Bukit Aman: Photos of Muslims praying in church not taken in Malaysia

PETALING JAYA: Police confirmed that photographs that have been circulating on social media showing Muslims praying in a church were not taken in Malaysia.

Asst Comm Asmawati Ahmad, the assistant chief at the Inspector-General of Police secretariat, said police never received any report regarding the matter.

"The distribution of these photos that depicted a group of Muslims involved in prayers at a church have sparked anger and unrest among the Muslims in the country.

"It is confirmed that these photos were not part of any recorded rituals in Malaysia," ACP Asmawati said in a statement posted at the police's Facebook on Friday.

A check by The Star Online showed that the pictures were taken in Indonesia.

Facebook user, Gereja St.Fx. Kebon Dalem, had posted a few photographs of students, said to be from a university called IAIN Walisongo Semarang, on a field trip in Indonesia on May 31.

According to the post, part of the trip's programme involved taking part in Christian rituals as shown in the photographs.

The programme also included the students performing Maghrib prayers and a dialogue session between both faiths.

The photographs, which went viral the past week, showed a group of people wearing the Muslim headscarves holding candles in a church.

One showed the group taking photographs with the church's priest.

The photographs were captioned "the ritual might have taken place somewhere in northern Malaysia, and the people involved were all students."

ACP Asmawati advised people not to upload or spread any unverified material on the social media as they could threaten the peace and safety of the public.