Dr M: Muslims have prayed in churches-turned-mosques

PETALING JAYA: Muslims have prayed in churches-turned-mosques, former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad pointed out in response to the controversy surrounding a surau in a resort at Johor after Buddhist tourists used it to meditate. 

"In Malaysia there are churches turned into mosques. In British times, the Terendak Camp in Malacca had a church for British troops. If I'm not wrong, the church was later turned into a mosque (Masjid al-Syuhada) for Malay soldiers," said Dr Mahathir in a recent blog entry on chedet.cc.

He also pointed out that when Constantinople was conquered by Sultan Mehmet II, the church Hagia Sophia was turned into a mosque. 

"Similarly, some churches were turned into mosques in Hungary when the country fell to the Ottoman Turks. In Cordoba and Granada, mosques were turned into churches when the area was conquered by Spanish Catholics."

However, Dr Mahathir said that if the congregation of the surau in Johor's Tanjung Sutera Resort rejected the place of worship, then it was their right to make the decision to destroy it.

The surau was demolished last Wednesday, and the Singaporean resort owner's PR status revoked.