Tensions rise ahead of planned protests in Malaysian Bible dispute

Tensions rise ahead of planned protests in Malaysian Bible dispute

Catholic weekly ‘The Herald’ editor, Pastor Lawrence Andrew

While churches in Malaysia deny propagating Christianity to the Muslim community, Muslim organisations are planning a protest outside churches in and around Kuala Lumpur.

KLANG: While churches in Malaysia deny propagating Christianity to the Muslim community, Muslim organisations are planning a protest outside churches in and around Kuala Lumpur.

Organisers of the protest on Sunday say they are holding it to defend the exclusive use of the word, "Allah", meaning god in Islam.

Religious tensions are on the rise in predominantly Muslim Malaysia after a state Islamic religious authority raided a Christian distributor earlier in the week.

The authorities seized hundreds of Malay language Bibles and arrested two people for allegedly propagating Christianity among Muslims.

Churches and Christian lawyers say the accusations are baseless and demand that the authorities show proof.

They feel that their right to religious freedom, as guaranteed under the federal constitution, has been compromised.

"There is no evidence that the church has used the Alkitab (Malay language Bible) to propagate the faith to Muslims. There is no evidence at all. If there is evidence, the authorities must bring those to light," said Francis Pereira from the Catholic Lawyers Association.

"The people who come to our church are people who come to worship. We are not calling to Muslims, ‘come over, come over, join us’. No. We are not doing such things. And we have never done that. It's ridiculous," said Lawrence Andrew, parish priest at St Anne’s Church.

Many Malaysians are concerned with what they see as a rise in Islamisation.
Last year, a court of appeal ruled that a Catholic weekly could not use the word "Allah" in its Malay publications.

More recently, churches in the state of Selangor were reportedly ordered to stop using the word "Allah" in their prayers.

The Sultan had decreed that the word "Allah" was exclusive to Islam, which is the official religion of the state.

But some churches are refusing to comply. They say that the state Islamic religious authority, better known as JAIS, cannot dictate what churches can and cannot do.
"The constitution guarantees every person who professes his religion to practice it in freedom,” said Father Lawrence.

“We have only one constitution so when people divide the nation into two, we are saying we have to have two constitutions? We are having a separatist movement within the country? They must be charged in court for that.”

Some Muslim leaders, including those from the ruling party UMNO, have labelled Father Lawrence a traitor for going against the Sultan.

Non-Muslims in East Malaysia -- which is predominately Christian -- are allowed to use the word "Allah" but the word is still off limits to non-Muslims in West Malaysia.
The church of Our Lady of Lourdes has been the target for Muslims, who are planning a protest outside the church on Sunday.

There are some 400, mostly East Malaysians, of Christian faith regularly attending services there that are conducted in the local Malay language.

The police have given assurance that no protesters will be allowed to go near the church and that all the services and prayers can be conducted as per normal. - SOURCE

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Archbishop Emeritus Murphy Pakiam

Archbishop Pakiam prays that PM will remember where he came from

Archbishop emeritus Murphy Pakiam (pic) has urged Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to cement his own call for an end to Muslim-Christian hostility by withdrawing Putrajaya’s legal challenge against the Catholic Church’s use of 'Allah.' The Archbishop, retired recently and now administrator of the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur, made the call in response to Najib’s speech at the National Christmas Open House in George Town, Penang when he called on followers of the two faiths to set aside their differences and seek common ground.
"What did he say? Even if the world talks and laughs about this 'Allah' issue, Malaysia will not allow (its use by non-Muslims), we (government) will defend the exclusivity of its use.

"This is not a man who was educated in our Catholic school. By talking like that, you are just a bickering politician. I am praying that Allah will enlighten him to become a statesman," the Malaysiakini news portal reported him as saying today.

Najib was educated at St John's Institution, adjacent to the Archbishop's house where the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) annual Christmas high tea was held today.

Pakiam said Najib was the one who should not stop preventing Christians from using the word 'Allah'.

Pakiam used Najib's experience in school as an example of how the Christian community had helped Najib as a boy in a Catholic school and respected his Muslim faith.

"From a small boy, from primary school until form 3, he (Najib) was there (St John's Institute).
"When it came to catechism (classes), his mother was disturbed because he was a small boy going to a (Christian) religious class.

"But his mother had confidence in our brothers and phoned Brother Matthew who said: 'Please don't worry, we will see that he doesn't go in'," the portal reported.

As such, Pakiam said he hoped Najib would do his duty and serve all Malaysians.
"You think I am not angry? But he is the prime minister, so I have to pray to God to please help him do his duty for the whole country and not just Umno," he said.

The Court of Appeal had in October overturned a High Court decision which ruled that the Home Ministry's ban against Christian publication The Herald from using the word 'Allah' was unconstitutional.

The Church is now appealing the decision at the Federal Court in the hope of reinstating the High Court's ruling.

Pakiam added that Najib's insistence of exclusivity for the word 'Allah' was inciting right-wing groups against the Christian community.

"He knows the law. He knows the judgment the judges gave and he (Najib) is saying: 'Oh, it's allowed there (Sabah and Sarawak), but be careful in peninsula. Don't stir this up. You are playing with fire.'
Legal experts have questioned the government's move to permit the use of the word 'Allah' in East Malaysia, yet continuing defending the Court of Appeal's decision.

The Court of Appeal had ruled that the word 'Allah' was "not an integral part of the Christian faith", a decision that affects Christians in both East and West Malaysia. - December 25, 2013. - SOURCE

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It seems that times have changed... these days, everyone blames the Prime Minister for everything. Yup. It's either the government's fault, or the ministers', or the opposition's (depending on the state you are residing, coz the opposition in one state is the government in another.). Sometimes correctly sometime not. However, there's one thing in common regardless of the position one takes in any issues. Respect, actually it's the lack of. There's just no more respect in society. There's no manners, no ethics, no respect. Are Malaysians heading back to the stone age?

This issue has been playing on for a few years already. Frankly, it looks like those involved have no intention whatsoever to find an solution. It's winner takes all. All or nothing. No compromises.  Then how do we expect to find a solution?

Now, even religious leaders & religious groups, have become radical.

Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) & Selangor UMNO planned a protest outside churches, which were called off. Stupidity has no limits.

Selangor Umno chief shelves church protest, other Muslims vow to rally on

Selangor Umno chief Datuk Seri Noh Omar. — Picture by Saw Siow Feng

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 4 — Amid public backlash, Selangor Umno chief Datuk Seri Noh Omar has cancelled a planned demonstration outside a Klang church tomorrow but warned that other Muslim groups are likely to hold gatherings to protest the Christian use of the word “Allah”.

When are these politicians going to stop?
Do they have limits?
Do the people still want to be goaded and led by these politicians?
Do the people from various faiths want their religious leaders to take radical stand?

We just love to play up race & religious issues don't we?

Just a reminder... There's a limit before everything comes crashing down. When it happens, nobody can stop it. The people should not depend on politicians to save you coz they are the ones who started it in the first place. And they will be the first ones to disappear when the SHTF. We've already seen this all over the world.

Is peace, harmony & stability important anymore? Or is winning all that matters?

Society can co-exist peacefully if left alone. Any issues can be solved when we have wise community leaders. Because at the very basic level, the needs of every community is the same... food, shelter, education, jobs, health, etc. But if issues are intentionally played up, creating tension & insecurity in society for an extended period of time, it eventually breaks down.

In the name of politics, youths are radicalised. In the name of politics, different races are pitted against each other. In the name of politics, religion is exploited.

At the rate things are going, even if we manage to avoid conflicts, Malaysian society will reach a point where it won't be hospitable anymore, especially so for the minorities.

What does the future hold?

Different races will be more divided, not that it matters anymore because by then, 90% of the population will be Malays & Bumiputras. You see, all these racial & religious issues are merely distractions and in some cases misplaced pride. It's always about the money. Wealth. Don't believe me? What is the NEP about? Why Buy Chinese Last campaign? ASB? Bumiputera Economic Empowerment Program (read here > BEEP)? (Now we know it costs 32 Billion to keep the PM's job) hehehe...

In short, why do the Malays need to build a protective wall around themselves? Money! Always was, always will be. The worst nightmare for the rich Malay elites is the day their poor fellowmen come for them, which is why the Chinese bogeyman is part of their protective wall. But as usual, instead of questioning honestly why the Malays still form the majority poor, the blame is deflected to the Chinese... But before the Malays start accusing the Chinese, please bear in mind that whatever the Chinese have (the fortunate ones at least - there are still poor Chinese around in case you haven't noticed), whatever they own, they worked & saved & paid for it. They did not get it for free ok?

I'm digressing...

Alright... so... where does all these lead to? In the near future, the divide among the Malays & Bumiputras will become more apparent. Specifically, the wealth disparity within their community. Today, it's already visible but just camouflaged by noise. If today the government is already stretched thin having to continue with the affirmative policies, imagine what it will be like as the population grows in years to come. Guess where the money will come from? The rich Chinese? I doubt you will find many then.

And also, as a result of the growing numbers of Muslim Malays, Islam & it's culture will dominate & permeate every aspect of life, from education to career & industry. The only reason Malaysia has been able to maintain & project it's current image in the past is due to the multi-racial composition of her population. Once Malaysia becomes more mono-racial, everything will change. There are statistics, forecasts, all sorts of data & charts out there that you may use for your own analysis. From my observation, it will be an uphill task to go the middle way. Just ask the Sultan of Brunei - Brunei to bring in tough new sharia law (Now, let's be honest and don't say that the possibility has not crossed your mind.. hehehe).

Today, we often hear stories from the older generation, those from the generation before independence, describing a totally different society & way of life back then. What's the difference between then and now? Take note of the constants & difference, and we will be able to more or less gauge what's in store in years to come. Minorities, especially, should take note. Whatever you are happy & unhappy about, the change you are trying to make, your hopes & aspirations of what the country ought to be... is it real or imaginary. And do you really have the power to make it happen? At what cost?

The truth is, how the future pans out, largely depends on the Malays themselves. From now onwards, the question is, "Apa Melayu Mahu?"

And with that, we shall begin the New Year which will see many beginnings, continuations and endings, from now on, and in years to come...