Tajuddin Rasdi, an Islamic architecture professor at UCSI University, said visiting houses of worship like temples and churches can expand people’s knowledge, particularly in a multiracial, multi-religious country such as Malaysia.

“We are able to exchange thoughts, perspectives and so on. There are also a lot of things we can learn in terms of technology and culture,” he said in a YouTube video posted today.

Tajuddin was responding to an issue where the Perak Islamic religious department apologised to the public after organising a visit to a Hindu temple in Kuala Lumpur last month.

The visit sparked debate among netizens after a viral video featured a female participant saying there were many similarities between Islam and Hinduism.

The visit was part of a module to train and improve the participants’ confidence in preaching, especially to correct any misunderstanding of Islam, such as Islamophobia.

Tajuddin said visiting houses of worship is a favourite for tourists and it has helped boost the local economy.

He added that Muslims are also allowed to visit houses of worship as part of an official visit, citing the previous king, Al-Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, paying his last respects to the late British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, at Westminster Abbey in 2022.

“From here, it shows that we can visit if there are events and so on,” Tajuddin said.

In the past, political leaders had visited non-Muslim places of worship.

In 2017, then PAS Youth chief Nik Abduh Nik Abdul Aziz visited St Anthony’s Church in Kuala Lumpur.

In 2020, then Sabah caretaker chief minister Shafie Apdal became the first Muslim leader to officiate a religious hall for the Catholic community in Keningau, Sabah.