THE ROLE OF STATE MUFTI DEPARTMENT IN GENERATING NATIONAL ECONOMY THROUGH ISLAMIC ASTROTOURISM

Abstract

Tourism based on astrofiqh or Islamic astrotourism is generally a recently developing sector in the whole world. Malaysia is no exception in advancing this sector to help generate national revenue. However, astrotourism is considered difficult to develop as Malaysia is said to be not quite ready to go toward that direction due to limited ability and resources. Thus, this research aims to identify the role of the State Mufti Department in developing the astrotourism sector in Malaysia. This research discusses astrotourism attraction available in Malaysia. The research approach is qualitative with case study design using document analysis and observation. Research results find that the State Mufti Department plays its role in developing the astrotourism sector through its own tourist attraction, involving a number of places in the respective States with historical, archaeological and astronomical elements, such as observatory, planetarium and dark sky area, besides organised programs on astronomy all year round. All these can be further developed and advanced to increase public awareness of astrofiqh, at once helping to increase national revenue through the programs and services provided.