Posted on 03/25/2023 6:25:35 PM PDT by marshmallow
Politicians, hardliners have accused state-run program of promoting evangelism among Muslim youth
A major interfaith council in Muslim-majority Malaysia has backed a state-run youth program involving visits to worship sites of various faiths and dismissed allegations it covertly promotes proselytizing of Muslims.
In a statement, Jagir Singh, president of the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism, and Taoism said that visits to different houses of worship must be encouraged to promote understanding, respect, and harmony, the Malay Mail reported on March 18.
Singh urged the government and Islamic authorities to refrain from imposing a possible ban on Muslims from visiting worship places of other faith amid allegations of proselytization from opposition politicians and Muslim hardliners.
“It is necessary for all races to work together in a spirit of goodwill, mutual respect to enhance harmony and unity in the country,” he added.
Singh said that instead of imposing a blanket ban on Muslims from visiting non-Muslim worship sites, the government and Islamic authorities should clearly state that “there should not be any propagation of other faiths to Muslims.”
His response came after Mohd Zawawi Ahmad Mughni, a Selangor state executive councilor who oversees Islamic affairs in the nation, issued a statement that apparently suggested that even unity walks to houses of worship was not allowed for Muslims.
Mughni commended the interfaith activities but warned that “the regulations establish that any program involving Muslims in the houses of worship of religions other than Islam is absolutely prohibited,” in a March 15 statement.
Earlier, a Muslim politician accused Malaysia’s Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh of using the “Jom Ziarah” program to take Muslim youths to visit other places of worship for evangelization.
The program aims to promote a better understanding of the different races, religions, and cultures in Malaysia.
(Excerpt) Read more at ucanews.com ...
It looks like the Malaysians are learning the stupid ways of the west, appointing minorities like this non-Muslim Jagir Singh to tell the majority of Malaysians what is allowed and not allowed.
It is so unnatural that Malays are even Muslim. An historical error.
Doesn’t seem unnatural. They were Muslim for @500 years, except for the edge case of the Philippines - the Spanish got there just in time. And Malaya proper was off and on a bunch of colonies of South Indian Hindu empires before that.
History happened.
There have been problems between Muslims and non-Muslims in Malaysia since forever. Non Muslim minorities have been a big part of the population, @40% or so, for over a century.
Thats the reason Singapore isn’t part of Malaysia. The Muslims were getting obstreperous, post independence, and the Singaporeans, mostly Chinese, weren’t having it.
The secret of a successful multicultural country is that nobody tries to lord it over the others. Or not too much.
Muslims get a lawful chance to examine and plan how to blow the site up.
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