Wan Ji: Umno was against lowering volume of mosque lectures
Preacher says decision by Sultan of Selangor to limit sound from religious lectures at the mosque is in line with what was mooted in Penang much earlier.
PETALING JAYA: Well-known preacher Wan Ji Wan Hussin says a proposal to keep in check the volume of religious lectures at mosques, similar to the move announced today in Selangor, was mooted in Penang earlier but came under fire from Umno.
The PKR Youth exco member in charge of religion said he himself voiced support for the idea as it would serve as an example to other states.
“However, some quarters from Umno denounced the idea and slandered us, saying we were supposedly anti-Islam,” he said in a Facebook post.
“What was worse was that there emerged rumours that Penang was going to ban the azan (call to prayer),” added Wan Ji, who was appointed as information officer in the Penang chief minister’s office late last month.
The Selangor palace today announced two new measures to be implemented in the state: that all religious talks in mosques and suraus in Selangor be recorded, and that the volume of religious lectures, other than the azan and Quranic recitations, be limited to within the vicinity of the mosque.
The move was announced together with the Sultan of Selangor’s decision to revoke the religious teaching credentials of controversial preacher Zamihan Mat Zin, who allegedly criticised the royalty in his defence of a laundrette in Johor for imposing a Muslim-only customer policy.
In his online posting today, Wan Ji said the Selangor Sultan had given a perspective on the matter that was in line with the idea raised in Penang.
“Of course we certainly support it,” he said.
He said in Islam, the sound from a loudspeaker can reach out beyond a mosque or surau only during the azan.
“In the case of a religious lecture, having the sound reach outside the mosque would sometimes give non-Muslims a bad impression of Islam,” he said.
“It is not that it would disturb them (non-Muslims). But there are religious teachers whose talks include insults and denunciations such that non-Muslims can become fearful and harbour a misunderstanding towards Islam,” he added.
Wan Ji was arrested on Oct 13 just days after Zamihan, a Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) officer, posted a picture on social media with the words “Wan Ji mahu sistem raja dihapuskan” (Wan Ji wants to abolish the monarchy).
Sultan revokes Zamihan’s permit, orders mosques to lower speech volume
Stay current - Follow FMT on WhatsApp, Google news and Telegram