Teach children about all religions, says youth council

Jufitri Joha, president of the Malaysian Youth Council, proposes inter-faith studies in schools. (Bernama pic)

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Youth Council has recommended that a special subject be introduced in schools and universities for students to learn about other religions to further enhance and strengthen inter-faith understanding and harmony.

Its president Jufitri Joha said the Islamic studies currently being taught in schools, while commendable, were focused on only one religion.

He said his proposal did not mean that the country would practice religious equality, but learning about various religions would “foster unity and promote religious sensitivity for cultures different from our own”.

“We see that this idea will be able to bring the different races closer together if introduced at the school and university levels.

“If it is not through the introduction of a new subject, perhaps include the study of other religions as a subject matter in the existing syllabus,” he told Bernama after a roundtable discussion on religious affairs among people of different faiths here today.

The one-day workshop organised by MBM, the Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement and National Unity Department under the Prime Minister’s Department gathered representatives of various religious youth associations in the country to discuss ways to improve national unity and integration. - FMT