Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin

Mohd Asri is an active writer and commentator on Islam and religious issues. He was a columnist for two local Malay newspapers called Mingguan Malaysia and Sinar Harian. He is also a prolific writer who has published many books since 2003. He remains a permanent associate professor with Universiti Sains Malaysia while serving with the Office of Perlis Mufti. Known by the public as Dr. Maza (an acronym for his own name, Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin), he is popular among the young who follow his blog, Minda Tajdid and in columns on Malay newspapers.

Prof. Dato' Arif Perkasa Dr. Mohd Asri bin Zainul Abidin (Jawi: محمد عصري بن زين العابدين; born 1 January 1971), better known as MAZA, is an Islamic scholar, preacher, writer and lecturer from Malaysia. He is currently serving his second term as Mufti of Perlis since 2 February 2015. His first term had been from 1 November 2006 until 11 November 2008.

He is very vocal on Malaysia's political and religious contexts, and in criticizing the labeling of certain non-Muslim parties, especially the opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP) as kafir harbi (infidels against whom war can be waged) and efforts to amend the Syariah (the term used in Malaysia for Sharia) Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 to allow certain Hudud punishments to be implemented in certain states in Malaysia.

Although some have accused him of subscribing to Wahhabism, he does not accept Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (d. 1793) as a great scholar or consider him a moderate and progressive scholar. Asri can be characterized as a moderate scholar who urges Muslims to practice more than one madhhab simultaneously within Sunni Islamic doctrine, namely the Hanbali, Shafiʿi, Maliki, and Hanafi schools.