PUTRAJAYA, Sept 28 — 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) Datuk Mohd Na’im Mokhtar.
The committee meeting, which acts as a medium of discussion between religious leaders to resolve issues related to religion and race, will be co-chaired by National Unity Minister Datuk Aaron Ago Dagang and himself.
“Previously, I expressed my wish to the Minister of National Unity (Aaron), to reactivate the Harmony Committee. This is because this committee plays an important role in organising various programmes to strengthen unity between races.
“The Minister (Aaron) accepted the proposal. This reflects 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 (PICC) earlier today.
The event, themed Perpaduan Teras Malaysia Madani (Unity Pillar of Malaysia Madani), was graced by the presence of Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah and Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Hajah Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah.
Also in attendance were Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his wife Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah.
Mohd Na’im said the reactivation of the committee, which was established on August 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, Mohd Na’im said he would meet with Ipoh Timur MP Howard Lee Chuan How in the near future to explain to him the discipline related to the interpretation of verses from the Qu’ran.
“This is a harmonious approach. InsyaAllah, 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 September 26, Lee issued a public apology for quoting a Qu’ran verse in a video clip on his social media page.
— Bernama
