Muhibah is not religious pluralism: the understanding of religious coexistence among religious leaders in Malaysia
Muhibah is a social philosophy on pluralistic coexistence in Malaysia. It has a profound historical background that deserves to be learnt and appreciated by the Malaysian people and its leaders. Religious pluralism however, is a philosophy developed by John Hick as a response against the Christ...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Institut Kefahaman Islam, Malaysia ( IKIM)
2016
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://irep.iium.edu.my/53454/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/53454/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/53454/1/MUHIBAH%20IS%20NOT%20RP.pdf |
| Summary: | Muhibah is a social philosophy on pluralistic coexistence
in Malaysia. It has a profound historical background
that deserves to be learnt and appreciated by the
Malaysian people and its leaders. Religious pluralism
however, is a philosophy developed by John Hick as a
response against the Christian exclusive interpretation
of the doctrine of salvation. Ironically, of late, there
has been a global call which persistently promotes
religious pluralism as the philosophy of the day. In Malaysia, the awareness and support for religious
pluralism emerged among the religious NGOs at
the beginning of the 21st century. Since then, there
has been been persistent propagation of religious
pluralism in Malaysia. Muhibah on the other hand,
remain as a blueprint on unity and national integration
in the government policy. This article tries to provide
a theoritical and historical comparison between the
two terms to understand their meaning and historical
significance. The article also shares some of a research
findings on 14 religious leaders’ understanding of
muhibah and religious pluralism. Their understanding
is analysed and compared to gauge which of the two
terms (according to them) better relates to religious
coexistence in Malaysia. The article reports the
research findings which record higher understanding
of muhibah compared to religious pluralism. It is
therefore suggested that muhibah is a better philosophy
for understanding of religious coexistence in this
country. |
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