Writing in NYT, Akyol credits release to Turkish leader’s call to Malaysian royalty
Author says his release was 'greatly facilitated' by the contact of former Turkish president Abdullah Gul with Malaysian royalty.
PETALING JAYA: Prominent author Mustafa Akyol says his release from detention by religious authorities in Malaysia was made possible through the intervention of former Turkish president Abdullah Gul who had contacted Malaysian royalty over the matter.
In a column written for The New York Times (NYT) during his journey from Kuala Lumpur to his home in Massachusetts, US, Akyol detailed the chronology of his ordeal, which involved his arrest and overnight detention over a charge of “teaching Islam without credentials”.
“At the end, to my surprise, I was let go.
“Soon I learned that this was greatly facilitated by the diplomatic efforts of my country, Turkey – and especially the contact made by a former Turkish president, Abdullah Gul, with Malaysian royalty,” he said.
FMT had earlier reported that Akyol’s departure from Malaysia was made possible through the intervention of individuals from the top echelons in Turkey and Malaysia.
Gul was believed to have contacted important personalities in Malaysia to secure Akyol’s release. Akyol was also given a VIP send-off by prominent Malaysians at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).
In an interview minutes before his flight on Tuesday, Akyol said he had never imagined being arrested for “giving a few talks” in Malaysia.
“I could imagine this happening in Saudi Arabia maybe, but I thought Malaysia was a more open society,” he said.
Akyol had been in Malaysia on a lecture tour organised by the Islamic Renaissance Front (IRF).
His previous four trips to Malaysia had passed without incident. This time, however, his presence drew protests from some conservative Muslim groups, as well as Islamic authorities who accused him of breaching a law requiring those speaking on Islam to have official credentials.
He was summoned by the Federal Territory Islamic Department (Jawi) for questioning over a charge of “teaching Islam without credentials”, following which the religious authorities pressured the organisers of a forum featuring him to call the event off.
They said Akyol was arrested based on a “complaint from the public” over a speech he made at a roundtable discussion titled “Does freedom of conscience open the floodgate to apostasy?” at the Royal Selangor Golf Club in Kuala Lumpur.
In his column, Akyol said he was treated well throughout his arrest and interrogation, but added that the incident was proof that there was “a major problem” in Islam today: “a passion to impose religion, rather than merely proposing it, a mind-set that most Christians left behind at the time of the Inquisition”.
Recalling the session with Jawi, Akyol said a female officer at the shariah court “proudly” told him that “all of this was being done to protect religion”.
“But I have an important message for her (which I didn’t share at the time): By policing religion, the authorities are not really protecting it. They are only enfeebling their societies, raising hypocrites and causing many people to lose their faith in or respect for Islam,” he wrote.
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