Kuala Lumpur: The set up of a “truly interfaith council” has been obstructed by a “majority vs minority” mentality, council of Churches Malaysia (CCM) general secretary Hermen Shastri said.
He pointed out that despite several other interfaith councils like the Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST), there is one yet to be formed for the majority Islamic community.
He said that the hindrance is because the group claims that they are the majority and others are the minority or their religion is the religion of the federation and others are the minority religion.
Herman questioned whether that was even a valid argument and would that be in consonance with the deepest aspirations of your religious teachings?
He said that these are the barriers the leaders face in the groundwork, even though the aspiration and vocation are true, but there are social forces at work that the leaders always need to think about.
He said this at a panel discussion hosted by Komuniti Muslim Universal (KMU) titled “The Role of State and Religious Leaders in Protecting Freedom of Religion and Belief”.