PUTRAJAYA: ISLAM should be seen as a religion of peace and beauty which has brought great benefits to the world, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said yesterday.
The prime minister said, unfortunately, there were certain quarters who had misinterpreted and abused the tenets of the religion in order to carry out acts of violence.
This, Najib said, had led to the spread of Islamophobia, where Islam was portrayed as a religion of terrorism and evil.
“That is not Islam. We need to project Islam as a religion of light, peace and social justice for the betterment of society, not only for Muslims, but for the world at large.
“We need to fight for the true meaning of Islam,” Najib said when opening the Putrajaya International Islamic Arts and Cultural Festival (PIIACUF) 2014 here yesterday.
The festival is aimed at giving visitors a unique experience of Islamic life and culture by showcasing its artistry and craftsmanship.
Najib said the event would help to showcase the beauty of Islam to the world as well as position Putrajaya as a centre of Islamic arts.
“The design and building of Putrajaya drew much of its inspiration from Islamic architecture. In many ways, Putrajaya is an embodiment of the finer aspects of Islam and has the potential to project these aspects to the wider world.”
Present were Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom and Putrajaya Corporation president Tan Sri Aseh Che Mat.
Meanwhile, at an earlier event, Najib said Islam did not forbid its followers from drawing knowledge from any source.
Speaking at the launch of three books published by think tank organisation Inmind (Mind Development Institute), Najib said, however, in the pursuit of knowledge, it was important to be careful to draw only the positives and disregard the extreme aspects of certain teachings.
“As Muslims, it is important for us to strengthen ourselves with knowledge to prepare us for worldly challenges and spiritual growth.”
Najib congratulated Inmind for publishing the books which, he said, would be beneficial for readers to learn strategies and organisational management based on the principles of Islam.
He said the books would be used by all Umno training bureaus.
The main book, entitled Organisational Management: How to make decisions based on Islamic principles, is written in the style of manuals and aims to guide its readers on how to manage organisations and make strategic decisions.
The second book is entitled Making decisions based on Islamic principles and the third is entitled The Islamic research manual.
The latter two books complement the first.
Inmind, an organisation formed this year, is committed towards empowering the minds of the people through educational programmes and activities.