Mufti: Religious leaders can be challenged.

Read all about it here.. "Link here!"..."Same article in Malay"

Excerpt from article;

"It is the nature of the Quran to allow Muslims to question and challenge their religious leaders about the teachings and practices of Islam..."

"The Quran often says 'Bring forth your arguments if you are indeed truthful,' and 'summon your witnesses other than Allah if you are indeed truthful...said Asri.

He contrasted this with the strong, often angry, responses of Muslims towards any questioning of their religion.

"They are always reacting and asking, 'What actions are we taking? This is deviant! This has gone astray!' and so on... Whatever view does not concur with theirs, they go amok instead of presenting arguments, reasons and evidence and answering intellectually..."

"An idea, once introduced, may be only temporarily silenced by force, but it cannot be killed off except by an idea more powerful than the first..

That idea will live on in the minds and thoughts of people. If we want to do away with an idea or understanding, it is not by the use of force. It is by bringing in more powerful arguments..."

"(The conservatives) seek to stuff the mouths of the public and tell them, 'Don't speak of religion. Religion is our (exclusive) right', as what was done by the (Catholic) Church. 'Stop what you're doing and just listen', they would say.

This cannot be accepted by the younger generations because they know they cannot be stopped from thinking."