Malaysia’s religious affairs minister condemns the detention of the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and calls for global action to protect religious freedom.
KUALA LUMPUR: The Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) has strongly condemned the detention of the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque, Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, by the Zionist Israeli regime after last Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
In a statement today, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs), Senator Dr Zulkifli Hasan, said that although Sheikh Muhammad Hussein was subsequently released, the detention of a religious leader while carrying out his duties at one of Islam’s holiest sites constituted a violation of religious freedom and undermined the sanctity of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
This department calls on the international community, particularly the United Nations (UN) and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), to take firm action to ensure that the right to worship, the safety of religious leaders, and the status of the Al-Aqsa Mosque are upheld in accordance with international law.
“We remain steadfast in solidarity with the Palestinian people and will continue to support all efforts towards a just peace, the defence of Palestinian rights, and the end of all forms of oppression against them,” he said.
In another development, Zulkifli called on Malaysians to commemorate the 31st anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
More than 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys were executed over several days in July 1995 after Bosnian Serb forces overran the eastern Bosnian town of Srebrenica despite the area having been declared a “safe area” by the UN.
More than 1,000 victims remain unaccounted for, while efforts to identify recovered remains for burial continue to this day.
Zulkifli said Malaysia had played a significant role in championing the cause of Bosnian Muslims through the efforts of former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, as well as the early humanitarian initiatives of the Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (ABIM).
He said Malaysia also welcomed Bosnian refugees, provided educational opportunities through the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), and deployed 10,514 officers and personnel from the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) to serve in UN peacekeeping missions in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1993 and 1998 under the Malaysian Battalion (MALBAT) and the Implementation Force (IFOR).
Zulkifli urged the youth to view the Srebrenica tragedy as a lesson to reject all forms of hatred, division, and oppression.
“Let us join in prayer that the martyrs of Srebrenica are granted the highest station in the sight of Allah SWT, and that their surviving families continue to be blessed with extraordinary strength and fortitude. *Allahimanet Bosna* (May Allah protect Bosnia)!” he said.
