KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 2 — Different religions have shared common venues of worship before, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has pointed out, after a Muslim surau (prayer hall) Johor was demolished following its controversial use by Buddhist tourists.
“Many argue that the surau used by non-Muslims can no longer be used by Muslims for prayer. That it should be demolished,” the former prime minister wrote in a recent blog entry.
Dr Mahathir wrote that if the congregation there believed so, then it was their right to do away with the prayer room as they wished.
But he then went on to list notable instances where different religions have used the same locations without issue.
“When Sultan Mehmet II conquered Constantinople, the Byzantine capital, the largest church there, the Hagia Sophia, was turned into a mosques for Muslim Turks.
“This was also the case in Hungary, when some Christian churches were made into mosques when the country fell to the Ottoman Turks,” he wrote.
There was also an example closer to home, according to Dr Mahathir.
“The Terendak Camp in Malacca was used by British soldiers during the colonial era. A church built by the British for their troops who are Christians.
“The church is now, if I am not mistaken, a mosque for the Malay soldiers,” he continued.
The surau at the Tanjung Sutera Resort in Johor was demolished last Wednesday, after authorities ordered it to be torn down.
Tanjung Sutera Resort entered the spotlight recently following media reports on video recordings that surfaced on YouTube that allegedly showed Buddhists using the surau for their worship.
The resort owner, a Singaporean, was arrested after police reports were lodged over the incident and was subsequently remanded for four days to assist in police investigations.
Last month, Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi announced that the man’s permanent resident status had been revoked over the incident, in a move to deter future religious offenders.
The Johor religious authorities also announced previously that the surau must be demolished as it had been used by non-Muslims to host their religious activities.
Citing the Quran, Johor Islamic Religious Council (MAINJ) advisor Datuk Nooh Gadut explained that if such a sacred place had knowingly been used for activities outside the Islamic faith, it should be taken down.
“The most sacred places on Earth are mosques and surau. Accordingly, they are not allowed to be used to carry out religious activities other than for Islam and if a surau is found to have hosted other religious activities, it can be demolished based on surah At-Taubah verse 107 (in the Quran),” he was quoted saying on Bernama Online on August 13.
