Posted on

IGP Khalid and AG Gani must explain why they have abdicated from their responsibility to uphold the rule of law and preserve the peace in Malaysia in allowing Perkasa to break laws and commit breaches of peace outside Federal Court

It has been reported that the 500-odd people mobilised by Perkasa outside the Federal Court in Putrajaya this morning hearing the appeal on the use of the term ‘Allah’ turned unruly and threw objects at the front-door of the Palace of Justice, with many trying to breach the police barrier and enter the court building.

This is the report from The Malaysian Insider by Jennifer Gomez entitled “Perkasa supporters upset by church lawyers, try to get into courthouse”:

“The crowd outside the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya turned unruly just before the Federal Court stood down with many trying to breach the police barrier and enter the court building.

“Shouting and screaming, some members in the crowd threw a microphone and water bottle at the glass door entrance to the building.

“The crowd was 4m from the main door as police stood guard.

“Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali said that the crowd advanced towards the main glass door of the Palace of Justice as they had got word that Catholic Church lawyers questioned why the use of the word ‘Allah’ by Christians was being made an issue now when it had been in use in the weekly Herald for 14 years prior to 2009.

“’The supporters heard that this was the submission made by the Catholic Church lawyer, so they got upset.’ He added that no one had instructed them to advance.”

Continue reading “IGP Khalid and AG Gani must explain why they have abdicated from their responsibility to uphold the rule of law and preserve the peace in Malaysia in allowing Perkasa to break laws and commit breaches of peace outside Federal Court”

Posted on

Interfaith harmony in shambles as government agencies stoke the fire

Ahmad Mustapha Hassan
The Ant Daily
28/02/2014

OUTSPOKEN: As Malaysia marches into the unchartered waters of the future, I have good reason to be less optimistic about the country. Day in and day out, groups with neo-fascist agenda keep creating problems to disunite the people. Even government agencies have jumped on the bandwagon to add more fire to this unholy movement.

Jakim, the department entrusted with Islamic development, blames all quarters about the perceived threat to Islam. The latest rumbling accuses the Christians and the Jews of undermining Islam. This is a fantasy which only the illiterate and the confused can create. But then Jakim has not been very constructive in its actions since its inception in 1991. It only gropes around to justify its existence by creating fear among the Malaysian Muslims.

This story about the Christians and the Jews undermining Islam is an archaic one that has been overused and misused.

Jakim’s strategy is to portray all and sundry as being the enemies of Islam. It never tries to strengthen the religious beliefs of the Muslims. Its actions therefore are very negative in nature.

It has not done anything to strengthen interfaith harmony. Instead, it is destroying the goodwill that had been built up in the past. Never in the history of the country had fingers been pointed that Islam was facing threats from other religious groups. Continue reading “Interfaith harmony in shambles as government agencies stoke the fire”

Posted on

Mokhzani Mahathir’s low position on wealthiest Malaysians’ list

– Koon Yew Yin
The Malaysian Insider
February 28, 2014

Every few days or so, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, our former Prime Minister, comes out with a new story lamenting the loss of Malay and Muslim power, and complaining how it is in fact the non-Malays or non-Muslims who are the ones that are really running the country.

There are many variants of this argument that he comes out with, such as that the DAP is running the show in Pakatan; or that PKR and PAS leaders have sold out to the DAP; or that the Christians have an ulterior motive in raising the Allah issue and are to be blamed for the rise in tension and resentment in the country.

In his latest skirmish with Muslim orthodox groups in his blog over his support of Kassim Ahmad who has been critical of the ulama class and its over-reliance on the Hadiths, Dr Mahathir has seen it fit to claim that the result of the ongoing schism in the Muslim world between those who are called ulama and the non-ulama is that “therefore Muslims have become weak and they have to beg for support from non-Muslims”.

Why must he bring the non-Muslims into this latest controversy if not to stoke more fear and distrust among Muslim of their non-Muslim brothers and sisters. This was no spur of the moment, slip of the tongue or foot in the mouth accident. It was carefully crafted and meant to share with his Malay and Muslim audience at his blog, as well as for reproduction in the other media to “enlighten” the Muslims. Continue reading “Mokhzani Mahathir’s low position on wealthiest Malaysians’ list”

Posted on

Islam At A Crossroad in Malaysia

by Din Merican
February 8, 2014

I am writing this as I contemplate the fate of our country while resting after being involved in a nasty accident last week. I feel very sorry that my wife’s car. Dr Kamsiah’s black beauty is now a total wreck and we are not sure how long the adjusters will assess the loss as a total loss or whether it has to be repaired.

I hope the insurance company and its adjusters would be kind to my wife and I by not prolonging the painful process of making an insurance claim. The positive thing from that accident was that the driver of the other car, a non-Muslim Chinese and I, a Malay Muslim, did not have a quarrel. We resolved matters in the manner that accidents are resolved. We showed care and compassion for each other to ensure that neither of us suffered grievous bodily injury. We were civil despite our different race and religion even in those tense moments. We behaved as how civil people behave. We behaved like we are one people, like true Malaysians.

What was heartening also was that I received an immediate message from my young friend, Lawyer Rosli Dahlan, who heard about the accident although he was away. He was so concerned to make sure that we were not injured and made prayers for me from Makkah. Apparently, he was in Jeddah for a meeting and entered Makkah to perform umrah and made doa’ (prayers) for our safety.

To Rosli, I say thank you. At my ripe age, doa from well wishers are very meaningful. Alhamdulillah, I am safe in one piece although I was pretty jolted when the airbag exploded. I pray to Allah that the driver and passengers of the other vehicle will also recover as I have. Continue reading “Islam At A Crossroad in Malaysia”

Posted on

Islam, freedom and salvation

Zairil Khir Johari
The Malaysian Insider
February 19, 2014

Islam and freedom are two inseparable concepts, though one may not arrive at this conclusion based on the behaviour of many Muslims worldwide, particularly those claiming to carry the torch for the religion.

When the Prophet Muhammad introduced Islam in the 7th century, he not only brought with him a new deen (faith), but also through it delivered fundamental moral and social reform to the Arabian society. As it were, Islam brought light to end the darkness of slavery, female infanticide and social injustice.

At its height of glory during the Islamic Golden Age from the 8th to the 13th century, the Arab-Muslim world transformed from a warring, largely illiterate society to one characterised by major intellectual advancement in culture, mathematics, life sciences and philosophy.

It was an era of inclusiveness, symbolised by the establishment of the Baitul-Hikmat, or House of Wisdom, in Baghdad, where scholars both Muslim and non-Muslim converged to exchange and produce knowledge. Inspired by the call to ijtihad (independent reasoning), the goal was always to expand and include, and not to retreat and exclude. Continue reading “Islam, freedom and salvation”

Posted on

Call on IGP to form a special team to investigate the incessant incitement of racial and religious hatred, conflict and tension to create another May 13 riots in the past few months and to nip the nefarious and treacherous plot in the bud

Today is the 111th birth anniversary of Bapa Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman.

Sadly, there is nothing much to celebrate to mark the greater realization of Tunku’s Malaysia Dream – to make Malaysia a haven of peace, harmony and happiness – as 44 years after Tunku stepped down as the founding Prime Minister of Malaysia, the country has never been more polarized racially and religiously as today.

Nobody can now claim that Malaysia is a haven of peace, harmony and happiness?

In fact, Malaysia suffered the ignominy ten days ago when a Pakistani website gloated go that “Malaysia no longer land of peace and tolerance” after the latest outrages against racial and religious harmony in Malaysia – the Molotov cocktail attack on a church in Penang a day after the provocative banner, “Allah is Great. Jesus is the son of Allah” was hung outside five churches in Penang without the knowledge of church authorities and the vandalism of eight gravestones in a Christian cemetery in Kuantan.

Two days ago, some 30 members of six NGOs styling themselves the Council of Islamic NGOs staged a protest in Kuala Lumpur and conducted a pagan ritual where they slaughtered chicken and smeared their blood on a banner featuring Pakatan Rakyat leaders and offered RM1,200 to anyone who would slap DAP woman MP for Seputeh Teresa Kok and provide photographic evidence of their action.

Their actions were not only anti-women but anti-Islam as it is totally against Islam as the religion of peace and compassion. Continue reading “Call on IGP to form a special team to investigate the incessant incitement of racial and religious hatred, conflict and tension to create another May 13 riots in the past few months and to nip the nefarious and treacherous plot in the bud”

Posted on

Seeking thought and civilisation

Tunku Abidin Muhriz
The Malay Mail Online
February 7, 2014

FEB 7 — Normally, I return to Negri Sembilan on Fridays, but sometimes I will stay in Kuala Lumpur and perform my prayers at the mosque named after the second of the Rightly Guided Caliphs in Damansara Heights, where there are familiar faces from the homes and offices nearby. On occasions, I go to the National Mosque (where the Heroes’ Mausoleum is located) or the Federal Territory Mosque.

Many mosques in our country and the world have been memorable, but if I had to choose my top three (apart from the Masjid Al-Haram in Makkah and the Masjid Al-Nabawi in Madinah which I went to during umrah in 1997), they would be Masjid Tengku Tengah Zaharah near Kuala Terengganu, the Gallipolli Mosque outside Sydney and the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, each for different reasons. Special mention must be made of the Mezquita in Cordoba and the Hagia Sofia in Istanbul: both former places of worship embody more history and culture than most cities on the planet. Perhaps more tangibly through buildings such as these, rather than through books and lectures, does the historical diversity and complexity in Muslim civilisations really impress.

Still, within the small geographical area of the Luak Tanah Mengandung around Seri Menanti in Negri Sembilan, each prayer experience is different. Even though the Friday khutbah might be standardised statewide, as a worshipper your thoughts are affected by the location, decor and assiduousness of upkeep of the mosque, the melodies used by the bilals and imams in their recitations, and interactions with others in the congregation. Continue reading “Seeking thought and civilisation”

Posted on

When places of worship are turned into hatred factories

Zurairi AR
The Malay Mail Online
February 7, 2014

FEB 7 — As it is often with the government, the left hand rarely — if ever — knows what the right hand is doing.

How else do you explain that in the same week Prime Minister Najib Razak urged Malaysians to listen to the “voice of reason”, another government agency urged Muslims to do exactly the opposite?

In its Friday sermon last week — which came barely a day after the prime minister’s Chinese New Year address — the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) had brazenly singled out Christians and Jews as the so-called “enemies of Islam.”

I say “brazen” because the sermon-writer in Jakim finally found the guts either by purpose or by mistake, to finally name the usually unnamed “enemies.” Continue reading “When places of worship are turned into hatred factories”

Posted on

Jangan mengasari wanita

– Izmil Amri
Roketkini
February 7, 2014

NABI Muhammad S.A.W mendidik umatnya supaya menyantuni wanita. Antara hadis baginda yang termasyhur, mafhumnya; yang terbaik daripada kalangan kami adalah yang melakukan yang terbaik untuk wanitanya. Justeru Islam, sebagai agama keamanan dan mendidik akhlak, jelas sekali melarang lelaki daripada bertindak kasar terhadap wanita.

Lelaki yang mengasari wanita, bahkan yang mengancam untuk menggunakan kekasaran ke atas wanita adalah lelaki yang bacul. Ini semua orang tahu. Sesiapa pun yang mengasari perempuan pastinya akan dilihat seolah-olah syaitan bertopengkan manusia. Tidak kira apa alasan sekalipun, perempuan tidak wajar dikasari. Baik dengan tutur kata atau kerja buat serta perlakuan fizikal.

Tuhan mencipta perempuan supaya disantuni. Bukan untuk dikasari, diherdik atau dicaci maki. Tanpa perlu dipertimbangkan apa jua latar belakang keturunan, agama, pendidikan, perempuan tetap perempuan. Dia mungkin isteri seseorang atau adik, kakak dan ibu kepada seseorang.

Maka perempuan tidak boleh dikasari. Ini asas yang jelas nyata. Tidak ada lelaki yang waras akalnya suka melihat titis air mata wanita. Lelaki yang sentiasa dahaga dan giat memakan air mata wanita itu ialah lelaki yang dayus, pengecut dan punya kebarangkalian besar tidak mempunyai organ kejantanan yang mencukupi. Continue reading “Jangan mengasari wanita”

Posted on

Deviant sect gives M’sia two tight slaps

Mariam Mokhtar | February 7, 2014
Free Malaysia Today

The behaviour of the protesters yesterday reminds us of religious fanatics in Afghanistan or deepest Pakistan.

COMMENT

The deviants who claim to be Muslims and who wish to preserve the dignity of Malays by offering a reward to anyone who slaps Seputeh MP Teresa Kok are deranged.

They should know that there are no winners in the escalating tensions within the country. The latest act of bloody provocation has tarnished Islam and brought further disrepute to the Muslim community.

These deviants have also insulted the memory of Bapa Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman who was born on Feb 8, 111 years ago. If he was alive today, he would have shed tears to see the country which he led to Merdeka being destroyed by men who are not worthy to be called leaders.

The men who claim to represent the Council of Islamic NGOs slaughtered four chickens and then daubed blood on the faces of opposition representatives, portrayed on a banner. They were upset by Teresa’s satirical video.

Did they feel good making that spectacle? Judging from the news reports, they acted like crazed men. Their behaviour reminds us of religious fanatics in Afghanistan or deepest Pakistan, who have just beheaded a man, and in their euphoria, celebrate by shooting their AK-47s into the air.

If these deviants are not censured, how long will it be before we descend to the point of no return and these loopy individuals bathe themselves in blood, whilst shouting “God is Great”? Continue reading “Deviant sect gives M’sia two tight slaps”

Posted on

Teresa Kok: PAS kecam provokasi melampau

Feb 07, 2014 | HARAKAHDAILY

KUALA LUMPUR: PAS kesal dengan tindakan provokasi perkauman melampau akhir-akhir ini.

“Tindakan melampau ini bukan sahaja boleh mencetuskan suasana tidak harmoni dalam negara bahkan ia akan mengundang pelbagai reaksi negatif terhadap Islam,” tegas Naib Presiden PAS, Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man.

Katanya, tindakan menyembelih ayam untuk upacara yang bertentangan dengan akidah Islam tidak seharusnya dibiarkan, seolah-olah ianya selaras dengan kehendak syarak.

Beliau berkata, PAS mengesahkan agar semua pihak bertindak mengikut lunas perundangan dan membawa sebarang isu yang dianggap melampau kepada pihak berkuasa.

Lebih sedih, ujar beliau apabila tindakan menggalakkan orang menampar dengan habuan wang itu disasarkan terhadap seorang wanita. Continue reading “Teresa Kok: PAS kecam provokasi melampau”

Posted on

Ashamed of the un-Islamic acts of bigots

– Ravinder Singh
The Malaysian Insider
February 07, 2014

As one who went to school with Malay children, then worked and lived with and among Malays, and am still living among Malays and very much in close contact with so many of them in my daily activities, I feel ashamed of the actions of the group calling itself “Council of Islamic NGOs”.

Over the years, from my Malay friends and colleagues, and from reading of Islam, I learnt that Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance. I still firmly hold to this belief.

I am therefore disillusioned and ashamed by the acts of a few bigots calling themselves the “Council of Islamic NGOs” who held a public demonstration where they slit the throats of two chicken, smeared the blood on poster of persons in the opposition camp, then stomped on the pictures of those persons. The poster had the words in bold “13 MEI 1969 DALAM IGAUAN” (igauan can mean talking in one’s sleep). I leave it to readers to interpret that.

Are these bigots not the real threat to Islam as they bring disgrace to the Islam preached by the Prophet? Were their actions not “syirik”?

Jakim must come out to tell peace-loving Malaysians whether the actions of this small group are in accordance with the teachings of the Prophet. If yes, then an explanation is in order as to how they are so. If not, then what action is Jakim going to take to rehabilitate this small group of bigots who only bring shame to the religion.? Continue reading “Ashamed of the un-Islamic acts of bigots”

Posted on

Interfaith forum blames education system, national schools for racial polarisation

by Jennifer Gomez and Shahirah Rashid
The Malaysian Insider
February 06, 2014

National schools are the breeding ground for racial polarisation and the education system is the root cause of the problem plaguing the country now, an interfaith forum was told yesterday.

Parents Action Group for Education (PAGE) chairman Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim told an audience of about 65 at the interfaith forum titled “A dialogue for harmony”, that it was all about Malay supremacy in schools now.

PAGE was among 40 civil groups and non-governmental organisations at the forum in conjunction with World Interfaith Harmony Week, jointly organised by the Global Movement of Moderates and Promotion of Human Rights (Proham).

“The only solution is for the glory of national schools to be returned, which means we need more subjects in English in national schools, because right now, national schools are Malay schools and nothing more,” said Noor Azimah.

She said certain Muslim groups funded by Putrajaya were also the source of the problem.

Sisters in Islam executive director Ratna Osman also touched on the education system, saying her sons were told in school that they could not mix with non-Muslims.

“I was shocked when an ustazah told them they cannot be with non-Muslims because they are not like us, because we are supreme human beings.

“I am disgusted because that is not the kind of education which I received 30 years ago,” Ratna said. Continue reading “Interfaith forum blames education system, national schools for racial polarisation”

Posted on

Let all Malaysian moderates commemorate WIHW 2014 with resolve to save Malaysia from extremists and traitors who want to tear the country asunder with incessant incitement of racial and religious hatred, conflict and tension

Today, the world begins a week-long celebration of World Interfaith Harmony Week (3rd – 9th Feb) first proposed by King Abdullah of Jordan and endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly in October 2010 to spread the message of harmony and tolerance among the followers of the three monotheistic faiths and all the world’s religions.

It also seeks to promote the common basis of “Love of God and Love of the Neighbour, Love of the Good and Love of the Neighbour” among religions to safeguard world peace.

Malaysia was in the global forefront last year in the celebration of World Interfaith Harmony Week.

The Prime Minister not only visited the places of worship of the nation’s five main religions in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur, but also addressed a gathering of religious leaders at his official residence in Seri Perdana.

At this gathering, Najib stressed that the “World Interfaith Harmony Week” sought to raise awareness and understanding between religions, for universal peace and drive the world to be more progressive and prosperous.

He said that all faiths in principle promote moderation, through conduct and words.

He also boasted that “if there is a country which wants to showcase itself as a model of multiracial unity, I don’t think there is a country better than Malaysia”.

Najib would not dare to repeat such a boast 12 months later in this year’s World Interfaith Harmony Week, as Malaysia has fallen from its pedestal as a model of interfaith harmony.

In fact, in the past weeks and months, Malaysia has become a sick example of “interfaith disharmony” in a multi-racial multi-religious country. Continue reading “Let all Malaysian moderates commemorate WIHW 2014 with resolve to save Malaysia from extremists and traitors who want to tear the country asunder with incessant incitement of racial and religious hatred, conflict and tension”

Posted on

Jakim’s Friday sermon yesterday a triple regret, going against Najib’s positive response to Pakatan Rakyat’s olive branch for national reconciliation, his advocacy of Wasatiyyah for ASEAN and world conduct of nations and World Interfaith Harmony Week 3-9 Feb

The Friday sermon of the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim) yesterday saying that the division among Muslims is not only caused by a weak faith but also because of the instigation of Christians and Jews is a triple regret as it goes against:

• The Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Cabinet’s positive response at its Cabinet meeting on 29th January 2014 to the Pakatan Rakyat’s olive branch reiterated by PR leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Sunday for a Barisan Nasional-Pakatan Rakyat Leaders’ Summit on national reconciliation to check worsening national situation in the country, in particular the worst racial and religious polarization in the nation’s history as a result of incessant incitement of racial and religious hatred, conflict and tension by a small group of reckless and irresponsible persons bent on destabilizing the country through lies and falsehoods, even to create another May 13;

• Najib’s advocacy of Wasatiyyah (moderation in Arabic) as important policy in ASEAN and world conduct of nations – affecting not only Islam but also in respect of all other faiths; and

• The World Interfaith Harmony Week (3 – 9 February 2014) proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly on 20th October 2010 as a way to promote harmony between all people regardless of their faith as “mutual understanding and inter-religious dialogue constitute important dimensions of a culture of peace”.

The question that needs to be asked is whether Jakim officials who prepare the Jakim Friday sermons are aware and support the Prime Minister and the Cabinet on inter-religious harmony and dialogue, and in particular to Najib’s promotion of the Global Movement of Moderates (GMM) and the “Wasatiyyah” concept as well as Najib’s support for the World Interfaith Harmony Week every February? Continue reading “Jakim’s Friday sermon yesterday a triple regret, going against Najib’s positive response to Pakatan Rakyat’s olive branch for national reconciliation, his advocacy of Wasatiyyah for ASEAN and world conduct of nations and World Interfaith Harmony Week 3-9 Feb”

Posted on

Between God and Allah

Wall Street Journal
Jan 14, 2014

Malaysia tries to stop Christians using the Bahasa word for God.

For nearly 200 years non-Muslim residents of present-day Malaysia used the Arabic and Bahasa word “Allah” to refer to God. Seven years ago, the government began an unnecessary and provocative push to ban them from doing so in print. Now Malaysian police are accusing a Catholic priest of sedition after he announced that churches in the state of Selangor would continue using the A word in their local-language services.

At the heart of the dispute is prominent Catholic priest Lawrence Andrew. In 2007, Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar banned Father Lawrence Andrew’s church newspaper from printing “Allah.” Father Andrew fought the ban in the courts and eventually lost in the Court of Appeal last October. In November, the sultan of Selangor took the campaign a step further and extended the ban to Bahasa-language Bibles and churches. Now Father Andrew is being investigated for violating the edict under the draconian Sedition Act. Continue reading “Between God and Allah”

Posted on

The ‘Allah’ Issue in Perspective – Part 2

By Kee Thuan Chye
news.malaysia.msn.com
14 Jan 2014

Yesterday, I looked at the ‘Allah’ issue from the time it started to what it has become today, and how we are now trapped in a web of confusion spun from diverse interpretations of the Court of Appeal’s decision on the use of the word ‘Allah’ by The Herald, as well as the “one-policy, two-countries” implication arising from Prime Minister Najib Razak’s 10-point solution.

In the midst of such confusion, how do we judge who is right – those who claim that ‘Allah’ is exclusive to Muslims or those who insist that it is their constitutional right to practise their religion the way they have been doing it for ages, including referring to God as ‘Allah’?

How do we deal with the rising fervour on both sides, Muslim and Christian, as they seek to defend what they think is right? With Father Lawrence Andrew, the editor of The Herald, who said on December 27 that Christians would continue to use ‘Allah’ in all Selangor churches, and with the Solidariti Umat Islam Klang members who protested in public against his statement?

How do we deal with Perak Mufti Harussani Zakaria’s demand for the arrest of the Malays who turned up at a church in Klang to show solidarity with Christians? Continue reading “The ‘Allah’ Issue in Perspective – Part 2”

Posted on

Show courage in ‘Allah’ row, Zaid tells Pakatan

The Malay Mail Online
January 14, 2014

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 14 — Pakatan Rakyat (PR) must stand firm in its support of non-Muslims’ use of “Allah” and not allow itself to be cowed by fears of a backlash from the Muslim community, former minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim said today.

The former PKR member said the pact should have shown the courage to support the proposal of three Selangor DAP assemblymen to amend the state law at the centre of the current religious row, instead of criticising them for their “hastiness”.

“Pakatan can only lead the country if it is brave enough to offer solutions to the difficult religious and ethnic issues that Umno seems adept at creating.

“Pakatan can only be stronger if they can take on Umno on these issues by presenting comprehensive solutions and not shying away as they are prone to do,” he wrote on his blog today. Continue reading “Show courage in ‘Allah’ row, Zaid tells Pakatan”

Posted on

First Cabinet meeting of the year is the farce of the decade – decision not to have a decision!

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak disappeared for ten days just before 2013 and the start of 2014, leaving behind a government which seems not only clueless but rudderless about the clutch of five national crises which came to a head during this period – nation-building, economic, educational, security and on good governance.

When Najib resurfaced to chair the first Cabinet meeting of the year after a disappearance of 10 days – will the Prime Minister’s Office please inform Malaysians where he went to as no one knows where was our Prime Minister between Dec. 25 to January 5! – Malaysians heaved a sigh of relief, expecting that there would at last be leadership and direction to end the drift and lack of leadership and vision in the critical 10-day transition from 2013 to 2014.

But a great disappointment was in store for Malaysians for there was only deafening silence from the Cabinet the whole of yesterday. Continue reading “First Cabinet meeting of the year is the farce of the decade – decision not to have a decision!”

Posted on

Besmirching Allah’s Name By Trying to Protect It

By Imam Muhammad Musri

I’m not Malaysian. I haven’t visited Malaysia. Nor have I engaged in intense academic study about Malaysia. So I don’t claim to be an expert on all the local dynamics that led Malaysia’s high court in October 2013 to declare it illegal for non-Muslims to refer to God as Allah, which led recently to hundreds of Bibles being seized from a Christian group because they used the world “Allah” to refer to God.

But I am a Muslim scholar and an Imam who has memorized the Qur’an. And I’m fully convinced that the Malaysian court’s decision runs counter to the core values and spirit of Islam. Moreover, I call on the Malaysian high court when it hears the appeal on February 24, to correct what I believe is a tragic mistake.

My understanding is that, because of their use of the word Allah to refer to God, certain non-Muslims have been accused of trying to mask their true identity and, by stealth, woo Muslims away from the Islamic faith.
Continue reading “Besmirching Allah’s Name By Trying to Protect It”