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KUALA LUMPUR, April 20 (AFP)-Malaysia has set up an Islamic council to curb "deviant" teachings and strengthen unity among the country's majority ethnic Muslims, a report said Thursday. The National Islamic Action Council held its first meeting Wednesday and enforced regulations allowing only authorized Friday sermons to be given, The Star daily reported. "[It] aims to explain the true Islamic teachings to ensure that unity among Muslims and the multi-racial society will be protected and not be undermined by the interests of political parties," Abdul Hamid Othman, a minister in the prime minister's department, was quoted as saying. Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi chairs the council, the daily said. Abdul Hamid, who is in charge of religious affairs, said Friday sermons at mosques were currently being used to hit out at the government. "Those who read out the sermon but who were not appointed by the government do it for personal interests – to focus on themselves or their opinions on issues such as politics," he said. "We want to ensure that only authorized persons read out the sermons." He did not identify any parties but government leaders have frequently accused the opposition Parti islamSeMalaysia (PAS) of “politicizing” mosques. Last month, Abdul Hamid said the government had issued mosques across the country with guidelines to ensure they do not spread "lies." PAS, which allied itself with three other parties in November's general election, made major gains among Malay voters at the expense of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's United Malays National Organization. PAS more than tripled its parliamentary seats to 27 and took control of the northeastern state of Terengganu. The government last month severely restricted sales of the PAS newspaper Harakah. Ministers accuse the party of distorting the teachings of Islam to seek votes, a charge it denied. |
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