FT mufti: ‘Religious exploitation’ more accurate term, not ‘riding on religion’, to describe misuse

Ahmad Fauwaz suggests using 'religious exploitation' instead of 'riding on religion' to describe misusing religion for worldly interests.

The Quran and hadiths condemn exploiting religion for personal gain, portraying it as deceptive and reprehensible.

He advises the public to verify individuals' intentions and for religious figures to act sincerely for Allah's sake.

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 6 — The term ‘religious exploitation’ is more appropriate and objective than ‘riding on religion’ to describe the act of misusing religion for worldly interests, said Federal Territories Mufti Ahmad Fauwaz Fadzil.

He said the term ‘riding on religion’ should not be used indiscriminately as it could lead to generalisations about religious figures, including scholars and preachers who sincerely champion the cause of Islam.

The term ‘religious exploitation’ focuses more specifically on the act of misusing religion to gain wealth, influence or position, while also more clearly illustrating the existence of those who take advantage and those who are deceived.

“On the other hand, the term ‘riding’ has a negative and harsh connotation and tends to carry elements of sarcasm and personal accusations against the perpetrator.

“The term ‘religious exploitation’ more accurately describes the power structure in this phenomenon, namely the existence of those who take advantage (exploit) and those who are exploited (members of the public who are deceived or misled), in line with the actual meaning of the evidence from the Quran and Sunnah,” he said in the Tinta Mufti column published by the Federal Territories Mufti Department today.

Ahmad Fauwaz said the exploitation of religion was prohibited and condemned in the Quran, including through verses in Surah At-Taubah and Surah Al-Baqarah, both of which illustrate forms of religious exploitation that occur when religion is manipulated as a tool to obtain wealth and worldly interests, an act that is reprehensible as it exploits the name of Allah for personal gain.

He said the Prophet Muhammad also warned against those who use religion to deceive people for worldly interests, as narrated by al-Tirmidhi, which means: “At the end of time, a group of men will emerge who deceive people by using religion to obtain worldly gains... their tongues are sweeter than sweets, while their hearts are the hearts of wolves.”

Ahmad Fauwaz said the hadith described individuals who present themselves as knowledgeable and pious to gain the trust of the community, while using religion as a guise to obtain money, influence or position.

In this regard, he advised the public not to be easily deceived by outward appearances, but instead to conduct proper checks before placing their trust, wealth or obedience in any individual who uses religion as a tool for personal gain.

At the same time, he reminded those involved in preaching, religious knowledge and religious work to always maintain sincerity and fulfil their responsibilities solely for the sake of Allah and to attain His pleasure. — Bernama

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艾哈迈德·福瓦兹建议用“宗教剥削”代替“利用宗教”来描述为世俗利益而滥用宗教的行为。

《古兰经》和圣训谴责利用宗教谋取私利，将其描述为欺骗性和应受谴责的行为。

他建议公众核实个人的意图，并要求宗教人士为了真主而真诚行事。

吉隆坡，9月6日讯——联邦直辖区宗教司艾哈迈德·法瓦兹·法兹尔表示，用“宗教剥削”一词来描述利用宗教谋取世俗利益的行为，比用“利用宗教”一词更恰当、更客观。

他表示，“利用宗教”一词不应被滥用，因为它可能导致对宗教人物的概括性评价，包括那些真诚拥护伊斯兰教事业的学者和传教士。

“宗教剥削”一词更具体地强调了滥用宗教来获取财富、影响力或地位的行为，同时也更清楚地说明了利用宗教牟利者和受骗者的存在。

“另一方面，‘骑’这个词带有负面和刺耳的含义，往往带有讽刺和对肇事者的个人指责的意味。

“‘宗教剥削’一词更准确地描述了这种现象中的权力结构，即利用者（剥削者）和被利用者（被欺骗或误导的公众）的存在，这符合《古兰经》和圣训的证据的实际含义，”他在今天由联邦直辖区宗教事务局出版的《宗教事务专栏》中写道。

艾哈迈德·法瓦兹表示，《古兰经》禁止并谴责利用宗教的行为，包括《古兰经》第九章《忏悔章》和第十一章《黄牛章》中的经文。这两章经文都阐述了利用宗教作为工具来获取财富和世俗利益的宗教剥削形式，这种行为是应受谴责的，因为它利用了真主的名义来谋取私利。

他说，先知穆罕默德也曾警告人们提防那些利用宗教欺骗民众以谋取世俗利益的人，正如提尔米济圣训集所记载的那样，其意思是：“在末日来临之际，将会出现一群人，他们利用宗教欺骗民众以获取世俗利益……他们的舌头比糖果还甜，而他们的心却像狼一样。”

艾哈迈德·法瓦兹说，这段圣训描述的是一些人，他们把自己包装成博学虔诚的人，以此赢得社区的信任，同时利用宗教作为幌子来获取金钱、影响力或地位。

在这方面，他建议公众不要轻易被外表所蒙蔽，而应该在信任、财富或服从任何利用宗教作为谋取私利工具的人之前进行适当的调查。

与此同时，他提醒所有从事传教、宗教知识普及和宗教工作的人员，务必始终保持真诚，尽职尽责，一切为了真主，为了取悦真主。——马新社

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