(AFP) - Muslims must not wear the famous Manchester United red jersey because of the "devil" emblem on its team crest, Malaysian clerics said today.
Manchester United and the rest of the English Premier League are massively popular in Muslim-majority Malaysia and the rest of the Asian region, but conservative religious scholars said the jersey is un-Islamic.
Also off limits are the shirts of teams including Brazil, Portugal, Barcelona, Serbia and Norway, all of which carry images of the cross on their team emblems.
"This is very dangerous. As a Muslim, we should not worship the symbols of other religions or the devils," Nooh Gadot, a top Islamic cleric from Johor, said.
"It will erode our belief in Islam. There is no reason why we as Muslims should wear such jerseys, either for sports or fashion reasons," said Nooh, an adviser to the Johor religious council.
"Even if it (the jersey) is a gift, we should decline it. It is even more sinful when people realise this is wrong and still buy these jerseys to wear," he added.
Nooh said there was no "fatwa", or religious edict, against the shirts but that one was not needed when it was clearly wrong for Muslims to don such a garment.
"These Muslims should repent, repent immediately," he said.
Another leading cleric, Harussani Zakaria, a cleric from Perak, agreed that devils should be shunned, not celebrated.
"Yes of course in Islam we don't allow people to wear this sort of thing," he said. "Devils are our enemies, why would you put their picture on you and wear it? You are only promoting the devil."
Malaysia is a generally moderate Islamic country, but conservative clerics have issued controversial edicts in the past including a ban on the ancient practice of yoga, which is criticised for including Hindu religious elements. - Read here
(AFP) - MANCHESTER United's fans in Malaysia erupted in astonishment and anger on social media on Thursday after clerics warned Muslims against wearing the team's famous jersey with its 'devil' emblem.
Manchester United and the rest of the English Premier League are hugely popular in Muslim-majority Malaysia, where conservative religious leaders said the jersey was un-Islamic and should be banned.
Social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook were flooded with comments from fans in the South-east Asian nation.
'Maybe the religious leaders are just fans of Liverpool?' quipped one supporter on Twitter.
'Why this become an issue after Manchester United has won the title for 11 times? They haven't been watching the matches all this while?' said Sharifah Shahidah, a die-hard Manchester United fan of two-decades standing.
'What am I gonna do with all my Man Utd jerseys? And my sons' jerseys?' Ms Sharifah, a Muslim mother of two and an IT programmer, asked on her Twitter account. 'Should I cover the emblem with a picture of flower?'
Malaysian clerics said on Wednesday that Muslims must not wear the iconic red jersey because devils should be shunned, not celebrated, and urged those who had worn the garment to 'repent immediately'. - Read Here.
Youngsters nowadays favor trendy fashion. They love football. Their favorite teams are those in Europe like Manchester United, Liverpool, Barcelona and so forth. They wear their jerseys to show their support to their favorite team. And that is why this mufti from Johor deserves a whack in the head. This guy doesn't even know human psychology. Harussani is also another cleric that his conservative views that not many people like and instead despises.
The young nowadays don't really give a damn about the long preaching that makes them yawn. They savor the period where they yearn for freedom before age takes toll over what they wish to do. They don't like things imposed by old men that would put brakes into what they desire. They don't like things that conflict their interests. This is the human nature at the young age. It is part of the circle of life. When we all reach old age like leaders, we would do the same thing to the younger generation, in which they in turn will hate us.
In other words, we youngsters would want to enjoy things that we can do before old age overtakes us. With this current trend and age, nobody would be willing to stick back to the feudal age and listen to the croons of the feudal age. If they are given the choice of listening to lectures or going to rock concerts, they would definitely choose the latter. In fact, at this point of time, there is no country for old men like leaders who have lost sense of direction of leading the country or giving things that are nonsensical nowadays.
And that is why people like Rais, Harussani, Ayah Dafi (Ismail Sabri) and previously like Zam gets whacked by youngsters everywhere particularly on online avenues like Twitter and Facebook. They want to be cool, old men! If you want to change Malaysia into a better place, you should know your job as a citizen and what to do. No need for me to rant again like an old man.
To move man, is a careful project. Too light and he would go at his own whim. Too much and he would turn against you.
I guess these two people are getting backlashes and headaches by now.
