PETALING JAYA (Feb 9, 2011): Married Muslim couples who are looking forward to a romantic Valentine's Day dinner on Monday may find themselves attending a compulsory counselling session to "mend" their faith, as the act is deemed to be against a 2005 fatwa which forbids Muslims from taking part in the celebrations.
Selangor Islamic Religious Department (JAIS) deputy director (public relations and publications) Nurhamizah Othman said: "The message is for Muslims to not be influenced by Western cultures – many which are not in line with Islamic teachings."
"There is no special day in Islam for a person to celebrate their love, as it is something that should be done everyday," she said.
She said, the counselling sessions are organised on top of enforcement measures for acts punishable under the Selangor Syariah Enactment.
While stating that details of its activities are confidential, Nurhamizah disclosed that JAIS had over the past years conducted similar enforcement and educational initiatives during periods when there are higher tendencies for such acts to occur.
According to the National Fatwa Council ruling, practices associated with Valentine's Day celebrations often have elements of Christianity or mixed with immoral acts.
As such, Muslims are forbidden from associating themselves with it, even if it means dining in a restaurant on Valentine's Day.
PAS youth wing head Nasrudin Hasan Tantawi was quoted in an AFP report today as saying that religious authorities in the northern states of Kedah, Penang and Kelantan as well as central Selangor will carry out immorality checks on Feb 14, as part of a campaign to encourage a "sin-free" lifestyle.
"We have identified spots in these states which are used by lovers and we are deploying local religious department officials as well as party members to stop such sinful acts like casual sex which violates Islam," he said.- http://bit.ly/dKRU2F
