KOTA KINABALU: Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun clarified that he had never said that the contents of the Quran and the Bible are similar.
“I think my speech at the Waterfront Kaamatan on the 23rd last month may have been misunderstood or misinterpreted. I was actually talking about the common and universal values of all religions, in particular between Islam and Christianity, not comparing the Quran and the Bible,” he said in a statement yesterday.
He said that there are similarlities in the teachings of the two religions more so that Islam has always considered Jesus as a prophet of Islam.
“It will not be correct to say that the contents of the Quran and the Bible are the same just as Islam and Christianity are two different religions,” he said.
Masidi said in his speech he was actually urging Malaysians, especially Sabahans to look at the common values of both religions as a reason for us to be united and not to allow the differences to be exploited to create hatred and enmity between people of different religious beliefs.
“Many Sabahans have relatives on both sides of the religious divide and it is incumbent for us to show to the rest of the country that Sabah is the State to emulate when it comes to racial integration and religious tolerence,” he added.
Masidi also said he understands religious sensitivity and has taken the initiative to issue a clarification to avoid misunderstanding by giving the correct meaning and intepretation of his reported statement on the issue.