KUALA NERUS: Efforts to improve understanding on the true teachings of Islam must be stepped up in facing the threats of liberalism which has become more worrying of late.
Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said the government was now facing a huge challenge with the massive spread of the inverse ideology in today’s advanced world without borders.
“Today, we are facing two types of extremism. The first one is radical and violent extremism, such as Daesh (militant group) that goes into the society through social media to influence individuals.
“And (the second one is) liberal extremism which making its way to revoke the basic foundations that build the country based on religion. (There are quarters) trying to talk about absolute human rights, trying to define religion according to lust when in fact, our country has placed Islam as official religion since independence and that has become the core strength to our country,” he said.
He said this to reporters after officiating the ‘Seminar on Threat of Liberalism Extremist on Malaysian Muslims’ at Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA) here yesterday.
Also present was UniSZA vice-chancellor Datuk Dr Ahmad Zubaidi A Latif.
About 600 participants made up of students, staff and various agencies attended the seminar.
Asyraf Wajdi also urged that efforts must be stepped up in explaining on the understanding of true Islam with the involvement and cooperation from the Malaysian Islamic Development Department, state religious departments and the police to curb the liberalism threat on Malaysians.
“We are worried that such a liberalism threat will be detrimental to national security as what happened in Turkey last week where it was triggered by certain quarters who wanted to put the country into chaos.
“We learn (from others), reflect and at the same maintain the peace that we are enjoying by respecting the constitution and not to challenge its basic principles,” he said. — Bernama