KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 24 — The proposal to publish translations of the Quran into Bahasa Melayu without the original text could lead to misinterpretation, said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom.

"We understand that this is to help propagate the religion but we do not want the publication to lose the Quran in the original Arabic language, leaving only the meaning of the text. This could easily lead to misinterpretation," he told reporters after officiating a ceremony for the hard-core poor by the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Council (MAIWP) here today.

He was commenting on a request by a female lecturer to translate the Quran into other languages without the original text to make it easier for non-Muslims to understand.

The proposal was also opposed by Perak Mufti Tan Sri Harussani Zakaria  who said Quranic translations without the original text was prohibited (haram) even though it was meant to spread Islam among non-Muslims.

Jamil Khir also urged missionaries in the country not to question fatwa (edicts) issued by the Fatwa Council to avoid confusion among the public.

"We are not stopping any missionary from doing their work but we have to consider that in Malaysia there are rules for missionary work to prevent any tension in society," he said.

He was commenting on the directive by the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) which urged popular missionary from Indonesia, Syaikh Muhammad Nuruddin Marbu Al-Banjari to postpone his religious talk here.

News on his talk was spread on social media recently. — Bernama