KUALA LUMPUR, 10 June: Pakatan Rakyat has urged religious authorities to adopt a prudent approach in their actions so as to not offend non-Muslims.
Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said that the approach of holding negotiations and compromising should be fully utilised to avoid negative perceptions of Islam.
“If there is information, hold negotiations first instead of conducting a raid. Use wise methods in sensitive matters.
“We want it to be solved better without hurting anyone,” he said at a press conference today, quoted from Harakah Daily.
He was commenting on the move by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department of stopping a Hindu wedding ceremony of a woman, who was claimed to be Muslim, in Petaling Jaya last week.
Another incident involves the Penang Islamic Religious Department, where the funeral of a woman, according to Buddhist customs, was stopped because she allegedly converted to Islam 17 years ago.
According the Anwar, criticising a religious department does not mean disputing the decisions of the religious council, but merely a reminder to act in a more pure way and to not insult any religion.
Meanwhile, the Member of Parliament for Tumpat, Datuk Kamaruddin Jaafar, said that from the perspective of religion, Muslims should respect the rights of other religions.
“We do not agree with what was done.
“Every raid should be reported to the state government, or at least the executive councillor of religion, and an approval must be obtained in advance,” he explained.
