The Malaysian Insight

ISLAM is being proselytised in the wrong manner, which drives people away, said Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

The prime minister said the manner in which Islam was being spread by certain groups cast a bad light on the “beautiful” religion.

“Islam advocates fairness and justice, but we are not practising it. Not only in Malaysia, but in other countries, too.

“Because of the wrongdoings of our Muslim brothers, Islam gets a bad image. This bad image is not likely to attract people to this great religion,” he said in his speech when launching the International Da’Wah Institute in Kuala Lumpur.

Dr Mahathir said Islam was viewed as a violent religion due to the widespread killings and bad governance in Islamic countries.

“Today, we see Muslims living in troubled times. They are fighting and killing each other. They cannot even govern their own countries.

“They are poor, without knowledge, soft skills and the ability to support themselves. This is happening in the Muslim world.”

He said several preachers had deviated from the correct teachings of Islam.

“In the case of dakwah, I feel we are not helping ourselves, and actually doing things that drive people away from Islam.

“Unfortunately, we see people projecting Islam as a religion that is unsuccessful in many ways.”

The Pakatan Harapan chairman said Islamic teachings should be based on the Quran, and the religion proselytised in the right manner.

“I hope I’ve performed the task of spreading the true teachings of Islam, based on the Quran, which is the principal guide.

“There will be teachings of Islam by others, who give their own interpretations, but the Quran is the word of Allah.

“From there, we can learn a lot of things promoted by Islam.” – August 30, 2018.