Banning my books absurd as they were published years before, author says

Dr Mohd Faizal Musa, who writes under the name Faisal Tehrani, is considering appealing the ban on his books, saying that parts of the books had been reproduced in Dewan Sastera and also presented at national seminars some years ago. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Nazir Sufari, May 11, 2015.Over a few paragraphs and poems that mention the history of Shia Islam, four of Malaysian novelist Faisal Tehrani's books have been banned by the government, a move he describes as absurd, more so because the works now prohibited have been in circulation for some years.

The writer, whose real name is Dr Mohd Faizal Musa, said the Home Ministry has not given valid reasons as to why his works were recently banned or which parts of his books are deemed offensive.

His books "Sebongkah Batu di Kuala Berang", "Karbala", "Tiga Kali Seminggu" and "Ingin Jadi Nasrallah" were banned by the Home Ministry on April 1, on the grounds that they were detrimental to public order and safety. The ban was reported by national news agency Bernama last week.

Faisa, who is also an academic, said the ministry's claim that his books would spread Shia teachings, which Sunni-majority Malaysia has outlawed, was an absurd allegation. Also mystifying is the fact that the books' contents were published a few years ago, appearing in other journals or magazines.

"I write in academic journals about Shia Islam. If there are one or two pages on Shias in my books, it doesn't mean the whole book is a Shia book," he said in an interview, in which he talked about each of his four banned books.

The research fellow at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia's (UKMM) Institute of the Malay World and Civilization said "Karbala" was a drama that was serialised for eight months in the magazine Dewan Sastera in December 2006 and July 2007, and was only published in book form in 2008. Dewan Sastera is published by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.

The book is about an Iranian drama titled "Ta'ziyeh, Karbala and Boria", and Faisal had once presented a paper on it at a national literature seminar and it was reviewed by a German professor, as well as being sold on Amazon.com.

"After nine years, the reason that it is detrimental to the public does not hold. It has been published in Dewan Sastera and no one objected it," Faisal said.

"When it was brought to the seminar, no one objected it. There was also no problem when it was studied by a German professor, so I don't know where the problem lies," he added.

"Tiga Kali Seminggu" is a collection of 15 short stories, half of which had won a local literature prize, the Hadiah Sastera Utusan award, and which have been published in the mainstream media, except for two stories "Kegawatan" and "Latar".

Faisal said this was probably because "Latar" was a story about a place in Teheran and the characters in the story had discussed the history of violence and repression from the time of the Prophet Muhammad till more recent times, such as the Bali bombings in 2002.

He said "Latar" was about the Prophet's grandchild, Saidina Husin, who had fought against oppression. The story also told about the Hezbollah army, which fought against Zionists.

"I think the problem was that "Latar" was seen as having Shia elements, but everything in the story is fact," he said.

"Ingin Menjadi Nasrallah" is a collection of poems on various Shia histories – Malaysia's own Memali incident in Kedah in 1985, when the police laid siege on a village occupied by a Muslim sect; the struggle of Hezbollah leaders in Lebanon, and about Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini's house.

Faisal said some poems had been read in public in Malaysia several times before, including at a poetry recital event, "Malam Puisi Riong", which was organised by Bahasa Malaysia daily Berita Harian, in Malacca in 2010.

"Sebongkah Batu Kuala Berang" is a historical novel on how Islam came to the Malay world, and tells about Shia influences on the "batu bersurat" (inscription stone) in Terengganu. The stone bears ancient Jawi script and is taken as evidence of Islam's arrival in the Malay peninsula.

"My book is full with academic arguments. I use academic research in my novel," he said.

Faisal said he was also unclear whether his book of poems was banned in its entirety, or if the problem lay with just one poem.

"This is what KDN is not good at. Which is the poem that has Shia elements?" he said.

The current ban on his four books is not his first brush with the religious authorities.

A script he once wrote for a television drama called "Pelangi Ada Tujuh Warna" was also banned at first by the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim). The drama was about "misyar" marriages, an arrangement unique to Sunni Islam where a couple can have marital relations but not live together.

Faisal said the drama was subsequently approved and classified as "U" (for general viewing) after he met with Jakim to explain the story.

But Jakim had in 2012 banned another of his works, "Perempuan Nan Bercinta" that was launched and signed by prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

"My works are banned recklessly. If it is two poems that are the problem, then just ban those two poems.

"Show me the part that is 'haram'. I can provide the arguments for my case because the book has lots of discussion on the different 'mazhab'," he said, referring to the different schools of thought in Islam.

Faisal has 90 days to challenge the Home Ministry over the ban on his books, and has had several lawyers offer to defend him, but he has yet to decide if he wants to take the authorities to court. – May 11, 2015.Some of Dr Mohd Faizal Tehrani's books which were banned recently by the Home Ministry. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Nazir Sufari, May 11, 2015.