Tokoh Maal Hijrah takes up Anwar’s cause

Sun, Dec 27, 2009  |   malaysiaToday

KUALA LUMPUR: Dr Yusuf Abdullah al-Qaradawi (picture), whom the Malaysian government recently honoured with one its most prestigious awards, has vowed to pressure Putrajaya to let the syariah court system handle the sodomy allegation against opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.
 

He said he would seek support for this mission from international Islamic organisations and influential Muslim leaders.

Qaradawi, one of the world’s most respected contemporary Islamic jurists, is the Chairman of the International Union for Islamic Scholars. Early this month, Malaysia honoured him with the Tokoh Maal Hijrah award for his contributions to Islamic scholarship. During his stay in the country, he was much feted by the Putrajaya elite. But he found time to pay Anwar a visit, as he always does when he is in Malaysia.

According to Parti Keadilan Rakyat officials who were at the meeting, the scholar reiterated his opinion that the allegation against Anwar was malicious.

They said he lamented the Federal Territories Islamic Affairs Department’s dilly dallying over Anwar’s charge of qazaf against his accuser, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.