PETALING JAYA: The mother of a teenager at the centre of a controversial punishment has defended the imam who meted it out, saying she was grateful that “Ustaz Dahlan” – who has since resigned – had cleansed her son.
The woman, who only wanted to be known as “Kak Jas” said that religious authorities should not have asked Dahlan to resign in 24 hours without investigating the matter thoroughly.
The Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) should have also reached out to her family before penalising the imam.
“Jais should not be dictated by netizens,” she told FMT at her home in Kuang.
Brickbats have flooded social media after Dahlan washed her son, Daniel Iskandar, in the same manner in which dead people are washed before burial.
Dahlan had punished the teen after the latter was caught stealing from a mosque.
“Our ustaz didn’t do anything wrong. In fact we are grateful. And we agreed for Daniel to be cleansed,” she said.
She also disagreed with those who said that the imam had abused Daniel, arguing that Dahlan was trying to make him repent.
She urged that Jais consider rehiring the imam to lead the congregation at the Al-Islahiah mosque. “I am sad that because of my son’s actions, the imam had to bear the brunt.”
She said that a video, which had gone viral since Monday, was circulated by individuals who were unhappy with Dahlan. Many at the mosque, she claimed, wanted him removed as they were envious. However, she did not elaborate.
Earlier this evening, Selangor executive councillor Zawawi Ahmad Mughni, who handles religious affairs, told FMT that the imam had been asked to resign.
Daniel was yesterday sentenced to jail for 10 days and fined RM4,000 by the Selayang magistrates’ court for stealing mosque funds. The teen, who lives with his grandfather following his parents’ divorce, had stolen the money belonging to the mosque and hid it in the mortuary bathroom.
According to his lawyer, the youth stole the money to buy medicines for his grandfather.