Speaking to FMT, Tajuddin Rasdi of UCSI University said those who criticised a surau that recently gave shelter to non-Muslim flood victims were ignoring a well known practice of the Prophet.

Referring to the Sirah of Ibn Ishaq, he pointed out that the Prophet once hosted Najrani Christians inside his mosque in Madinah.

Scholars consider Ibn Ishaq’s work as one of the definitive biographies of the Prophet.

“Our prophet was very generous in allowing non-Muslims to go into the mosque,” Tajuddin said.

“It is recorded in the Sirah that the Christians were not converting to Islam. They just wanted to have a discussion.”

Referring to critics who questioned the “purity and hygiene” of the non-Muslims who were sheltered in the Penang surau, he said they were wrong in seeing non-Muslims as impure just because they ate pork.

If that were so, he said, then Muslims needing blood transfusions couldn’t accept the blood of non-Muslims.

He said it appeared that only Muslims in Malaysia were queasy about allowing non-Muslims into mosques.

He recalled his involvement in an outreach programme when he was a student in the United States. “We invited non-Muslims to the prayer area of the mosque, where we had lectures,” he said. “Some wore shorts and miniskirts and we still had friendly discussions.”

At the height of the Penang floods last weekend, muezzin Sapno Tukijo of the Taman Free School Surau invited about 70 non-Muslims to take shelter inside the building.

A picture of the victims inside the surau went viral on social media. Many praised Sapno for his gesture, but others condemned him. Some pointed to the way the non-Muslims were dressed.

Sapno and the surau administration responded by saying that saving lives was more important than anything else and vowed that no one in need would ever be turned away.