SABAK BERNAM, Oct 6 - Nearly 8,000 Islamic education teachers under the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (JAIS) are helping expand the state’s dakwah network through more contemporary, community-focused approaches, said Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari.
“These teachers are part of the preachers, of which we have a very large number. Overall, we have around 7,000 or nearly 8,000 teachers under JAIS. Their function is very significant, not only during school hours.
“In fact, some of them also hold credentials to teach at mosques and deliver religious lectures and talks to the community,” he said when met after officiating the closing ceremony of Selangor’s Perdana Islamic Education Teachers Gathering and the launch of the National Dakwah Programme at Dewan Seri Bernam here today.
Amirudin said this extensive dakwah network should be strengthened by equipping teachers with an understanding of current issues, including technological and AI developments, to ensure dakwah approaches are relevant in changing times.
He added that teachers could also be equipped with expertise in areas closely related to communities’ daily needs, such as muamalat, zakat and wealth distribution.
He also said dakwah should also be expanded beyond mosques and schools to bring them closer to people’s everyday lives.
“Not only at mosques, at schools, outside schools, on football fields and in many other places. That is what is meant by uslub and the true path of dakwah, or a more diverse approach.”
He said cooperation with the Malaysian Islamic Dakwah Foundation (YADIM) could be strengthened through the sharing of expertise and regularly held programmes, adding that the initiative could be expanded to the district level to involve more teachers who preach to their communities.
“This approach does not necessarily need overly rigid modules, but instead emphasises skills and understanding that allow teachers to deliver dakwah more effectively according to communities’ circumstances and needs,” said Amirudin.