Conference Examines Threats To Religion
By Shafiyi Azahari

Bandar Seri Begawan - Religious ministers of Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore concluded, their meeting in Kuala Lumpur with a joint statement on issues ranging from the emergence of "Liberal Islam" thought affecting the region, to the need to set up a zakat council and to cooperate in the management of haj.

Brunei's Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Religious Affairs Dato Paduka Awang Abdul Rahman Mohiddin attended the conference, known as MABIMS, from 28 to 30 November. Also in Kuala Lumpur was Minister of Religious Affairs Pehin Jawatan Luar Pekerma Raja Dato Seri Utama Dr Awang Mohd Zain for a separate gathering, the Special International Conference on Zakat

The two officials returned home yesterday afternoon. At the Brunei airport they were met by Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs Pehin Udana Khatib Dato Paduka Seri Setia Ustaz Awg Badaruddin Pengarah Dato Paduka Othman.

The conference of religious ministers expressed a concern in the statement about how deviation in religious worship` practices from the akidah/faith and syariah is a threat against the purity of the Islamic teaching. The deviating practices are caused by ignorance (and) the community being influenced by new, free and liberal interpretation of the religion and its valuies."

The ministers stated that all elements that presented a threat toward the sanctity of the akidah should be handled with wisdom and through scientific approaches. The ministers were "very concerned by the emergence of the deviating thoughts that seek to corrode the Muslim ummah's basic faith. This development calls for special and serious attention from all members of MABIMS in order to prevent such thoughts from developing in their respective countries".

The ministers also called on all parties, including the religious scholars, intellectuals and those working in the dakwah movement to increase the so-called dakwah bil hai whereby the preachers do more than just talk but present the community with good examples. In a statement distributed by the ministry of religious affairs of Brunei Darussalam, the ministers of the four countries declared readiness to establish the Dewan Zakat MABIMS, a council in charge of alms giving, to ensure the effectiveness of the charitable tradition in developing the ummah and to ensure even better tithe management.

The next MABIMS conference will be held in 2007 in Brunei, and in Indonesia in 2008.

The International Conference on Zakat in Kuala Lumpur, opened by Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah: Badawi, witnessed the emergence of a resolution on the part of participating countries to pool resources from wealthy Islamic states into a global fund for the economic and social development of poor Muslim countries. Zakat or alms giving is the third of the five pillars of Islam and refers to spending a fixed portion of a Muslim's wealth for the needy. A Muslim may also donate an additional amount of money as sadaqah. -- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

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