Harmony committee first meeting next month - minister

The first meeting of the reactivated Inter-Faith Harmony Committee (Harmony Committee) will be held next month, said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Mohd Na'im Mokhtar.

Na’im (above) said the meeting, which acts as a medium of discussion between religious leaders to resolve issues related to religion and race, will be co-chaired by him and National Unity Minister Aaron Ago Dagang.

“Previously, I expressed my wish to the national unity minister (Aaron), to reactivate the Harmony Committee. This is because this committee plays an important role in organising various programmes for the purpose of strengthening unity between races.

“The minister (Aaron) accepted the proposal. This is a reflection of the spirit of togetherness between us,” he said at a press conference after attending the national-level 1445 Hijrah/2023 Maulidur Rasul celebration at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre today.

The event, themed ‘Perpaduan Teras Malaysia Madani’ (Unity Pillar of Malaysia Madani), was graced by the presence of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah and Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah.

Also in attendance were Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and his wife Dr Wan Azizah.

Moderate approach

Na'im said the reactivation of the committee, which was established on Aug 14, 2020, has enabled his department to empower the wasati (moderate) Islamic approach, to explain to non-Muslims that Islam is a religion of rahmah (mercy).

“The wasati approach is used because it is not too extreme, conservative or stagnant, nor is it too loose and straying from authentic Islamic disciplines,” he said.

In another development, Na'im said he would hold a meeting soon with Ipoh Timur MP Howard Lee to explain to him the discipline related to the interpretation of verses from the Holy Quran.

“This is a harmonious approach. Insya-Allah, if there is an engagement such as this with non-Muslims, they will be able to accept Islam as a religion of rahmah,” he said.

On Sept 26, Lee issued a public apology for his act of quoting a Quran verse in a video clip on his social media page.

- Bernama