| Azlan Othman |
AN INSIGHT into the history of coexistence in the Sultanate of Oman, the virtues of the Omani people and elements needed to attain coexistence was provided by the representative to the Adviser for the Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs of the Sultanate of Oman, Dr Abdulla Said Khalfan Al Mamari, in his lecture on ‘Islam in Oman for common ground with shared values’.
The lecture was held in conjunction with an exhibition titled ‘Tolerance, Understanding, Co-existence: Oman Message of Islam’ held yesterday at the Arts Centre, Jerudong International School (JIS).
He said Oman historically plays a crucial role in trade with the world including Brunei Darussalam.
“The traders spread the word of Allah the Almighty and invited people to Islam by words, not by sword. We accepted Islam without any force.
“It was mentioned in history that trade relations between Oman and eastern countries go back to thousands of years and that there are many Malay words derived from Omani Arabic language indicating such relations. Other similarities are like politeness and generosity that we share together.”
He added that Islam is a religion of peace and mercy. “It is forbidden in Islam to kill people including non-Muslims or to insult people. What we see these days are some groups of people, who claim to be Muslims, but killing Muslims by detonating bombs. We should not be misguided by terrorists and fanatics.”
The lecture was attended by the Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs, Dato Paduka Awang Haji Abdul Mokti bin Haji Mohd Daud.
Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs, Dato Paduka Awang Haji Abdul Mokti bin Haji Mohd Daud, attending the talk.
Meanwhie, Haji Harun bin Haji Junid, Deputy Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Religious Affairs and the co-chair of the working committee of the exhibition, said as human beings, common values are what bring us together.
“Even though Brunei Darussalam and the Sultanate of Oman are two different nations with different language and culture, we share similar values, the values of Islam as the Ad-Diin, which is the complete way of life.
“It is hoped that from the lecture we could learn about each other, explore further our common grounds and thus improve not only the relationship between the two countries, but more importantly, our relationship with Allah the Almighty,” he said.
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