PUTRAJAYA: 2024 Perdana Maulidur Rasul Award winner Datuk Kipli Yassin, 57, said he tried to emulate Prophet Muhammad's method of spreading Islam with wisdom in his role as the Sarawak mufti to preserve the state's multiethnic society.
He said the method was evident in any fatwa issued by the Sarawak Islamic Council, which could be understood by both Muslims and non-Muslims about the boundaries of their religious life.
"In the delivery system, there needs to be an awareness on our part to maintain harmony between followers of different religions and among the Muslim community itself," Kipli said in an interview after the national-level Maulidur Rasul Celebration 2024/1446H today.
He said he was taught to spread Islamic teachings with wisdom and gentleness in his 40 years of service, beginning from age 16.
In facing the challenges of the digital world, he also encouraged Muslims to emulate the Prophet's method, particularly in facing the spread of various ideologies due to the widespread use of social media.
"If we talk about the beauty of Islam, we should consider that every aspect of human life needs to reflect what was shown by Prophet Muhammad.
"We should see how the Prophet, in his time, faced the challenges of dakwah and transformed the situation from a period of ignorance to the light of Islam, leading his people to knowledge and civilization," Kipli said.
The mufti was awarded the 2024 Perdana Maulidur Rasul Award today in recognition of his significant contributions to Islamic development at both federal and state levels.
Since his appointment in 2010, Kipli has chaired the Syariah Committee on Islamic Accounting Standards under the National Accounting Department, overseeing the creation of the world's first such standard.
At the state level, Kipli played a key role in upgrading the Sarawak Mufti Office to the Sarawak State Mufti Department in 2013, increasing its workforce from 12 to 86 personnel.