Amid Death Threats, Syed Azmi Apologises For The Huge Uproar Caused By 'Touch A Dog' Event
Syed Azmi Alhabshi apologised for any discomfort sparked by his event that allowed some Muslims to touch dogs for the first time, insisting that he did not have any intention to make Muslims stray from their faith.
By Sadho Ram — 25 Oct 2014, 01:42 PM — Updated about 10 years ago
Earlier today, 25 October, gentleman Syed Azmi Alhabsi profusely apologised not once, but twice for all the resulting controversy of the I Want To Touch A Dog event held last Sunday, 19 October
Syed Azmi Alhabshi, whose event featuring dogs last Sunday angered Muslim authorities, at the press conference today to apologise over the furore caused
Image via freemalaysiatoday.comSyed Azmi Alhabshi today apologised for the uproar caused by his "I Want to Touch a Dog" event last Sunday, saying he did not intend to insult Muslims but only wanted educate society to overcome their fear of dogs.
themalaysianinsider.com
During the press conference, Azmi explained that the event was mostly meant to help people get over their fear of dogs apart from teaching them how to help a dog in distress and how to interact with a dog in the context of Islam. He added, “The programme was only meant to educate people on how we could show more respect towards God’s creation, an animal that has been increasingly despised and inhumanely treated by society.”
“With a sincere heart, my intention to organise this programme is because of Allah SWT and not to memesongkan (distort) the faith, change religious laws, make fun of ulamas (religious scholars) or encourage liberalism,” he told the media today.
themalaymailonline.com
Azmi, reading from press statement, also admitted that there were weaknesses to the programme, and apologised for the trouble and insensitivities that the programme had caused, The Star reported
Admitting the “I want to touch a dog” programme had its fair share of shortcomings, he did however express his extreme sadness and regret that it had caused so much unease among Muslims.
He also apologised to those who had attended the event who were now placed in a difficult position as they had come simply for educational purposes and not because they were rebelling against their religion.
“Once again, I would like to apologise for any reaction this programme had caused. I would also like to say thank you for all the comments made to me. This is a learning process for me,” he said, adding he had no intention to cause disharmony.
thestar.com.myHe also reiterated that it was only meant to be educational and not an attempt by him to suggest Muslims now keep dogs as pets
“I want to stress that in no way was the event promoting the idea of (Muslims) keeping dogs as pets. It is something we stated clearly on our social media page from September 11, 2014,” Syed Azmi clarified.
therakyatpost.com
However, he left soon after, it is believed, due to threats that he was still receiving for organising the 'touch a dog' event
Soon after reading the statement, Syed Azmi left the press conference abruptly and did not take any questions from the floor. His lawyer, Syahredzan Johan said he had to leave for his own safety as he was getting "severe death threats" since the event was held last Sunday at Central Park in Bandar Utama.
thestar.com.myBefore leaving, Azmi said that the Selangor Mufti Department had given its official guidelines on how a programme involving dogs could be safely carried out according to Islamic teachings
Syed Azmi Alhabshi (in yellow t-shirt), seen here with one of the participants at the 'I Want to Touch a Dog' event last Sunday
Image via themalaysianinsider.comHe said he had also received approvals from the Selangor Mufti Department, who had given the organisers guidelines on how to handle the canines. “During the event, the participants were also given detailed explanation on rules and regulations on how to handle dogs,” he said, adding that ‘sertu’ (the Islamic way of purifying after being in contact with dogs) was also explained to the participants.
thestar.com.my