Malaysian religious authorities actively monitoring spread of Shia teachings

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - The Malaysia Islamic Development Department (Jakim) receives the cooperation of the respective state Islamic religious councils and state Islamic religious departments in monitoring and taking enforcement action against the spread of Shia teachings in this country.Jakim director-general Datuk Othman Mustapha said besides monitoring and enforcement by the religious authorities, the respective state muftis also held dialogues with suspected Shia groups to curb the spread of Shia teachings.“There are states which have brought cases involving Shia teachings to the shariah courts,” he told reporters after the opening of the 26th National-Level Conference of heads of Maahad Tahfiz Al-Quran, here, Tuesday night.It was opened by Kelantan Islamic Religion and Malay Custom Council deputy president, Datuk Kamaruddin Mohd Zin.Othman was asked on actions taken by Jakim to curb the spread of Shia teachings among Muslims in the country.On another matter, Othman said the process of upgrading Darul Quran Jakim into a college university was in the final stage and expected to materialise soon.He said currently, Darul Quran, a Quran higher learning institution in Kuala Kubu Bharu, Selangor, collaborated with 13 other Quran learning institutions nationwide for the Tahfiz Al Quran Diploma programme involving more than 1,200 students.“Those who completed their diploma studies, can go for degree courses in other fields at the public higher learning institutions including the International Islamic University Malaysia,” he said.Othman said the realisation of parents and the demand for their children to study at the Darul Quran and Maahad Tahfiz Al Quran was high./149