Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin today said Malaysians cannot refute the fact that the future of the nation depended on the unity of the Malays and Muslims, who formed the majority.

 

He emphasised that if the Muslims split due to differences in politics or other fundamental issues related to religion, then it would be difficult to achieve peace and unity for the nation as a whole.   

christmas school 261211 muhyiddin "Therefore, I'm of the opinion that efforts to strengthen the ummah is something very important in ensuring stability, peace and harmony in our country," he said in a speech to launch the ‘Upholding of Islam and Strengthening of the Race’ Convention in Putrajaya today.

The speech was read out by Minister in Prime Minister's Department Jamil Khir Baharom and the event included the launching of a book by Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) president Ustaz Abdullah Zaik Abdul Rahman titled 'Melayu Sepakat Islam Berdaulat'.   

Muhyiddin said the Muslims of today faced various challenges, especially with confusing Islamic teachings stemming from the indiscriminate acceptance of liberal Western thinking and culture by a handful of Muslims themselves.   

Western ideas challenging Islamic teachings

In fact, there have been efforts recently by these same parties to manipulate the struggle for freedom and human rights based on liberal Western ideas by challenging Islamic teachings, including campaigns for same-sex marriage and the practice of free sex, which are clearly prohibited by Islam and other religions.     

"We definitely do not want to see the occurrence of confused thinking in our society which would ultimately cause the Muslims to split and abandon the religion.  

"In the context of the Malay community, we do not want the liberal Western philosophy which places the desires and wants of an individual as life's priority, or to produce a Malay race which has no Eastern and Malay identity or losing their identity as someone who holds fast to the religion," he said.      

Therefore, Muhyiddin said it is crucial for the Islamic race to create a united thinking (wahdatul fikr) based on true Islamic teachings from the al-Quran and Hadis.  

The Islamic ummah should immediately carry out a jihad of knowledge and thoughts to understand and appreciate Islamic teachings in depth and make the religion the axis of life, he added.  

"I believe Isma and other Islamic bodies can play an important role in creating ‘wahdatul fikr’ among the Muslims and thereby create a united ummah," he said.

"What's important is that we start working towards the unity of the ummah without taking into account differences in politics or other issues, solely based on Islam teachings. Furthermore, unity of the race is a critical requirement of Islam," he concluded.

- Bernama