Syed Saddiq urges Muda members to visit houses of worship

 

Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman in a video clip expressing displeasure about restrictions on visiting non-Muslim houses of worship.

PETALING JAYA: Muda president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman has urged the over 100,000 members of his multiracial youth-based party to visit other houses of worship.

In a video posted online today, Syed Saddiq called on Malaysians to be open-minded about visiting houses of worship, adding that it will help educate the future generations about different cultures in Malaysia and ensure a harmonious society.

“As the president of Muda, I would like to call on more than 100,000 Muda members to visit houses of worship, because Malaysia is our home, together and forever,” he said.

“Will visiting other houses of worship, observing their architecture and understanding their historical significance lessen our iman (faith)? I’m confident it won’t.

“I have also invited my non-Muslim friends to visit mosques as well,” said Syed Saddiq, who is MP for Muar and a former youth and sports minister.

Syed Saddiq said he has visited many different houses of worship in the past, and other leaders such as Johor ruler Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar and PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang have done the same.

He said the sultan of Johor had visited a temple during Thaipusam “as a show of respect and tolerance in Malaysia”.

Syed Saddiq’s call comes on a day when the Selangor Islamic religious council came out against any activities to persuade or influence a Muslim to be inclined towards any non-Muslim religion in Selangor.

Islamic religious authorities in Penang, however, said there would be no prohibition on anyone from inviting Muslims to attend activities in non-Muslim houses of worship for the purpose of understanding other religions.

The controversy over visiting non-Muslim houses of worship is linked to an accusation of Christian evangelism laid against Impact Malaysia, an organisation of the youth and sports ministry, which had planned a visit to a church in Klang for non-Christians who wanted to know more about the faith.

The group, which has organised similar visits to mosques and Hindu temples, said the programme was part of an integrated campaign to foster better understanding among the country’s multiracial and multi-religious communities. - FMT