(September 19): A PAS grassroots leader caused a stir at the party’s assembly today when he used time allocated for his speech to recite a prayer running down leaders and members with whom he had disagreements.

The 20-minute prayer by Azhari Ariffin, a delegate from the Federal Territory, attempted to bring the wrath of God down on two Selangor lawmakers, both central committee members who had disagreed with the president and liberals in the party.

This prompted another PAS delegate named Ridhuan to seize the microphone at the end Azhari’s speech to demand that the party’s permanent chairman make a decision regarding prayers in speeches.

Ridhuan argued that using prayers as a channel to attack others was un-Islamic and would confuse both Muslims and non-Muslims.