Quran Most Important Uniting Factor for Muslims: Malaysian Minister

TEHRAN (IQNA) – A Malaysian minister pointed to the importance of the Quran for promoting unity among Muslims, noting that more efforts are needed to propagate Islam across the world.

Datuk Abdul Rahman Junaidi, Minister in charge of Islamic affairs in the State of Sarawak, made the remarks on the sideline of his visit to Restu Global Quranic Arts Festival on January 28.

“Quran is the most important uniting factor for all of us,” he told IQNA.

As Quran is in the Arabic language, in order to read the Quran everybody should master the Arabic language and this is something universal about Islam, he added.

He also referred to Malaysia International Al-Quran Recital and Memorization Assembly (MTHQA) as one of the measures adopted by the country for promoting unity as it is being held annually with the participation of qaris from various countries. The 62nd edition of the event was held in October 2022 in Kuala Lumpur.

‘Marvelous’ artworks on display

Speaking about the festival, the minister said “very fantastic and marvelous arts, especially from Iran,” are on display at the event.

“It is the first time that I am seeing Iranian artworks myself,” he said, noting that he had earlier seen some artworks on TV and social media.

Junaidi also appreciated the Iranian embassy for bringing these artworks, especially rings and miniature paintings, to the Quranic festival.

Restu Global Quranic Arts Festival opened on January 20 and will wrap up today. Held at Nasyrul Quran Complex, Putrajaya, the event was attended by representatives from four countries.

Need to promote Quran translations

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Malaysian minister said thanks to new technologies, the copies of the Holy Quran that are being published have “beautiful design and covering” which attracts the readers.

He named the translation of the Quran as a means to raise awareness about Islam. “In Malaysia, we have translated the Quran into Malay and we can read it in Arabic as well as understand what it means.”

Experts at Nasyrul Quran Complex are also putting efforts to translate the Quran into other languages than Malay including for people in China, Vietnam, and Cambodia, he said.

“We hope that we can do it in a bigger war around the world,” he said.

"So maybe Iran could lead the way to promote the Quran in other parts of the world so that Muslims and non-Muslims would be able to understand Islam better," he added.