Islamic preachers must seek permission from the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais) if they want to give religious talks in the state, said the Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah.

He said this was to ensure that the Islamic teachings were accurate as well and to prevent the spread of deviationist teachings.

The sultan said Mais' certification would ensure that Muslim unity in the state would not be undermined by sectional and confusing ‘dakwah’ (religious preaching), which could split Muslims in Selangor.

sultan of selangor sharafuddin idris shah "The Mais Certification Committee has enforced the certification procedures under Section 18 (4) of the Selangor Islamic Administration 2003, which stipulated penalties for teaching without certification.

"As such, Muslims, who are subservient to Allah, should abide by the teachings of Allah, which we professed, devote to the divine decrees and quickly refrain from doing what were disapproved," he said when opening the Klang Royal Town Mosque today.

The sultan said it was important that the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) regulate Islamic talks or teachings in the state as some outsiders merely sought monetary gains and not to propagate Islam earnestly.

He said regulations and procedures, which were aimed at advancing Islamic development and Muslim unity, must be abided by to ensure that Islam would be held in high regard and respected by non-Muslims.

"Of late, many social problems occurred in the society, including Muslim disunity, deviationist teachings, group fanatics, extremism and moral decadence among youths, which called for strong resolve and wisdom to solve them," he said.

Internal problems

Sultan Sharafuddin said slanders and instigations, bickering and disunity were not only due to outside factors but also due to weaknesses, negligence, ignorance and internal problems.

"Sometime the tendency to become over-optimistic and blowing-up petty issues out of proportion can cause disunity and disputes among ummah," he added.

On mosque, he said besides being a place of worship, it should become centre of garnering Muslim's strength and unity.

He said the effectiveness of the mosque institution did not hinge on its design, equipment and wealth, but whether it could be capitalised to unite the community and lay out ‘dakwah’ strategy and solve misunderstandings in the community.

The sultan also advised the people to refrain from making speculations which could cause upheaval as it could affect harmony and stability.

"Carry out efforts to revive the economy so that the purchasing power of the people is not affected, the welfare of the poor is not neglected and the ability to pay tithes is not impinged," he said.

Also present were the Raja Muda of Selangor, Tengku Amir Shah and Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim.