MELAKA, Malaysia: The Chinese Muslim Association in Melaka (Pertim) on Tuesday attempted to allay fears from other ethnic groups in Malaysia that ethnic-based mosques would not threaten the country's Islamic unity. Pertim president Mohd Mansor Yap Abdullah told reporters that the Chinese Muslim mosque to be built in Melaka near the 1Malaysia Square was “representative of all the communities in the country.” The issue appears to have risen as a result of the Chinese population planning to use Mandarin in the mosque for services. “For example, the Indian Muslims in Kuala Lumpur use Tamil in the delivery of the Friday sermon, like how the Chinese Muslim mosques in Kelantan and Perak use Mandarin in their preaching. Nevertheless, other communities also perform prayers at these mosques,” Abdullah argued. Construction of the Melaka Chinese Muslim mosque will begin at the end of this month. It is expected to be completed in early 2014. He said the language used or the name of the mosque only reflected the identity of any one community, “but the more important thing was the individual's intention to perform prayers.” He said that though the Friday sermon would be delivered in Mandarin, it would have to be approved by the Melaka Islamic Affairs Department (JAIM). “The use of Mandarin would facilitate the process of preaching to the estimated 3,800 Chinese Muslims in Melaka,” he said. Abdullah continued to say the association “would consider installing a screen to display the Bahasa Malaysia translation of the sermon delivered in Mandarin for the benefit of other communities using the mosque.” He said the first Chinese Muslim mosque in Melaka and the third in Malaysia would feature Chinese architecture, with the construction of two domes, a large tower, two archways and a layered roof as attractions “to draw the Chinese Muslim society to the house of worship.”
