Malaysia leader steps up drive for moderate Islam

By Jalil Hamid

KEPALA BATAS, Malaysia (Reuters) - Malaysia's leader stepped up a drive on Friday to promote his own brand of moderate Islam, taking a swipe at cynics who fear his message is being subverted by Islamic conservatives.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, an Islamic scholar whose voice of moderation has won admirers abroad, is battling a tide of Islamic conservatism at home that threatens to undermine his own agenda.

Speaking in his hometown to promote "Islam Hadhari" or "contemporary Islam", his answer to the more extreme Jihadi brands of Islam seen in the Middle East, Abdullah said Muslims should reject the narrow view of Islam in order to make progress.

"If we continue with the old mindset, we will be left behind," he said in a prepared speech. "If we are weak, people can simply bully us. Look at what happened to Iraq."

Abdullah took aim at cynics and skeptics who describe Islam Hadhari as no more than window-dressing three years after he launched it.

"They continue to uphold the teachings of Islam in its narrow context," the prime minister said of his critics as he kicked off a three-day Islamic Hadhari show village in his northern home state of Penang.

Abdullah told a press conference that even the non-Malay parties in the ruling coalition had accepted Islam Hadhari.

"It's a big mistake to criticize something which I consider to be good and which has been accepted by many," he said. "We have no ulterior motive."

Dozens of government departments and private firms set up stalls at the exhibition to offer products and services ranging from herbal coffee to Islamic insurance in a carnival-like atmosphere. Organizers say they expect to draw 500,000 visitors.

Abdul Rahim, a 56-year old former teacher, who visited the event, disagreed with Abdullah.

"This is not true Islam," Abdul said. "This is a new form of Islam which has deviated from the real teachings."

Abdullah's comments about narrow views come just a month after he rebuked an official of a northern state who had proposed to hire Islamic "spies" to snoop on unmarried Muslim couples and help enforce Islamic law.

The official in question had been tasked with implementing Islam Hadhari in the state.

Opposition leaders fear that conservatives could exploit the broad principles of Islam Hadhari as a Trojan horse to further their own agendas, an alarming prospect for non-Muslims who make up almost half of Malaysia's population.

Recently, the self-declared "Islamic city" of Kota Baru vowed to fine non-Muslim women who dressed in revealing clothes.