UALA LUMPUR, Feb 8: Two senior PAS members - Dr Syed Azman Syed Ahmad and and Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud – have been invited to participate at the prestigious U.S.-Islamic World Forum due to be held in Doha, Qatar from February 13th to 15th.
The pair will join Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, who is also slated to deliver a paper at the annual conference, now in its seventh year. Dr Syed Azman is the head of PAS' international bureau, while Dr Siti is the Kota Raja parliamentarian.
A renowned democracy icon in Southeast Asia along with Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi, Anwar is also well-respected as being one of the most progressive voices for Islam throughout the Muslim and Western worlds.
He will be sharing the spotlight with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and John Kerry, chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee. U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke will also be attending.
Fitnah towards Anwar
However, according to Dr Syed Azman, Anwar may be prevented from going because of his ongoing sodomy trial.
The Malaysian leader is facing charges that have been internationally condemned as being trumped up by his arch rival – Prime Minister Najib Razak – to destroy his political credibility.
“From Australia to Britain, Canada to France and the U.S., which of these first world governments have not condemned the charges as being rigged and politically motivated. Now in Doha, at this international gathering of Muslim brothers, Najib and his Umno regime will once again shame Malaysia,” said Dr Syed Azman.
“Anwar is so well-thought of in the Muslim world, his incarceration will spark great anger towards Umno. It is supposed to champion Islamic virtues, Islam is our official religion but what we are going through is a clear-cut case of the worst sort of fitnah or defamation towards an individual. And in Islamic eyes, this is a gross injustice and an evil act.”
Islamic parties in sync with democracy
More than 100 participants from at least 30 countries have been invited to the three-day conference, of which 22 are from South and Southeast Asia.
“It is of course a tremendous privilege to be invited and to be able to share and debate views with the best Islamic minds in the world today,” Dr Syed Azman said.
He will be delivering a paper on Islamic political parties, their impact and participation in a full-fledged democracy
“Basically, my paper will argue the role of Islamic parties and their viability in the democratic process. The thrust will be on how existing Islamic parties are already contributing to democracy and how they can further improve this process in the face of a rapidly modernizing world,” Dr Syed Azman said.
“For too long, non-Muslims especially in the West have a false impression that Muslims are always connected to extremism and my paper will aim to show that this is not true. There are the bad eggs but also many - like PAS – which have been able contribute meaningfully and peacefully to nation building for decades.”
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