Machang - Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat today questioned the recognition accorded by international Muslim scholars to the Islam Hadhari (Civilisational Islam) concept.
He said the Al-Azhar University Alumni Multaqa (conference) recently was a waste of public funds as it was held for political reasons.
"The federal government has spent millions of ringgit to bring the Arabs for a discussion," he told reporters after launching the PAS Kelantan election programme here.
About 1,000 Al-Azhar religious leaders, scholars and professionals attended the four-day conference which ended on Feb 19. They included the Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar Dr Sheikh Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi.
Nik Abdul Aziz, who is also PAS spiritual leader, questioned the government`s motive in giving prominence to Al-Azhar scholars from other countries, saying Malaysia also had Al-Azhar scholars who were respected internationally.
"We are also former Al-Azhar graduates using the same Quran. Why were we not invited. This is the problem with the Malays; for politics, they refer to the west, for religion, they copy the Arabs," he said.
In his comment, Dr Sheikh Muhammad Sayyid had said that the 10 principles advocated by Islam Hadhari were not new as they encompassed the worldly life and the hereafter as espoused by Prophet Muhammad.
The adviser to the President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Prof Ali Al-Hashimi, had said he was amazed at the success of the Islam Hadhari concept in propagating moderation and tolerance in a multi-racial and multi-religious Malaysia.
Source: www.bernama.com (27 Februari 2008)
