Kuala Lumpur: The Interfaith Harmony Committee (JK HARMONI) is dedicated to fostering unity among the multi-religious community in the country, focusing on collaboration rather than discussing Islamic religious policy.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Dr Mohd Na’im Mokhtar clarified that the primary purpose of JK HARMONI is to identify shared values across different religions and hold activities that promote awareness and harmony among religious adherents. This aligns with the committee’s mission to benefit the community by fostering interfaith understanding.

Mohd Na’im emphasized that Islamic religious policy is not a subject of discussion within JK HARMONI, as such matters fall under the jurisdiction of the rulers and state governments, as per the Federal Constitution.

The clarification came during a press conference held after Mohd Na’im received a courtesy call from Sheikh Dr Ekrima Said Sabri, the Grand Imam of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. He highlighted the role of religious scholars in the committee, who are tasked with providing religious clarifications and advocating for interfaith harmony.

Recently, 25 religious scholars were appointed as members of JK HARMONI. This diverse group includes 10 representatives from Islam, four from Buddhism, four from Christianity, two from Hinduism, one from Sikhism, two from Taoism, one from Bahai, and one representative from the Unit for Other Religions (UNIFOR) Sarawak.

Mohd Na’im further urged Muslims to remain rational and avoid emotional responses when dealing with complex religious legal issues. He called for a rational discourse on such matters, especially on social media, to prevent misunderstandings about the committee’s objectives, which focus on harmonising people of different faiths rather than the religions themselves.