Religion: The Lack of Respect

Recently, I've posted on Zaid Ibrahim's take on conversion here: Zaid: Crackdown on conversions the way out of ‘Allah’ impasse

Today, I would like to expand a little more on the subject of religious conversion.

The chart above is taken from Buddhanet.net, which shows number of adherents in terms of percentage. The chart below presents the estimated absolute numbers.

Both Christianity & Islam are the world's largest religion, in that order. Adherents from both claims that their respective religion has been growing in numbers. I don't doubt it, since the world population is expanding, it's natural. But there's another important factor which has contributed to the growth, which is conversion through proselytisation.

Conversion

In light of the recent controversy surrounding the restriction of non-Muslims to use the word "Allah" which is one of the 35 words (or more perhaps?) in the list, it is imperative that we get to the root cause instead of the symptom.

As mentioned in Zaid's article, the root cause has always been conversion & proselytisation, which he suggested to be made illegal, and to which I very much agree.

Firstly, banning words will not solve the problem. Because the problem did not arise from words.

Secondly, even if the ban is lifted, it still would not solve the problem. Because the problem is not with the freedom to use those words.

We have to first ask why was this restriction implemented in the first place? Conversion.

Both would not agree to this because both wants to continue with proselytisation. And each wants to have the advantage, the upper hand... the higher ground. Which is why nobody seems to be interested to comment on Zaid's article.

This is what makes Malaysians the greatest hypocrites in the world... they would rather focus and debate on the religious scripts, history, language, who did what first, etc... chasing their own tails.

Apparently, this is not a new issue but dates back to the 80s...

MALAYSIAN BISHOPS RESPOND TO RESTRICTIONS ON BIBLES, ´SENSITIVE WORDS´ ISSUE

The bishops of Malaysia, responding to an attempt by the government to prohibit Christians from using certain words deemed sensitive to Muslims, say Christians have a right to use them all.

"Our Catholic bishops have taken up this matter and our stand is that we have the right to use all 16 words," said a report issued June 14 to Catholics by the Catholic Research Center here.

The report also listed incidents since a 1981 gazette notification banning the Alkitab (Indonesian-language Bible). This and subsequent events, it said, form a "concerted plan to deprive Christians of their rights to practice their faith freely, as guaranteed in our Constitution."

Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian language) and Bahasa Malaysia are similar.
After correspondence between Archbishop Soter Fernandez of Kuala Lumpur and the Home Affairs Ministry, the banned words were reduced to four.

"However, we are still adamant, and insist that we guard our right to pray and use whatever words we have in the Alkitab," the report said.

According to the report, Catholic Sabah, newspaper of Kota Kinabalu diocese in East Malaysia, received a letter in February from the Home Affairs Ministry prohibiting use of certain Arabic words in Christian publications.

Officials enclosed alternative words for Christians, as follows:

Prohibited words Alternative
1. Al-Kitab (Bible) Baibel
2. Allah (God) Tuhan
3. Firman (say) Berkata
4. Rasul (messenger) Utusan
5. Syariat (teachings) Ajaran
6. Imam (believe) Percaya
7. Kaabah Tidak ada gantian
8. Ibadah (worship) Amalan
9. Injil Baibel
10. Baitullah Tidak ada gantian
11. Wahyu (revelation) Revelasi
12. Nabi (prophet) Prophet
13. Syukur (praise) Terima Kasih
14. Zikir (remembrance) Mengingat/menvebu
15. Solat (pray) Sembahyang
16. Doa (implore) Memohon

The 1981 ruling stated: "The printing, publication, sale, issue, circulation or possession of the Alkitab in Indonesian is prohibited, as it is considered prejudicial to the national interest and security of the Federation."

In 1982, the Council of Churches in Malaysia (CCM) wrote to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, asking him to lift the ban.

The CCM said it "denies Bahasa Malaysia-speaking Christians their fundamental right of practicing their religion, since the Alkitab is the only version of the Holy Bible available to them for their daily devotions and public worship."

The letter and request for a meeting received no response, but the government amended the notification to say, "The above prohibition shall not apply to possession or use in churches of such publication professing the Christian religion throughout Malaysia."

This, the report says, meant the Alkitab and Perjanjian Baru (Indonesian-language New Testament) may only be used in Christian church buildings.

Possession, use or distribution in homes, shops or any other place would thus be illegal and liable to punishment.

CCM representatives, including then-Auxiliary Bishop Anthony Selvanayagam of Kuala Lumpur and Jesuit Father Paul Tan, Catholic Research Center director, met the day following the 1982 amendment.

Then-Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Musa Hitam did not attend, but Datuk Rozhan Kuntom, meeting chairperson, said Musa Hitam would lift the ban, on condition that the Alkitab not be circulated among Muslims.

"As stated, according to the provision in the amended order," the report said, "Christians (were) not even allowed to buy their Alkitab from shops, nor allowed to possess their personal copies in their homes."

Church leaders met with Home Ministry officials in 1982 to discuss the amended order, and in 1983 several of them, including retired Archbishop Dominic Vendargan of Kuala Lumpur, signed a memorandum regarding the Bible in Bahasa Malaysia, the Alkitab and related matters.

"Christ-ians are in fact unable to purchase and therefore use the Alkitab in the performance of their religious exercise, due to the prohibition of their sale throughout Malaysia," the memorandum said.

"More and more of us Christians are using Bahasa Malaysia in our daily devotions and in our Church services, but are greatly disturbed and distressed because of this constraint placed upon us by the respective ban."

"It is almost two years now that Christians have not been able to purchase the Alkitab locally," they wrote.

In 1984, the Christian Book Center in Sibu City, Sarawak, East Malaysia, received a letter informing them that copies of the Alkitab and Perjanjian Baru ordered by them would be destroyed.

Christian leaders in Kuala Lumpur urged Musa Hitam to stop the destruction of Christian Scriptures, saying "the Christian Community in Malaysia regards this as a sacrilege."

After a letter was sent by Archbishop Fernandez and other Church leaders, a meeting was held with Deputy Home Affairs Minister Kassim, who decided:

1. The Alkitab copies held in Sibu customs would not be destroyed, but Perjanjian Baru copies held in Johor customs would be returned to Singapore.

2. The government would allow Christian leaders to appoint agencies importing the Alkitab, provided the government was informed.

3. The list of words such as "Allah," forbidden to non-Muslims, would be compiled and given Christians.

After further meetings, 10 outlets throughout Malaysia were authorized to buy the Alkitab and Perjanjian Baru from Indonesia.

But, the report says, the agreement did not filter down to minor officials.

In 1984, 450 copies of the Alkitab, 200 copies of the Perjanjian Baru and 1,860 other Christian books were confiscated in Sabah.

Kuala Lumpur Church leaders again protested to Home Affairs.

"And so, as far as the importation and distribution of the Alkitab and Perjanjian Baru is concerned, where do we stand? Only 10 authorized ´agencies´ appointed by Christian Churches are permitted to import them," the report said.

- SOURCE (It's a Catholic site by the way...)

I think it is common knowledge that both Christians & Muslims have been very active, if not aggressive, in their proselytisation efforts. However, in Malaysia, it is illegal to proselytise to Muslims, but not the other way round. In fact, as I've highlighted before in previous posts, the rights of Muslims (and the converts) reign supreme over other religions.

So, if both Islam & Christianity is expanding, then which religions are declining? My guess would be the Buddhists, Taoists, Hindus, and other minority religions.

Respect

Why are some people so eager to convert others to their religion? Is it because they think they are answering a higher calling, and made it their duty to do so? Or perhaps, deep down, it is actually a lack of respect towards other religions?

And nobody does it with more zeal and passion than some new converts, whom in their warped sense of logic, feel that it is their duty to ridicule & insult their own community's traditions, culture & religion, often to the delight and amusement of their new found "brothers"... in the likes of Ridhuan Tee, Ann Wan Seng, et al. Ask yourselves, is that the right thing to do? Why do they hate their own so much?

It is no wonder that there are so many cases of body snatching for Muslim burial, child conversions and custody issues. They feel that it is their duty, and right, to claim the body for an Islamic burial despite the protests from the family members of different faith, causing untold misery and sadness to the family. So, much for compassion.

On the other side, we have the evangelist Christians, born again Christians, or other smaller denominations like Jehovah's Witness, etc. building a vast network of members and churches within the country and without. You will hardly find a Christian family who have family members from different faiths. If a member converts, they will make it their duty to convert the whole family and their relatives as well.

Why? Because they think that it is their divine duty to "save" you. Because they think that your religion is false, fake, and you will be condemned to eternal hell. So much for respect.

The fact is, there is no freedom in religion. On one hand, they demand freedom, on the other, they restrict freedom. Humans can't deal with freedom of religion.

Death

Death is often the main motivation and factor that drives a religious conversions & proselytisation. Because it is the one thing that humans fear the most. Death. The more important teachings are forgotten or neglected. Adherents are more concerned about what happens to them after death, rather than the present. And it is because of this fear & uncertainty that drives humans to seek refuge in religions. Religions that promises forgiveness for all sins, an eternal life and a wonderful place specially just for them, will attract the most followers.

Why do we see so much negative issues in religion these days? So many bad things are done in the name of religion. A religion is judged  by the actions of their followers. When religion is exploited, you will see the terrible things done which reflects negatively on that religion.

We won't see the true virtues and values of religions in politics, in the news, in wars, rallies, protests, conflicts, etc. We don't see it in powerful politicians, the rich and powerful, big corporations. Instead, we see the goodness in our everyday lives, on a personal level, in the community level. We see acts of kindness when someone offers a seat to and elder, care for abandoned animals, rendering help to the less fortunate, across race and religions.

That, my friends, is how religions are meant to work, on a personal level. Providing guidance to do the right thing, to know right from wrong. It's what you do with what you already have, that is important. It's the intention that's important, not the amount.

So are the Buddhists worried about death? Whether we end up in heaven or hell?  I think not...

Like they say... go to heaven for the climate, hell for the company... :)

Zaid: Crackdown on conversions the way out of ‘Allah’ impasse

Zaid: Crackdown on conversions the way out of ‘Allah’ impasse

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 26 — Stronger anti-conversion and proselytisation laws will let Putrajaya address Muslim apostasy and allow the Christian use of “Allah” to end a growing standoff over the Arabic word, former minister Zaid Ibrahim said today.

Accusing Putrajaya of having taken the “lazy way out” in 1988 by banning non-Muslims from using the Arabic word for God, Zaid said the government could still return religious ties to how they were before the now-soured interfaith relations and “widespread animosity” between the Muslim majority and the Christian community here.

“If Christians say ‘Allah’ is integral to their Scriptures and their faith, then let’s accept that and move on. Equally, Christians should affirm that they will respect the rights of Muslims to practise their faith undisturbed,” the former Umno leader wrote in a blog posting today titled “The way to end the ‘Allah’ row”.

“No one should engage in deceitful, coercive or unlawful activities to convert anyone else — it’s not only illegal but morally repugnant,” he added, acknowledging fears by the Muslim community of alleged conversion attempts directed at them.

Earlier in his blog post, Zaid said that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak should recognise that “Christians consider the use of ‘Allah’ to be integral to their faith despite the ‘finding of fact’ by the Court of Appeal that it was not”.

Najib should also have a special sitting with the Malay rulers to solve the “Allah” controversy and revisit the 1988 decision to ban non-Muslims from using the Arabic word for God, Zaid said.

Pointing to the “repeated public display of utter confusion” by the government on the effects of the ban, Zaid said the conflicting opinions amounted to “international embarrassment” and needs to be stopped with clear discussions by the country’s leaders.

“The prime minister and the Malay rulers must discuss this issue with detachment and clarity. They should begin by returning to the pre-1988 status quo,” he wrote.

The former law minister said that a review of the then Home Minister Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar’s reports and consultation of the religious departments in different states would show that there was “real concern” prior to the 1988 ban that certain Christian evangelists “were aggressively converting Muslims”.

The ban only served to treat the symptoms rather the real problem of Muslim conversion, he said, referring to the federal government and the state religious authorities' ban.

“It merely gazetted a few regulations banning the use of some words and thought the problem would go away. The state religious authorities took a similar route by passing laws to prevent ‘Allah’ and other words of Arabic origin from being used by non-Muslim. They thought this would stop the process of conversion,” he said.

Anticipating the outrage of the Muslim community over the reversal of the 1988 ban, Zaid suggested that the prime minister bolster his move by beefing up anti-conversion measures.

“The prime minister and the Malay Rulers can make this point to Muslims: that in exchange for the use of the word ‘Allah’ by the Christians in their prayers, publications and the Malay Bible, Christians in turn will support the enactment of special laws and enforcement mechanisms to protect the Muslims from any conversion,” Zaid said.

Earlier, he said that most Christians respect the country’s laws and would likely not mind a “special task force” by the government to look into conversions of Muslims.

The tussle over “Allah” arose in 2008 when Catholic newspaper The Herald was barred by the Home Ministry from using the Arabic word. The Catholic Church had contested this in court and won a High Court decision in 2009 upholding its constitutional right to do so.

Putrajaya later appealed the decision and successfully overturned the earlier decision when the Court of Appeal ruled this October that “Allah” was not integral to the Christian faith.

Since the ruling, churches in Sabah and Sarawak have become more vocal in pressing for their right to use the term that they say is entrenched in the 20- and 18-point agreements with the two states, insisting they will continue their age-old practice of referring to God as “Allah” in their worship and in their holy scriptures.

Islamic groups and authorities have of late also stepped up their “vigilance” against non-Muslims over their use of the word “Allah”, with a closed-door Christian event in Selangor now reportedly the subject of an investigation by the state Islamic religious department.

The Catholic Church has since appealed to the country’s top court for clarity on the religious row that has drawn deep lines between Malaysia’s non-Muslim minorities and its 60 per cent Muslim population, with the Federal Court fixing February 24 next year to hear the application for appeal. - SOURCE

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Islamic groups and authorities have of late also stepped up their “vigilance” against non-Muslims over their use of the word “Allah”, with a closed-door Christian event in Selangor now reportedly the subject of an investigation by the state Islamic religious department.

1. The only non-Muslims insisting on using "Allah" for their worship are the Christians (and Sikh community? or so I heard). People, especially politicians are fond of using general terms whenever it suits them. "Non-Muslim" means people from all other religions other than Muslims. I don't remember Taoists, Buddhists, Hindus, Jewish, Animists, and others ever making such demands. So, it is sometimes prudent to be more specific.

2. I am in full agreement with the banning of conversion and proselytisation of ALL religions. In Malaysia, it also includes Taoists and Buddhists and perhaps others as well. Everyone should be protected against each other. Proselytisation and conversions, sometimes not done willingly and even abused, have caused untold amounts of problems to the people. The Christians have been doing it for years. So have the Muslims. There are many such incidences past and present if we care to search.

3. There have been numerous cases, especially child conversions in the past. Read my previous post

Religion: Children's Conversion

There's one particular case not too long ago, in 2010/2011, which hardly got much publicity. It's the case of Tan Yi Min, a 7-year-old Chinese girl, secretly converted by her mother to Muslim without the father's knowledge.

Tan fails to obtain temporary custody of daughter

GEORGE TOWN (Jan 4, 2011): The George Town High Court here has rejected the application of assistant marketing manager Tan Cheow Hong, 36 to obtain temporary custody of his seven-year old daugher pending the disposal of the custody case.

High Court judge Justice Datuk Yaacob Md Sam, in reading out his decision today, said that the interim custody of the child, Tan Yi Min, is given to her mother, Fatimah Fong Abdullah @ Fong Mee Hui, while Tan is granted access to his daughter.....

.....Tan claimed that the incident occurred on Nov 8 when Fong showed up at their daughter's school in Butterworth, accompanied by the police and Islamic Affairs Department officials, to take away the child.

Now, why didn't Zaid offer this solution then? How come it is only seen as a problem only when Islam is viewed to be under threat?

Of course there are even more cases of Chinese as well as Hindus converting to Christianity as well. The Chinese & Indian community has been living with this for years. And more and more are being converted each year, especially the young.

The fact is, conversions to another religion from the one born into, more often than not, will create problems for the families. Both Christianity & Islam are proselytising religions. And people of other faiths should be accorded the same protection too.

I would also strongly suggest we prohibit religion in politics. Political parties should not be allowed to be associated with any type of religion at all.

If only we left each other alone and keep religion personal, it will be a much peaceful world.