KOTA KINABALU: As an institution responsible for keeping and protecting the state’s heritage, the Sabah State Museum has been urged to continue with its ongoing documentation of religious, cultural and economic development of Muslims in the state.The call was made by Assistant Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Bolkiah Ismail at the opening of ‘Hajj: The Fifth Pillar Of Islam’ exhibition at Museum Tamaddun Islam here yesterday.
“Hajj is the fifth Pillar of Islam and another form of worship. It is an annual pilgrimage to the holy sites in Mecca which each adult Muslim, who can afford it, has to perform once in his or her life time.
“Apart from the financial aspect, the ability to afford the pilgrimage also means that one is able to travel and perform the Hajj in peace,” said Bolkiah.
He added that the objective of the exhibition was to make Muslims understand more about the purpose of the Hajj and also to know more about the development of Islamic principles of religion throughout the world.
The State Museum has borrowed several artifacts from Lembaga Tabung Haji headquarters in Kuala Lumpur for the special exhibition.
Bolkiah said Muslims perform Hajj in order to visit the holy sites where their religion started.
More importantly, he said, it is a pilgrimage to the Ka’abah.
The Hajj is also symbolic of the Unity of God; all Muslims gather from four corners of the earth in one spot at an appointed time and worship God.
“The unity of multiracial Muslims was the basic implementation in the 1Malaysia concept introduced by the prime minister,” he said.
According to the director of the State Museum Department, Datuk Joseph Guntavid, students and youngsters are the main targets of the exhibition.