By Farish A. Noor
Oct.1, 2008
It has been many years, more than two decades in fact, since I last enjoyed celebrating Eidul Fitri anywhere in the world. Over the past decade Eid has always been a poignant moment for me, as I reflect on how badly things have deteriorated for Muslims the world over. It is [...]

Teresa Kok Is Still On Their Target, But For a Different Reason Now
From Malaysia Wave
The powers that be has failed. They attempt to use Teresa Kok as the bogeyman for Malays has failed. Their attempt to create feeling of anger and dissatisfaction among the Malays against DAP has failed.
What’s more important, the Malay dissatisfaction they [...]

To many concerned Malaysians, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, has shown his true colours yesterday – he is not that open, liberal and tolerant after all.
He laid down two edicts for his second administration:
• No open forums or dialogues on religious or racial issues as they can undermine peace and stability [...]

by Azly Rahman
Must engaging in dialogue on religion be painful? Must it be greeted with hostility? Or is it a moot question—that the answer lies in what we failed to have done through our education system, decades ago?
I have faith that we will one day be ready to appreciate interfaith dialogue. On this [...]

Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said yesterday that the Bar Council’s persistence in going ahead with a forum on conversion to Islam has triggered extreme reaction from certain quarters, which in turn would threaten the country’s harmony.
He added that he had expected the extreme reaction to occur as the council ignored advice to [...]

By Farish A. Noor
I have just read the reports on the internet about the goings-on that led to the disruption and early closure of the public forum organised by the Bar Council on Conversion in Malaysia over the weekend. Apart from the other rather offensive remarks that were featured in the various reports that I [...]

The police yielding to pressure to disrupt the half-day Bar Council forum on conversion to Islam at 10 am in Kuala Lumpur today is a most adverse reflection on law and order as well as religious harmony in Malaysia on the eve of the 51st Merdeka anniversary.
Malaysia has failed a major test in nation-building [...]

[News Flash 2 at 10.02 am: A few minutes ago, a woman participant went up to the floor mike defending the forum, but was met by shouts by protestors demanding the immediate end of the forum - forcing Bar Council President Ambiga Sreenevasan to announce its closure.]
[Flash - Just informed that police accompanied [...]

By Farish A. Noor
Over the past months Indonesia has witnessed, once again, mass demonstrations and mobilisation on its streets. Throughout the month of May, the campuses of the country spilled open and large demonstrations were organised in almost every major city across the Indonesian archipelago to raise awareness about the rising costs of living and [...]