No reason to oppose P'pang mosque: YIS
Published on: Saturday, May 02, 2015
Kota Kinabalu: The proposed mosque construction in Penampang should be supported by everyone from the various races and religions, particularly Penampangites who have a reputation of being peaceful, respectful and having high tolerance.Yayasan Islam Sabah (YIS) Secretary General, Goldie Datuk A Sibidol, said any proposal to build a place of worship by any particular group of worshippers or individual is a sign of love and peace as being preached and spread by all the Prophets of God, especially in Islam and Christianity."It is indeed sad to hear a certain group of people who profess to be truthful to their faith but seem to fear the presence of a place of worship in their vicinity," he said.
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Goldie said such fear was unnecessary and, instead, should indulge to propagate unity and harmony."After all no one can change your belief and faith if you are truly following the message of God/Allah through the teachings of the Prophets of your religion," he said in a statement here."We must not emulate other people who come out in the open and demonstrate. They call themselves believers of God/Allah and followers of their prophets but their action clearly demonstrate their disregards of the true preaching of their prophets and religion which they professed they belong to," he said."A good Muslim or Christian is one whose obeys the message of God/Allah Swt ... I have not come across any holy books be it Al Quran or a bible that teaches to oppose and demonstrate against the construction of a place of worship.
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"What we all should do is to abstain from extremism and assist in the promotion of brotherhood, propagate peace, love and harmony among the various races of different religion particularly in Penampang," he said.Goldie said that it was not surprising in that the majority of the population in Penampang were in one way or another related; connected to each other by way of marriage.
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"There are so many families whose members are staying under the same roof, but belonging to different faiths. Such is the strong bond, tolerance and love exist in the heart of the people of Penampang," he said.Any negative act of one individual or group can paint a bad image of the whole community in that particular place, he said, adding that he envied the positive mentality and tolerance of the people in Semporna."They got a church which stands near a school and everyone appears to have a sense of belonging to each other, in spite of the fact that more than 90 per cent of the population are Muslims in that particular area," he said."It is all about common sense that any opposition or demonstration against the construction of a place of worship is not favourable and not according to the teachings of the prophets."The elements and ingredients of friendship should be in the heart and mind of everyone especially in a multi-religion community. The church has every right and surely the proposed mosque in Penampang also has every right to be built," he said.Goldie said the people of Penampang should take this opportunity to become the model for Malaysia and perhaps the world in having a high level of tolerance.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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