PAS building bridges with inter-faith dialogue

He admits that Muslims too found it difficult to accept the dialogues due to the taboos that surround the Muslim-Christian relationship. There are questions of whether a Muslim could go to church and whether a non-Muslim could go to mosques and in what circumstances.

Written by Sharon Tan, The Edge

When the controversy over the use of the word "Allah" by non-Muslims caught the public attention last year, threatening inter-religious harmony, PAS launched into low-key dialogues with Christians to build bridges, an initiative once considered impossible.

PAS unity bureau chairman Dr Mujahid Yusuf Rawa said that when the issue became a topic of contention, his party, which was once feared by non-Muslims, saw it as a good opportunity for dialogue and to explain to Christians that the issue was being politicised.

Mujahid, who was instrumental in setting up the non-Muslim wing in PAS recently, said that Islam encourages its followers to dialogue, and this by no means carried any intention of converting non-Muslims.

"We want to reach out to them and explain that the Islamic faith encourages dialogue/talks and that does not mean that we are trying to turn them into Muslims or that they would turn us into Christians.

"We just need to understand more about each faith's stand on a certain issue. That is what pushes us to hold dialogues," said Mujahid, who has his party's blessings to organise such talks.

With the dialogues, the party hopes to create more understanding among the various faiths, which in turn may mean that religious issues would not be so easily manipulated.

"It is not easy to start the dialogue since we have been blocked for 50 years by a racial divide. So to break the block itself is already a struggle. I believe my party has achieved it, especially with the Allah issue," said Mujahid. He denies that the dialogues are a result of his party's success in winning non-Malay support.

"Most people thought that when PAS decided to engage in dialogue, it was for political reasons. But no, PAS' struggle has been on Islam and anything we want to do, we will refer to our principles. There is a very clear verse in the Quran that calls us to engage in dialogue.

"Secondly, our relationship with other faiths is based on humanity — it is a human-to-human relationship. Among the Muslims, it is faith-to-faith, but with others, it is a relationship of humanity, where we try to build respect and dignity amongst us.

"We cannot do that unless we engage in dialogue and this is why we are reaching out. I do not see that dialogue is purely something that is in our political manifesto," he explained.

It is critical, Mujahid said, to break the walls that have been dividing the community, and it is a new learning curve for both Muslims and Christians. According to the Parit Buntar MP, whose late father Yusuf Rawa was one of the most charismatic PAS presidents, there are many issues that haunt the Christian-Muslim relationship.

He said that holding the dialogues allows him to explain the Islamic position and tackle issues such as apostasy, the Islamic state, hudud law, Inter-Faith Council and Islamophobia while his non-Muslim audience is free to ask him questions.

He admits that Muslims too found it difficult to accept the dialogues due to the taboos that surround the Muslim-Christian relationship. There are questions of whether a Muslim could go to church and whether a non-Muslim could go to mosques and in what circumstances.

"These taboos must be dealt with. These are things that are still haunting the relationship and we must educate both sides on how the relationship should be, especially in understanding the need to respect one another," said Mujahid.

To Mujahid, it is clear where these dialogues will lead to. He said: "It will lead to a greater height of civilisation. For me, this is a new frontier for our country. I call not only PAS but everyone who is concerned about peace, respect, and multicultural and multi-faith understanding to go forward in this dialogue.

"It will bring us to greater heights after 50 years of being blocked by narrow-minded interpretations of inter-faith relations. We need to break that."

Mujahid did not agree that the dialogues are part of a vote-fishing exercise. He said that those who come to the dialogues are people of different political leanings. However, if PAS manages to get some votes as a result of the talks, then the party welcomes it, he said.

"We don't go there to ask for votes. I don't think that will serve the purpose of the dialogue. My concern is how we as Malaysians can go forward in the inter-faith relationship," he said. Mujahid hoped to widen the scope of the dialogue to other fields such as issues of corruption, good governance and environmental protection, where one's faith can play a role.

Inter-faith initiatives have gained traction with PAS leaders, especially following the 12th general election in 2008. Shortly after winning his seat on March 8, 2008, Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad raised eyebrows when he went to the Church of Divine Mercy in his constituency to thank voters for their support. When Metro Tabernacle was torched earlier this year, PAS leaders went to the ground. PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat also hosted a dialogue with Christian leaders in Kota Bharu.

Looking to Prophet Muhammad's life for inspiration, in particular how he lived and engaged with people of different faiths, PAS is exploring new frontiers by engaging and building bridges to a community that once viewed it with suspicion. While PAS' coalition partners and political rivals contemplate how to engage non-traditional constituents, PAS has gained much ground in this respect.