Mahathir Calls On Scholars to Help Reconcile Differences In Muslim World
Bernama – 19 March 2006

PUTRAJAYA - Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said that Muslim scholars should meet and discuss ways to resolve differences in the Muslim world so that the 1.5 billion Muslims can eventually be mobilised into a useful and united force.

Saying that the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) would be a good forum to effect such discussions, he said Muslims should make more use of the OIC to iron out differences or for other pursuits which would benefit them.

Muslim scholars or ulama must discuss these issues rationally and in an in-depth manner to bring the Muslims back under one umbrella, under the religion that was brought to them by the Prophet, he said in an interview with Bernama in conjunction with the completion of the 1440 Hijrah Vision Report commissioned by the Islamic Development Bank (IDB).

Dr Mahathir headed a commission to come out with the report which looked into how the IDB could become a more dynamic entity to help Muslims and improve the image of Islam while Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will launch the 1440 Hijrah Vision in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.

The report, which is a similar to a development blueprint, outlines in detail how the well-being of the ummah could be improved through greater literacy, economic development, prospering the people and alleviating poverty. Given the many interpretations of Islam today, Dr Mahathir reckoned that the task in settling differences would not be easy.

But he said all this depended on getting understanding through discussion.

"It is not impossible, it can be done, but there must be a commitment, a will to do it.

"If we have a will to want to succeed, the way is quite clear, it is not too difficult.

"But the most important thing is 'do you want to'. If you want to, then you must be prepared to take action. If you can, you will take action, then we can have the road map and we can reach our destination," he said

In response to questions as to why there has been so much tension among Muslims in certain parts of the world, particularly West Asia, he said it was due to their different interpretation of the religion.

"Like everything else, when you read something, your understanding may be different from others,

"But if we go back to the basic or fundamental teachings of Islam, there is no difference because we believe in the same things that are enjoined in the Quran and verified hadith.

"So if we go back to that (basic teaching), perhaps it would be easier for us to reconcile between different sects, cults or mazhab. It is not going to be easy. The feelings are very strong," he said.

Dr Mahathir, who is now honorary president of the Perdana Leadership Foundation, a body dedicated to Malaysian leadership and national development, said it was provided for in Islam to have an ishtihar -- to settle a question though discussion.

"Unfortunately, for a long time, they closed the door on ishtihar. But it is not something wrong, it has been done before. Perhaps we should revive that discussion," he said.

"Today we see Shias blowing up Sunni mosques, Sunnis blowing up Shia mosques, we see a lot of antagonism between the different sects and yet they all claim to be Muslims.

"If you claim to be a Muslim, then you should regard every Muslim as your brother (or sister). But they consider different sects as not being Islam. But if we go back to the fundamental teachings of Islam, then we eliminate the differences in interpretation, perhaps it would be easier for us to get along together, to be brothers and sisters in Islam. In that way I think we can be united, and of course unity is strength, and at the same time we can utilise the whole potential of the Muslims."

Dr Mahathir felt that Islam was going through what Christianity had gone through in the past.

He said although there were differences among the Christians today, their divisions were not that strong.

"They have Protestants, Catholics, they have Orthodox (Christians)... and the Catholics and Protestants have been known to fight it out in different small groups.

"In the past, they used to kill each other, they used to burn at the stakes because of differences of understanding and they tend to condemn others as heretics. But today they are much more liberal. They don't question each other on the interpretation of the religion. What has happened to the Muslim religion is the same. There is fragmentation due to different interpretations."

For example, Dr Mahathir said, in certain Muslim countries, women do not make up the workforce because of the misinterpretation of the religion.

Some discussion on this ought to be done so that women would not be excluded while at the same time, the true teachings of Islam would be adhered to.

Dr Mahathir said that if women were not taken into account for economic purposes, then the number of Muslims would be halved since women usually made up about 50 per cent of the population of any country.

"It as been shown that women have certain capabilities, maybe not physical (strength) but they have the mental capability, their skills in business are very good, we should tap them," he said.
Source: Bernama | www.bernama.com