KUCHING: A religious talk on Prophet Muhammad has been cancelled on the directive of Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister's Office (Islamic Affairs) Datuk Daud Abdul Rahman following objections from church groups.
The talk, organised by the Islamic Information Centre (IIC), was initially titled "Muhammad SAW in the Bible" before being changed to "Muhammad SAW: A Blessing for Mankind".
It was to be presented by Sheikh Afeefuddin Al-Jailani at the IIC's auditorium on Wednesday and at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak's (Unimas) Islamic Centre on Thursday.
Daud said he advised the IIC to cancel the talk after various churches voiced their objections to it.
"We studied through the objections and we agreed that this programme should be cancelled. We do not want to create disharmony among various races and religions, especially the Christians and Muslims.
"It's totally unnecessary, so the best thing is to cancel," he told reporters on Tuesday.
The Association of Churches in Sarawak (ACS) registered its objection to the talk, saying the topic was "highly provocative and would not help to diffuse the religious tension between Muslims and Christians in Malaysia."
Daud also hoped Christian groups would not demonstrate against the talk, particularly now that it had been cancelled.
"We have an avenue to discuss matters, there's no need for demonstrations. If they are concerned about anything, they can tell the bishop and come and see me. My door is open.
"We are sensitive to all this and when we find that there are people who may create a lot of unnecessary negative sentiments against different groups, we stop it," he added.
Sarawak PKR chairman Baru Bian welcomed the cancellation and hoped such talks would not be organised again in future.
He said the talk's initial topic was considered blasphemous by church leaders and he had received many calls from Christians on it.
He said such talks should be conducted in an inclusive and accommodating manner through discussions and debates between scholars and leaders from all faiths.
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