SHAH ALAM: The Selangor Islamic Religious Council (MAIS) has stressed that the qibla direction of mosques and surau in the state had been checked and certified by the Selangor State Mufti Department and there was no need to doubt its accuracy.
MAIS chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof in a statement today said the body also mandated that the determination of the direction of the Qibla by the Selangor State Mufti Department is done before any new mosque, surau or prayer hall begins operating.
He said the state’s Mufti Department also provided information on the method of determining the Qibla direction to the community through websites and social media as well as other programmes it organised.
“The determination of the direction of the qibla carried out by the Selangor State Mufti Department is also in line with the decision of the Fatwa Committee of the National Council for Islamic Religious Affairs of Malaysia.
“The issue over the determination of the direction of the Qibla has also received serious attention from the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, who does not want any party, including the media, to make inaccurate reports that may cause confusion among the community and tarnish the image of Islam,“ he said.
Abdul Aziz’s statement comes following Berita Harian’s report on April 24 with the headline ‘40 peratus arah kiblat di Lembah Klang tersasar’ (40 per cent of Qibla directions in Klang Valley off-course), which was based on statements from the Selangor State Astronomers Association (PAFNS).
He said the headline of the report was inaccurate and did not paint the true picture, and caused misunderstanding and confusion among the Muslim community, especially in Selangor, and MAIS had requested an explanation regarding the matter from PAFNS.
“MAIS would like to stress that the newspaper report only refers to the determination of the direction of the Qibla at residential premises, based on requests for the service of determining the direction of the Qibla for residences received by PAFNS. The report is not at all related to the determination of the direction of the Qibla of mosques and surau in Selangor,“ he said.
He added that MAIS advised the public not to panic and get confused by the headlines of the report and reminded them to refer directly to MAIS to confirm or determine any Islamic-related matters. –Bernama