In Malaysia’s Terengganu state, politicians banned from giving religious talks in mosques and prayer halls

Mr Shaikh Harun stressed that speakers, lecturers and teachers as well as imams who lead the Friday prayers in Terengganu must have the necessary accreditation issued by MAIDAM.

To ensure these instructions are complied with, Mr Shaikh Harun said that the Terengganu religious affairs department has been tasked to monitor such activities. 

MAIDAM stressed on Thursday that mosques and surau should never be misused to create anxiety, restlessness or discord among the community. And this includes activities or programmes that have an element of politics, the council said.

It stressed that mosques and surau that function well can bring a positive impact to the local Muslim community. 

On Jan 18, Johor’s Crown Prince Tunku Ismail – who is the chairman of the state’s Islamic Religious Council – ordered that besides the ban on religious talks in mosques, all activities involving religious discourse as well as the speakers involved must first be approved by the relevant religious bodies.

In other states, religious speakers have also been banned from or given stern warnings against preaching political messages in mosques. 

According to Free Malaysia Today, the Kelantan Islamic and Malay Customs Council reminded mosque officials not to be involved in any political activities during the 15th General Elections (GE15) late last year.

In Selangor, the state Islamic Religious Council in 2021 revoked the Islamic teaching certificate of political activists for fear that their certificate would be misused to benefit political parties. 

News portal Malaysiakini reported that in 2019, Sultan Nazrin Shah of Perak called on religious preachers and accredited mosque committee members to relinquish their posts if they have any political agendas and ambitions, adding that such agendas would violate the sanctity of mosques as religious sites.