Poser over Anwar, UM honouring visiting Saudi scholar with past ties to Zionists

Universiti Malaya's (UM) move to award an honorary doctorate to a prominent Saudi Arabian scholar is likely to attract criticism at a time when anti-Israel sentiment in the country has made Muslims suspicious of anyone who is even remotely friendly with the Zionist state.

Mohammad Abdulkarim Al-Issa, secretary-general of the Saudi government's Muslim World League (MWL), is among prominent scholars invited to two conferences in Kuala Lumpur this week.

The International Conference of Religious Scholars and the Conference of Asian Ulama, jointly organised by the Malaysian government and MWL, will be held consecutively on May 8 and 9 respectively.

On May 7, Al-Issa will be conferred an honorary doctorate by UM in recognition of his "immense contribution to spreading the values of justice, tolerance and world peace".

"He has used the trust placed in him to be the leading global voice for moderate Islam as well as to raise awareness in the society," UM said in a statement announcing a special convocation ceremony for him, which Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim will also attend.

It comes not long after UM came under fire for inviting a pro-Zionist professor from the US and caused outrage when he accused Malaysian politicians of calling for a "second holocaust" during a lecture organised by the university.

Participation in Zionist-linked programmes

Al-Issa and his MWL were previously praised by the Israeli media, which view him as a useful ally to the plan to normalise relations with Riyadh and other Arab governments.

The normalisation of ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel was part of the US-sponsored Abraham Accords to get the Zionist state recognised by Arab regimes.

To date, Israel has forged  diplomatic relations with Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Sudan under the accords.

Riyadh had welcomed the efforts until the Hamas incursion on Oct 7 and the deadly Israeli military campaign on the Gaza Strip forced the Saudis to abandon the plan.

In 2020, Al-Issa, a former Saudi justice minister, took part in a trip with the US Zionist group American Jewish Committee (AJC) to visit the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz, the site of the holocaust of Jews during World War II.

AJC is one of a number of Zionist groups fighting the growing anti-Israeli sentiment in the US with a series of statements defending the Israeli bombings, which have so far killed more than 30,000 Palestinian civilians.

"Israel adheres to the laws of war in its military operations in Gaza, following principles such as necessity, distinction, proportionality, and taking precautions to protect civilians," the group stated in one of its FAQs defending Israel.

In 2021, Al-Issa took part in an event at Yeshiva University, a Jewish institution in New York that has a campus in Israel. 

At the event, he shared the stage with its president Ari Berman, a Zionist rabbi who spearheaded a campaign to get American universities to support the state of Israel following the Oct 7 attacks by Hamas.

In 2022, Israeli media hailed Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman's decision to choose Al-Issa to deliver the main sermon during the haj pilgrimage. Israel's Channel 12 described it as “a "significant signal" regarding the Saudis' stance on normalisation with Israel.

In a glowing tribute to Al-Issa, the Times of Israel described him as being vocal against anti-Semitism, the accusation frequently used by Israel against its critics, including former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Al-Issa has frequently condemned "holocaust deniers", a term used to describe those who question the Western narrative about the extermination of Jews under Nazi Germany. 

However, following the attacks on Oct 7, Al-Issa through MWL has also condemned the subsequent Israeli military action in Gaza.

MWL is a Saudi government funded propagation outfit with which Anwar has long been associated, including when he headed Abim, or the Islamic Youth Movement of Malaysia.

Last year, Anwar's first official visit to the kingdom as prime minister was marred by the fact that he was unable to meet Mohammed bin Salman.

The excuse given by the Saudis at the time was that the crown prince's schedule had changed due to Ramadan.

In a press conference before the trip, Anwar distanced himself from the decision of the previous Pakatan Harapan government under Mahathir to close the King Salman Centre for International Peace in Putrajaya.

However, Anwar said today that he had met Mohammed during a recent trip to the kingdom.