seberang Perai, Penang, and furthered his study at the Islamic College Klang. He received his bachelor’s degree in Arabic and Sharia, with honors from the University of Jordan; master’s in Islamic studies from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), and PhD in Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Heritage (Qurʾan and Sunnah studies) from International Islamic University Malaysia. He also received five degrees in Hadith from India. Mohd Asri is an active writer and commentator on Islam and religious issues. He was a columnist for two local Malay newspapers called Mingguan Malaysia and Sinar Harian. He is also a prolific writer who has published many books since 2003. He remains a permanent associate professor with Universiti Sains Malaysia while serving with the Office of Perlis Mufti. Known by the public as Maza (an acronym for his own name, Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin), he is popular among the young who follow his blog, Minda Tajdid and in columns on Malay newspapers. Asri’s books reflect his concerns about what he considers to be fanaticism in madhhabs (schools of jurisprudence), criticism of Hadith fabrications, and condemnation of Shiism and some Sufi practices. He considers these phenomena not to be in line with “pure” Islam, and he has urged Muslims to return to what he believes are Islam’s true teachings. He frequently cites sources often referred to by those conforming to the Salafi school of thought, such as Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 1328), particularly in the issues of human life and human rights, and accepts moderate ideas from the Salafi school. Unlike the perception that associates Salafism with rigidity, conservatism, and extremism in the Middle East, particularly in Saudi Arabia, Asri believes in the Salafi brand of “Sunnah Perlis,” emphasizing the freedom from madhhab rigidity that calls upon Muslims to return directly to the two major sources of Islam in dealing with religious issues, namely, the Qurʾan and Sunnah. Although some have accused him of subscribing to Wahhabism, he does not accept Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (d. 1793) as a great scholar or consider him a moderate and progressive scholar. Asri can be characterized as a moderate scholar who urges Muslims to practice more than one madhhab simultaneously within Sunni Islamic doctrine, namely the Hanbali, Shafiʿi, Maliki, and Hanafi schools. He is known to be very vocal in expressing his views, particularly in Malaysia’s political and religious contexts, and in criticizing the labeling of certain non-Muslim parties, especially the opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP) as kafir harbi (infidels against whom war can be waged) and efforts to amend the Syariah (the term used in Malaysia for Sharia) Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 to allow certain Hudud punishments to be implemented in certain states in Malaysia. On issues such as the environment, he is clearly against pollution. He advocates modesty in fashion, particularly the proper attires for Muslim women, and Muslims can wear non-Muslim traditional dresses.