Ex Perlis Mufti - Everyone can share place of worship

Former Perlis mufti, Datuk Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin said once a place is declared as a masjid (mosque) or musalla, no other faith can use it for worship without special permission from Muslim leaders.

"This is unless the government gazzetted a law which states the place of worship for example specifically for Muslims, cannot be changed into something else even by the owner of the place,"said Dr Asri.

According to Dr Asri, a place of worship owned privately by an individual cannot be considered as a public place and it can be changed at anytime according to the owner.

"For example if we go to a non-muslim's house, and the owner let us pray in a room, that would be great but if one day the owner does not allow us to perform our prayer at the same place, we cannot say anything because it is not our property," he added.

Commenting on the Johor incident where a ‘surau’ at a resort in Kota Tinggi was used by a group of Buddhists to meditate, Dr Asri said the plan to demolish the surau was ‘outright ridiculous’.

"Throughout history, there have been churches converted into mosques and are still used until today and Prophet Muhammad had once allowed Christians from Najran to perform prayers in a mosque.

Dr Asri said that under such circumstances, a place could not be considered a proper ‘surau’ if it was privately owned.

“Once private, the owner has the right to let anyone use it for any activity,” he added.

However, to respect all religions and cultures, he added, one should be sensitive enough to prepare separate places for various religions.

Following this, the 45-year-old owner of the resort – a Singaporean Muslim with Malaysian PR status – was arrested after a video clip titled ‘Surau dijadikan tokong’ (A surau becomes a temple) surfaced last week, showing a group of Buddhist tourists chanting prayers there.

Meanwhile, The Johor Islamic Religious Department (JAIJ) will be observing public and private premises to ensure their prayer rooms or surau have the proper direction of the ‘kiblat’.

Its adviser Datuk Noh Gadut in a statement said this is important to ensure Muslims were given a dedicated place to perform their prayers.

Besides hotels and resorts, the checks would cover educational institutions, factories, National Service camps, shopping complexes and even home-stay premises.

JAIJ urge owners and operators to consult with the department’s district kadi offices on guidelines to determine the right direction of the ‘kiblat’.

“We do not impose any fee for this service and we will issue a certificate verifying that the premises is kiblat-compliant.