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THIS HAS BEEN REPORTED ONLINE NEWS PORTER BY "THE STAR": Published: Thursday August 15, 2013 MYT 12:00:00 AM Updated: Thursday August 15, 2013 MYT 7:57:15 AM All can share place of worship, says ex-mufti KUALA LUMPUR: Followers of all religions are allowed to share a common place of worship as long as it is not gazetted for a particular faith, former Perlis mufti Datuk Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin said. But once a place is declared as a masjid (mosque) or musalla, he added, no other faith can use it for worship without special permission from Muslim leaders. Dr Asri was commenting on the Johor incident, where a “surau” at a resort in Kota Tinggi was used by a group of Buddhists to meditate. Following this, the 45-year-old owner of the resort – a Singaporean Muslim with Malaysian PR status – was arrested after a video clip titled “Surau dijadikan tokong” (A surau becomes a temple) surfaced last week, showing a group of Buddhist tourists chanting prayers there. Dr Asri said that under such circumstances, a place could not be considered a proper “surau” if it was privately-owned. “Once private, the owner has the right to let anyone use it for any activity,” he said. However, to respect all religions and cultures, he added, one should be sensitive enough to prepare separate places for various religions. Dr Asri said Islam is a very tolerant religion and that Prophet Muhammad had once allowed Christians from Najran to perform prayers in a mosque. Following the incident in Johor, there have been calls for the “surau” to be demolished. Dr Asri has described the move as “outright ridiculous”.