Penang govt not involved in Fatwa Council decision

GEORGETOWN - The Penang state government will leave it to the administration of the respective mosques or suraus in the state whether to continue with the tradition of using the loud speakers for reading verses from the Quran and for 'zikir' before the 'subuh' (dawn) prayers.

Chairman of the State Committee for Domestic Trade and Consumerism Abdul Malik Abul Kassim said, however, as the administrator of religious institutions, the respective mosque and surau administrations should respect the decision of the Fatwa Council that reading the Quran using loud speakers before dawn should be prohibited according to syariah law.

"The Fatwa Council chaired by Penang Mufti Datuk Seri Hassan Ahmad on June 6 had decided that such practices could disturb other people whether within or outside the mosque compound," he said at a press conference, here today.

A local newspaper today quoted the Penang Islamic Religious Affairs Department (JHEAIPP) circular which directed all mosques and suraus in the state to stop using the loud speakers while reading the Quran before the dawn prayers as this could go against the syariah law and could disturb other people inside and outside the mosque.

The directive was in line with the decision of the State Fatwa Committee meeting on April 7 and the circular on the prohibition had already been issued on Aug 3.

Abdul Malik said the state government and JHEAIPP were not involved in the decision of the Fatwa Council, adding that the matter should not be politicised.

- Today