MUSLIM groups have declared support for political parties that fight liberalism and pluralism as such elements threaten the country’s harmony.

Allied Coordinating Committee of Islamic NGOs (Accin) president Jamaluddin Samsudin said the ones who governed the country after the 14th general election must attend to issues of akidah (faith) as the situation of Muslims in the country was dire.

“The issue of (liberalism and pluralism) has something to do with akidah and it affects harmony and understanding between the people.

“There is a need to have more action and attention from the political leadership,” he said after reading the 10-point declaration from the 20-odd Muslim groups which represented about 400,000 Muslims.

Accin’s members include Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (Abim), Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma), Malaysian Ulama Association (PUM), Muslim Lawyers’ Association of Malaysia (PPMM), and Pertubuhan Ikram Malaysia (Ikram).

All of the organisations are vocal on religious and political issues.

According to the declaration, such beliefs (liberalism and pluralism) threaten Muslims and endanger the prevailing peace and harmony.

“Any element or effort that tends to threaten harmony, including supporting apostasy, spreading Christianity to Muslims, and the entry of Buddhist and Hindu extremists should be tackled.”

“We urge the government to eradicate the spread of ‘wrong’ beliefs hiding behind the mask of religious liberalism and pluralism. It should be addressed and have action taken against as much as we can,” read the declaration.

Jamaluddin said the group would also put their declaration to the Umno, PAS and Pakatan Harapan leaderships to highlight these issues in the near future.

He said it was important for political parties to get feedback from civil society groups like them, as they interacted with and understood the Muslim grassroots better.

“We can tell them that if any political party accepts and supports our declaration, we can announce that we will support them,” he said. – March 3, 2018.