‘Allah’ socks and shoes: Malaysia needs to put foot down on stamping out violent religious conservatism, say analysts (2024)

KUALA LUMPUR: First, an outlet in the KK Super Mart chain was found selling socks with the “Allah” word on them in its convenience stores. Then, a Malaysian footwear brand Vern’s came under investigation for shoe logos resembling the Arabic script for Allah.

The latest incident involves complaints lodged to the religious authorities against a hotel in the Perlis state over its name “All In” for resembling that of Allah in Arabic script.

Experts warn such incidents are being politicised by certain quarters and may further jeopardise already fragile race relations and tilt rising conservatism in the country towards violence.

And beyond that, some have cautioned that religious sensitivities in the country are “here to stay” due to how strongly the politicisation of Islam has taken root in the country.

Ms Afra Alatas, a research officer at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute’s Regional Social and Cultural Studies Programme, also cited the fervour with which local Muslims have responded to issues concerning Islam.

“This is especially the case since Anwar Ibrahim became Prime Minister, as there have been concerns or criticisms about whether his administration is ‘Islamic’ enough, or that the ‘Madani’ framework might be too abstract or intellectual and therefore inaccessible when it comes to Islam,” she told CNA, referring to a concept the leader has billed as his foundation for a more progressive Malaysia.

HOW THE SAGAS BEGAN

United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) youth chief Muhamad Akmal Saleh has led calls for a nationwide boycott of the KK Super Mart convenience store chain after social media images circulated on Mar 13 showed a pair of socks bearing the word Allah being sold at one of its outlets.

The word Allah is sacrosanct for Muslims, who generally understand that it should not feature on just any object, much less footwear.

Observers told CNA that Dr Akmal had succeeded in using the issue to increase his relatively obscure profile as youth chief of the once-dominant Malay-based party UMNO, which is now part of the unity government.

But they cautioned his actions could perpetuate a siege mentality among local Muslims - that non-Muslims were out to compromise Islam’s position in the country. According to the country’s constitution, “Islam is the religion of the Federation, but other religions can also be practised safely and peacefully in any part of the Federation”.

A boycott of KK Super Mart - which was founded by a non-Muslim - could also hurt economic livelihood in the country, the observers said, noting that its several hundred branches across the country count fellow Muslims as employees.

The company has since apologised, blamed its vendor for the error and removed the socks, although its founder and director were charged with intentionally wounding the religious feelings of Muslims.

The police are also probing three separate incidents where KK Super Mart outlets in Perak, Pahang and Sarawak were attacked with petrol bombs, believed to be connected to its sale of the offensive socks.

The third incident - which happened in the East Malaysian state - caused ripples there especially, with its deputy public health, housing and local government minister Michael Tiang saying that such an occurrence was unacceptable and tantamount to a challenge on the core values, culture and harmony of Sarawak, The Star reported.

While Dr Akmal condemned these acts, he refused to back down from his calls for a boycott, despite criticism from other government politicians and Malaysia’s king Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar urging for an end to the saga.

Dr Akmal, a Melaka state assemblyman, is also being investigated by the police for sedition and multimedia communication offences.

The socks issue was followed by another incident where local footwear chain Vern’s was investigated by authorities and forced to apologise after netizens pointed out that the logo of one of its high-heeled shoes line resembled the Arabic script for Allah.

Following a meeting with Vern’s founder, Malaysia’s Islamic Development Department (JAKIM) reminded businesses to be “vigilant and pay serious attention to sensitive issues involving race and religion (in order) to maintain peace and harmony” in the country.

According to the Malaysian Code of Advertising Practice by the Advertising Standards Authority Malaysia, certain rules that need to be abided by include that “no advertisem*nt should make any irrelevant references to any name, incident, concept or religious significance”.

Beyond that, the authority in its guidelines also said that “no advertisem*nt should contain statements or suggestions which may offend the religious, political, sentimental or racial susceptibilities of any community”.

In Perlis, the state’s Mufti - its highest religious authority - warned the public not to create unnecessary issues, after he was referred to a hotel named "All In" because its logo looked like the Arabic script for Allah.

On Apr 9, Dr Akmal and other government party leaders were granted an audience with the king, who later said the recent incidents should act as an “eye-opener” on the importance of safeguarding unity in the country.

“I hope political leaders are not extreme in expressing opinions on issues involving race and religion,” Sultan Ibrahim wrote in a Facebook post, adding that politicians should instead act wisely and unite citizens.

For his part, Dr Akmal appeared to soften his stance. “I will honour the Yang di-Pertuan Agong's advice to maintain harmony in the country and ensure the sanctity of Islam to reduce the polemic,” he wrote on Facebook.

POLITICALLY “OPPORTUNISTIC”

Independent political analyst Asrul Hadi Sani described Dr Akmal’s calls for a boycott as “opportunistic”, riding on the current public anger at the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Malaysia has been one of the most vocal critics of Israel’s war in Gaza, which has dragged on for six months since October last year with devastating humanitarian consequences.

“It has made (Akmal) popular on social media and given him a platform to become the voice of conservative Malay voters,” Mr Asrul Hadi said.

Nusantara Academy for Strategic Research senior fellow Azmi Hassan said Dr Akmal had considered the popularity and success of similar boycotts against brands like McDonald’s and Starbucks amid their purported links to Israel.

“Why I call (Akmal’s actions) a strategic move is because UMNO needs to gain the support of the Malays and portray that they are the defenders of Islam,” Dr Azmi said, highlighting that the unity government is lacking Malay support.

“I think the unity government understood that in this particular issue, UMNO needed to be given some leeway so that they can attract Malay support.”

Mr Anwar, apart from early statements deferring the matter to police investigations, has remained largely silent on the matter.

“There are reports, lines were crossed and there must be action taken. But after following the law, we move on,” he said on Mar 20 in his first comments on the issue.

In a commentary published by the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute think-tank, former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin, an ex-UMNO youth chief himself, said Mr Anwar could be choosing to say as little as possible to avoid further alienating Malay-Muslim voters.

“The result may be that he gains absolutely nothing,” Mr Khairy wrote in a Fulcrum blog post published on Mar 28.

“For some Muslim-Malays, relative silence does not say anything about Anwar’s leadership in defending the sanctity of Islam. For non-Muslims, the progressive Anwar whom they have supported all this while is nowhere to be seen.”

While the premier has remained non-committal, the positions in UMNO appear to be more divided. The party initially gave its youth chief tacit support, while party chief Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has also remained largely silent.

But on Apr 3, UMNO’s Sabah chief Bung Moktar Radin said party leaders had instructed Dr Akmal to stand down on the issue. He told news portal The Vibes that Mr Ahmad Zahid had also called for an end to the matter.

MOVE COULD BACKFIRE ON UMNO

While the analyst Mr Asrul Hadi said Dr Akmal’s actions could help UMNO gain Malay support, the impact will not last, especially at the ballot box.

“The fear Akmal had stoked in the non-Malay communities could be detrimental, especially with the party preparing for the Sabah state election. It certainly has created uneasiness among partner parties in the ruling coalition,” he said.

While Sabah must hold elections by December 2025, observers have said the state could hold snap polls as early as August this year, with some suggesting that UMNO’s performance there could be key to the floundering party’s political survival on the peninsula.

“Non-Malay support for the unity government could be tested if UMNO does not rein in leaders like Akmal,” Mr Asrul Hadi said.

Dr Azmi said UMNO’s apparently shifting stance on the socks issue could be another strategic move by its top brass to appease the other multiracial parties in the unity government that had grown increasingly critical of Dr Akmal.

“No doubt, this has been politicised, and much worse, it has become Malay versus Chinese or Malaya versus Sarawakian,” he said.

RISK OF RACIAL TENSIONS

Activists from Sabah and Sarawak, which pride themselves on racial and religious pluralism, had called for Dr Akmal and other individuals to be barred from entering the states for fuelling racial and religious tensions.

A Sarawak-based party has also called on the state government to back KK Super Mart and its Sarawakian founder KK Chai, calling the brand the state’s “business ambassador”.

While Dr Chai might have said the socks were brought in by mistake, people still questioned why more attention was not paid, and felt that this could therefore be a deliberate attack against Islam by non-Muslims, said Ms Afra.

“A big part of this politicisation of religion is the siege mentality, whereby certain actions are quick to be perceived as an attack against Islam,” she said.

“Along with this siege mentality comes the need to defend the religion and so those who were riled up by the issue felt the need to defend Islam whether through police reports, calling for a boycott, and in extreme cases, petrol bombs.”

Ms Afra said such incidents will contribute to some non-Muslims feeling unsafe and wary of retaliation, while others might use it as a reason to ridicule those offended for their “pettiness or paranoia”.

“They will then respond to such ridicule by once again saying that they or Islam are being attacked, therefore continuing the vicious cycle,” she said.

In the socks saga, at least two people have been charged for social media posts they made in response to the incident that were deemed insulting to Islam.

One of them, Chiok Wai Loong, had uploaded a Facebook post telling Muslims to stop being so sensitive over the issue. Others warned him against offending Muslims, and he eventually deleted his post and apologised in a video for his insensitivity.

Chiok, 35, was on Mar 22 sentenced to six months’ jail and fined RM12,000 (US$2,527), according to local news site Free Malaysia Today.

A “PAINFUL, DIFFICULT” PROCESS

In the bigger picture, Mr Anwar has stated his commitment to moderate Islamic principles and has touted his Madani framework as the foundation for a Malaysia that embraces diversity and respect for all, among other core principles.

While Mr Anwar has traditionally interacted mainly with conservative Islamic scholars, he is good at listening to others across the spectrum, including those who are more progressive, said Professor Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid, who researches political Islam and Islamist movements at Universiti Sains Malaysia.

But Prof Ahmad Fauzi feels the prime minister will not be able to immediately curb what he calls the “Islamisation” of Malaysia, which he said has taken place for the past 40 years mainly due to a more conservative Islamic curriculum taught in schools.

“It's going to be a very painful and difficult process because even within the establishment, there are already people who are very supportive of this conservative trend,” said Prof Ahmad Fauzi.

“So even though there are some others who realise the dangers that Malaysia is in, you have an equal number of people (who support it) in schools, established institutions and government departments.”

The professor said the trend has led people to become excessively sensitive to matters that do not actually pose a threat to Islam, in incidents that push the country on a “slippery slope” to violence.

“A lot of these incidents are still non-violent extremism, but there’s a thin line separating violent and non-violent extremism,” he said. “When we see shops getting petrol bombed and so on, that’s already violence.”

Ms Afra said this kind of “paranoia” involving matters of Islam has existed in Malaysia for a long time, stressing that more needs to be done to counter loud voices that seize every opportunity to politicise religion.

“Authority figures, be it the muftis, religious preachers, religious teachers, politicians, and even the sultans and religious councils in each state, should put in more effort to quell such voices and to warn the masses about the dangers of politicising religion,” she said.

“Greater space also needs to be made for discourses which place emphasis on rational thinking, the importance of social harmony, obeying the rule of law, and understanding the substance of religion rather than being fixated with just its form and symbols.”