Will Malay architects be allowed to design churches, temples and hotels serving alcohol? By Prof Dr Mohd Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi

Focus Malaysia : IT seems that Malaysia is headed into the tempurung (coconut shell) world of extreme conservatism, and I wonder how far it will get.

I can understand the unity government and Pakatan Harapan (PH)-led states taking a strict stand on religion-related issues like alcohol, visiting churches, Bon Odori and the Mentega Terbang film because the opposition comprising PAS and Bersatu have gone on a populist and narrow-minded campaign of racialising religion as a vote winner.

With a Malay population being the product of public schools and public universities, this kind of narrative will suit well the simple minds of the graduates as well as those who are T20 retirees.

So, as a professor of architecture, I need to pose several questions so that I can get my lecture notes right.

Can Muslim architects design churches?

First, will Malay architects be allowed to design houses of worship other than mosques? For this, I called up a famous Malay architect and asked him whether there is a rule about this in the professional practice or ethic of Malaysian architects.

The Al-Bukhary mosque in Kedah named after corporate tycoon Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary

He said there was no such thing and in fact he had also designed a church while working in Australia. I told him I would not mention his name in my article because that might invite stupid comments from the Malays in the social media and even a reprimand from a religious office.

Then I called up another architect who was definitely NOT a Malay or Muslim and asked the same question. He, too, answered in the same way and in fact, he had designed one of the mosques in Pahang. I also said I would not put his name in my article.

I then remembered another Malay architect who designed one of the most important mosques in Malaysia that had a unique never-before-seen “dome” or roof. At that time, he said there was no local engineers who could design the new structural system, hence he got a German engineer to do it. I forgot to ask if the engineer was a Muslim.

It should be noted that in my research on traditional timber Malay houses and traditional three-tiered roof mosques in Melaka, Negri Sembilan and Penang, Chinese craftsmen were hired to build some of these buildings.

My students never found out if these Chinese were Muslims or not. The Blue Mosque in Turkey was once Hagia Sophia Church, pride of the Christian empire.

Will there come a time when these ultra conservative Malay lawmakers and religious officials proclaim that Malays must not design other houses of worship and that a Malay contractor must also not build other houses of worship as they can be deemed as perhaps “not halal”?

Read it all here..........