Malaysia Authorities Charge Progressive Muslim Cleric

In Malaysia, Islamic authorities have charged a popular progressive Muslim preacher with conducting a religious lecture in the state of Selangor without authorization from the state's Islamic department. AP reported yesterday that Asri Zainul Abidin plead not guilty in a Sharia court. He charges selective prosecution. Abidin has criticized the country's Islamic authorities' increasingly hard line bans on behavior seen as immoral, and has said that Malaysia's senior clerics should not be followed blindly.