Malaysia's 'armed' Islamist parade deepens fears of growing conservatism
Malaysia's home minister urged calm on Monday after photos went viral of an Islamist youth parade which involved military attire, scimitars and spears, described by organisers as a harmless cultural event akin to "Chinese opera", but pilloried by critics as a deliberate attempt to divide and intimidate non-Muslims.
Photos of the two-day event, held over the weekend by the youth wing of Islamist party PAS in its stronghold state of Terengganu on the east coast, have circulated across Malaysian social media.
While some people ridiculed Saturday's parade of Ottoman-era outfits complete with conical helmets and shields in Malaysia's tropical weather, others made parallels with the imagery used by right-wing movements such as the US-based Ku Klux Klan; the 2017 'Unite the Right' rally in Charlottesville and India's Hindu hardline Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
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"What are they trying to show and to whom? We are not at war," said a Twitter user.
Alongside the PAS marchers was a large replica of 'Zulfiqar', the two-pronged sword of Prophet Muhammad, carried on the bed of a pickup truck.
As one Twitter post racked up over a million views on Monday, Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution warned of the risks of social division and chaos as state elections loomed.
"[The parade] that went viral on social media has caused a public outcry at a time when the political climate in several states that are about to face state elections is seen to be getting heated," the minister said.
The photos emerged as many Malaysians become increasingly concerned over the reach of right-wing conservatism since the November elections when PAS and its pro-Malay allies made strong footholds in the north and east of the Malaysian peninsula, coming in a close second behind the multiracial Pakatan Harapan coalition.
PAS, one of Malaysia's oldest political parties, has long sought to establish Malaysia as an Islamic country despite Islam already being the state religion. Its president argued that Malaysia could not claim to be Islamic while still under a secular constitution.
In recent weeks, films, children's books and gambling have been banned, censored or decried as against the values of Malaysia's majority-Muslim population, in a culture war that experts say is being driven by religious hardliners and whipped up across social media.
PAS Deputy President Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man brushed off the outrage over the parade as "similar to Chinese opera" which also features sword fights.
Party youth chief Fadhli Shaari, who was present at that event, posted a screenshot of an anime event in Kuala Lumpur featuring cosplay that took place on the same weekend on his Facebook in his defence of the parade.
"I heard there are exciting weapons being showcased," jibed Fadhli, a parliament member.
He earlier posted a photo of the Chinese deity Guan Yu with his iconic 'guandao' weapon which was later deleted.
Critics were appalled by the comparison to Chinese culture and religion as PAS struggled to defend itself against the negative optics of a militarised youth event.
"They could have just said that it is cosplay or role-playing, but no, they had to drag Chinese opera in," said health and social policy advocate Azrul Mohd Khalib.
But the outcry forced government figures to wade into the debate. Minister of Religious Affairs Mohd Naim Mokhtar said that such a parade was unwarranted and gave a negative impression of Islam and Malaysia.
"It ought to be better for the organisers to showcase peaceful aspects of Islam and call people towards unity and well-being," Mohd Naim said.
Dubbed "congregation of Terengganu Muslim youth", the two-day congregation which was also attended by party president Abdul Hadi Awang had been cleared by local police, who later said they had not however been made aware of a weapons-carrying element.
"[We] were not informed about the parade carrying replica weapons which have caused dissatisfaction and anxiety among parts of the society," said state police chief Rohaimi Md Isa.
A police investigation has been opened against the organisers, he added.
But PAS supporters said they were taken back by the public backlash to a parade held since 1991 which has similarly featured great wars in Islamic history.
"In previous years we even have replicas of tanks, but suddenly under this current government, it gets blown out of proportion," said party member Abdul Muiz who found the whole episode comedic. "What is wrong with being proud of glorious Islamic militaries of the past?"
Commenting on the backlash, member of the PAS ulama council Nasrudin Hassan blamed the Malaysian society for paranoia towards any depictions of Islam, saying that it is an "unfounded fear" of certain parties as a tool to demonise PAS.
"They ought to see the myriad of violent films that are more dangerous and are shaping violent mindset in a copycat society," Nasrudin said.
This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
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