Permission needed soon to bring in Muslim preachers
Published on: Thursday, April 28, 2016
MEMBAKUT: Anyone who wishes to bring in Muslim preachers to give religious talks in Sabah will soon have to seek permission from the Sabah Islamic Religious Affairs Department (Jheains) online.In stating this, Assistant Minister to the Chief Minister Datuk Mohd Arifin Mohd Arif said failure to do so would mean the organiser would not be allowed to carry out his or her religious talks programme in Sabah.He said Jheains will introduce such online application facilities very soon and it would be part of detailed guidelines which are currently being drafted for Muslims who plan to preach and propagate Islamic teachings in the State.
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"We have formed a Religious Teaching Committee to be chaired by the Sabah Mufti that will be under the auspices of the Sabah Islamic Religious Council (Muis) Enactment."The panel members of the committee are Jheains, Malaysia Islamic Development Department (Jakim), Muis, police and relevant authorities that will look into all the online applications by the organisers as well as verify the speakers or preachers' background," he said.Arifin, who is also Membakut Assemblyman, said this to reporters after officiating at a 'Kembara' Programme for UPSR, jointly organised by the Beaufort Education District and Headmasters Council, at SK Saga-Saga, here, Wednesday.The programme will provide motivation talks to pupils sitting for the UPSR this September where they will also be taught how to study and answer the questions in the national exam.
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A total of 52 primary schools, including 14 in Membakut, will benefit from the programme.Arifin was commenting on a report that the "former Bishop" who converted to Islam and who was due to give a talk at a private college here last Wednesday, had nothing to do with the Anglican/Episcopal Church of St Augustine of Canterbury in Frankfurter, Germany where he claimed to have served once.
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Rev. Christopher Easthill, who is in charge of the church, in an email response to a Daily Express query, said the church is an American Episcopal Church and all the priests have come from the United States of America since the end of the Second World War.He was also reported as denying the claim made by the Malaysian Muslim preacher that he was a former priest or bishop of the church.To a question, Arifin said the department already has existing guidelines for outside preachers who wish to give talks in Sabah. However, he said the department has decided to further improve and update these guidelines."What I want is for all organisers, including Muslim preachers who come to Sabah and plan to deliver religious talks, to refer to Jheains to seek permission to carry out their programmes."Once the online application is ready, I hope they would comply with the guidelines to seek the approval so as to avoid any untoward incidents," Arifin said.Furthermore, he said it is the etiquette of any Muslim preacher, be they famous or not, not to ever touch or talk on issues sensitive to the people in Sabah who come from various backgrounds.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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