PAS leaders will continue to reach out to Christians because silence is not an option when the country is faced with ongoing religious controversies, said the party's ambassador of peace Mujahid Yusof Rawa.

Mujahid explained he has been continuously visiting churches because he refuses to keep silent when certain quarters are creating chaos and disharmony in society.

"We in PAS do not want to keep silent in a situation where the country is being destroyed by those who do not have knowledge," said Mujahid (right) at a dialogue with non-Muslims at the Christ of the King Catholic Church in Sungai Petani yesterday.

"I remember the words of Martin Luther King Jr: You will not remember the sound of your enemy, but you will remember the silence of your friends," added the Parit Buntar MP.

Mujahid said if PAS, that he said is friends to Christians, keeps silent when so much is happening in the country, "you will curse us for keeping our mouths shut".

"You, too, would not remain silent in any case that affects the unity and harmony of this country," the PAS national unity department chairperson told the attentive crowd.

He then told the 100-odd participants who attended the dialogue that he has documented his journey to more than 20 churches in the country in his book 'Engaging Christianity - a travelogue of peace'.

Accompanying him during the session were  Steven Selvaraju from the Penang Diocesan Pastoral Institute, and PAS Merbok vice-chief Fakhruddin Fakhrurazzi who moderated the dialogue.

Allah row work of 'political actors'

Mujahid said a framework of interfaith relations in Malaysia already exists in the federal constitution, where Article 3 states that Islam is the religion of the federation, while Article 11 states that other faiths are free to practise, but is subjected to section 4 that states only Muslims can propagate to Muslims.

"I am told by all my Christian friends wherever I go that the use of Allah is not to propagate but is for use and consumption of the Malay-speaking worshippers, so at face value, I accept it," he said.

"It is against the constitution for other faiths to propagate to Muslims. This framework has already provided a way for peaceful relationships, but it is the political actors who are going against this," he added.

"Our challenging task is to put things back in perspective. This is what PAS is trying to do including our top leadership who wants to promote peaceful coexistence," he stressed.

Relations between Christians and Muslims continue to be tested as the former are told not to use the world Allah in their religious practice, after the Court of Appeal last year upheld a Home Ministry ban on Catholic weekly The Herald from using the word in its Malay language edition.

Mujahid warned against retaliation when religious groups are provoked.

As in the case of the Allah controversy, Mujahid said those who created the issue were not religious experts but "orang tepi jalan (laymen)".

Some Muslims do not even pray, he said, but when they hear that Christians are using the word Allah, they are quick to get angry and condemn the Christians.

"Who would not fight back when they are being condemned? So in this case, the Christians tepi jalan also become angry. When will this stop? So, do not start it," he cautioned.

'God wanted plurality'

Mujahid said he has often been asked about his motive for visiting churches as he is a politician and he is suspected of fishing for votes.

"I am often asked, 'Why come to us? Are you looking for votes? You are a politician, what do you hope to benefit? Are you doing it for political reasons?'

"I cannot blame people for asking because I am a politician, a parliamentarian," he said.

"But this is not just about politics. This is about what we believe," he said.

Mujahid said he engages with non-Muslim communities because he wants to "experience the sign of god", saying that gatherings of people from different faiths is one such case.

He added that god meant for the world to be inhabited by different groups of people, otherwise everyone would be Muslims.

"We are supposed to get acquainted with one another," he said.

"If people like Umno and Perkasa want to deny god's sign, let them be. Who cares about them?" he asked.

Mujahid also spoke about the federal government initiative - the National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC) - saying one of its focus is to forge unity between youths of different faiths.

Being the only opposition member in the NUCC, Mujahid said he has made it clear that he will speak his mind at the meetings.

He also welcomed the idea to dialogue with Umno or others party leaders, adding that on March 15, a unity dialogue in Alor Setar will be opened for the public to give their opinions and the views gathered will be used as input for NUCC's blueprint on national unity.

'Don't tell others how to pray'

He urged the media to highlight peaceful relations more, rather than focus on the hatred among different faiths.

On inclusiveness in religion, Mujahid said the only bridge to reach others is by "respect, dialogue, understanding, and avoiding any confrontation" that could lead to hatred.

The latter, he said, includes cursing other people's god and disrespecting the manner they worship their god.

Mujahid said it is also not right to tell people of other faiths what they can or cannot say.

"What if a Christian in a Christian-majority country where Muslims are minority, in retaliation, tells the Muslims what they can or cannot say?" he asked.

"The world would then be in trouble. Never start the spark," he warned.

Mujahid added Muslims are also not allowed to confiscate the holy books of people from different faiths.

He was referring to the January 2 incident where the Selangor Religious Affairs Department (Jais) seized over 300 copies of the Malay and Iban language bible from the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM) in Selangor.

"The fact that it is not your faith, doesn't give you the right to do anything you want to that other faith," he added.