Row over azan: Koh says dispute being resolved
Published: Jan 15, 2011 12:54 PM | Updated: Jan 15, 2011 1:34 PM
Minister in charge of national unity Dr Koh Tsu Koon said the controversy over the volume of the azan (call for prayers) at the Al-Ikhlasiah Mosque in Kg Kerinchi is being resolved without government intervention.
'They are already working on how to settle the matter, rather than making a big issue and quarrelling.'
Minister in charge of national unity Dr Koh Tsu Koon said the controversy over the volume of the azan (call for prayers) at the Al-Ikhlasiah Mosque in Kg Kerinchi is being resolved without government intervention.
He said that such disputes have occurred before and they were handled at the local level without outside interference.
"On the ground, they are already working on how to settle the matter, rather than making a big issue and quarrelling," said Koh, who is minister in the prime minister’s department.
He said this when asked during a function in Kuala Lumpur on whether he would meet the parties involved in the dispute.
Yesterday, about 100 Muslims gathered outside the mosque after Friday prayers in an angry show of force condemning a lawyer who complained to the Prime Minister's Office about the excessively high volume of the azan from the mosque’s loudspeakers.
During the protests, threats of violence were issued against the lawyer.
Last year, Molotov cocktails were lobbed at several churches after the courts declared that the word ‘Allah’ can be used by Christians, a ruling which some Muslims said could undermine their faith.
This was followed by other incidents in which wild-boar heads were found at two mosques in Kuala Lumpur, while arson attempts were made at two surau (Muslim prayer rooms) in Muar.
The latest row incident in the Al-Ikhlasiah Mosque threatens to spark another round of religious animosity.
The volume of the azan has from time to time stirred controversy among residents who live near mosques and surau, raising tension between Muslims and non-Muslims.
No comment on interfaith panel
Meanwhile, Koh said that such incidents were not uncommon, citing similar cases in Penang when he was chief minister.
"It was settled locally by people getting together and having a (better) understanding," he said.
He claims that he has yet to see the letter from the lawyer who made the complaint against the Al-Ikhlasiah Mosque and declined to comment on the facts of the dispute.
Koh also kept mum on whether the interfaith panel - called the Committee for the Understanding and Harmony Among Religious Adherents - which comes under his purview, would take up the matter.
"I think that after the initial emotions, both sides will settle down," he said.
He advised the aggrieved parties to be patient and work out a solution collectively.
"If they are going to attack each other in blogs (for example), it makes matters worse," he said.
He said that such disputes have occurred before and they were handled at the local level without outside interference."On the ground, they are already working on how to settle the matter, rather than making a big issue and quarrelling," said Koh, who is minister in the prime minister’s department.
He said this when asked during a function in Kuala Lumpur on whether he would meet the parties involved in the dispute.
Yesterday, about 100 Muslims gathered outside the mosque after Friday prayers in an angry show of force condemning a lawyer who complained to the Prime Minister's Office about the excessively high volume of the azan from the mosque’s loudspeakers.
During the protests, threats of violence were issued against the lawyer.
Last year, Molotov cocktails were lobbed at several churches after the courts declared that the word ‘Allah’ can be used by Christians, a ruling which some Muslims said could undermine their faith.This was followed by other incidents in which wild-boar heads were found at two mosques in Kuala Lumpur, while arson attempts were made at two surau (Muslim prayer rooms) in Muar.
The latest row incident in the Al-Ikhlasiah Mosque threatens to spark another round of religious animosity.
The volume of the azan has from time to time stirred controversy among residents who live near mosques and surau, raising tension between Muslims and non-Muslims.
No comment on interfaith panel
Meanwhile, Koh said that such incidents were not uncommon, citing similar cases in Penang when he was chief minister.
"It was settled locally by people getting together and having a (better) understanding," he said.
He claims that he has yet to see the letter from the lawyer who made the complaint against the Al-Ikhlasiah Mosque and declined to comment on the facts of the dispute.Koh also kept mum on whether the interfaith panel - called the Committee for the Understanding and Harmony Among Religious Adherents - which comes under his purview, would take up the matter.
"I think that after the initial emotions, both sides will settle down," he said.
He advised the aggrieved parties to be patient and work out a solution collectively.
"If they are going to attack each other in blogs (for example), it makes matters worse," he said.
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