Mufti Zulkifli to attend world meet on Jerusalem issue

PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia continues to be held in high regard by other Islamic countries for its assistance and views on matters related to the Muslim world.

The country’s leading mufti, Datuk Dr Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri, has been invited to represent the country at the Al-Azhar World Conference To Support The Cause of Jerusalem, where discussions are expected to be held and a resolution found towards objecting to the US action of recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

The conference, jointly organised by the Islamic institution Al-Azhar As-Syarif and Majlis Hukamak Muslimin (Muslim Council of Elders), will be held on Jan 17 and 18 at the Al-Azhar Convention Centre in Cairo, Egypt.

Zulkifli, who is also the Federal Territories mufti, has been invited to express his views at the meet, where Muslim thinkers from all over the world are expected to congregate.

In an interview with Bernama recently, Zulkifli said Al-Azhar has always been concerned with issues affecting Muslims, particularly in defending Jerusalem, which is the third holiest city for the people of the faith.

“In the invitation letter, we were also informed of the current situation of Jerusalem, which has greatly affected the Muslim world following the acknowledgement of the city as the capital of Israel by the United States.

“Against this development, the world needs a formula from Islamic thinkers and ulamas, with Al-Azhar taking a lead on this matter,” he added.

The meeting is expected to pro- duce a single voice of unity and partnership among the participants to come up with the best solution for the Palestine issue, he said.

On Dec 6, US President Donald Trump announced the US acknowledgement of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and ordered the State Department to start planning the transfer of the US Embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.