KUALA LUMPUR, May 5 — The office of the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) and the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim), in collaboration with the Muslim World League will organise the 2024 International Conference of Religious Leaders and Conference of Asian Religious Scholars.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Mohd Na’im Mokhtar, said the International Conference of Religious Leaders would be held on May 7 (Tuesday) from 8am to 5pm at Sunway Resort Hotel, Petaling Jaya in Selangor and the Conference of Asian Religious Scholars will take place the next day (May 8) at Mandarin Oriental in the capital.
He said both programmes are aimed at developing a shared civilisation vision to unify the values of moderation and unity, tackle the threats of extremist ideologies, and transform conflicts into understanding, cooperation, and unity.
Mohd Na’im said the International Conference of Religious Leaders carries the ‘Unity in Diversity’ theme, and about 1,500 participants consisting of scholars, intellectuals, political leaders, Members of Parliament, academicians, and Muslim and non-Muslim leaders from more than 50 countries are expected to attend.
“The objective of the International Conference of Religious Leaders is to foster a spirit of harmony among followers of various religions and cultivate a strong foundation based on Madani principles to align with the current reality of multi-religious societies, allowing them to interact harmoniously to maintain social cohesion and unity,” he said.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is scheduled to deliver the opening speech at the conference at noon, he said, adding that the public can watch the programme live on Jakim’s Facebook page as well as the opening speech on Radio Televisyen Malaysia TV1 and TV Alhijrah.
According to Mohd Na’im, the theme for the Conference of Asian Religious Scholars is ‘Unity’, where 200 scholars from Asian countries are expected to gather.
“The objective for the Conference of Asian Religious Scholars is to cultivate unity and good values while respecting differences from different dimensions based on the Madani, theology and sociology principles, emphasising moderation in dealing with various ideologies within schools of thoughts in the Islamic jurisprudence without turning them into sources of fear, hatred or conflict,” he said.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is scheduled to attend the closing ceremony for this event, he said.
“May the organisation of the International Conference of Religious Leaders and Conference of Asian Religious Scholars can achieve the set objectives and effectively convey the Malaysia Madani message and the al-Falah Transformation towards dignifying Islam in the eyes of the world,” he added. — Bernama
