Archive for category Religion
I am Muslim, I don’t have a ticket to heaven
Posted by Kit in Education, nation building, Religion on Thursday, 13 August 2015
Fa Abdul | August 13, 2015
Free Malaysia Today
How can we eradicate racism when we have half brained teachers who teach absolute nonsense to our children?
COMMENT
Nine year old Alicia who goes to Sekolah Kebangsaan Sri Hartamas came home from school last week and asked her mom if she will end up in hell when she dies.
“Mommy, Lina said her teacher told the Agama class that when we die, the Malays will go to heaven and non-Malays will go to hell. Is it true?”
Eleven year old Yasmin who goes to Sekolah Kebangsaan Taman Desa was confused over who her friends should be and decided to seek her mom’s advice.
“Ummi, my Ustaz says it is haram to be friends with Olivia and Annie. He said it is because they are not Muslim. But I like Olivia and Annie, they are my best friends. Will God be angry with me if I talk to them?”
Both incidents you just read about aren’t made up. The names have been changed to protect the identities of the children but the stories are very much real. Read the rest of this entry »
In recurring religious conflicts, Muslim MPs ask where Malaysia is headed
Posted by Kit in Islam, Islamic state, nation building, Religion on Sunday, 28 June 2015
by Joseph Sipalan
Malay Mail Online
June 27, 2015
KUALA LUMPUR, June 27 ― Muslim lawmakers from both sides of the political divide have raised concerns over the seeming trend of Muslims imposing their beliefs on others, questioning if this is reflective of a wider agenda that is backed by Putrajaya to turn Malaysia into an Islamic state.
The federal lawmakers noted that the federal government appeared either unable to stop or even condoning of incidents in which Islamic sensibilities are imposed on the larger society by religious authorities and individuals.
“This issue bothers me because as our forefathers taught us, religion should be about faith and (is) personal,” Umno’s Pulai MP Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed told Malay Mail Online via text message.
“I suspect the longer-term objective of these groups is to usurp power through religious means and therefore avoid being legitimately elected.
“While I respect their motives and intentions, the elected government of the day must control the actions of these groups and act in the interest of all the citizens of the country,” he added. Read the rest of this entry »
The demonisation of secularism
Zairil Khir Johari
The Malaysian Insider
17 June 2015
Enlightenment is man’s emergence from his self-incurred immaturity. Immaturity is the inability to use one’s own understanding without the guidance of another. This immaturity is self-incurred if its cause is not lack of understanding, but lack of resolution and courage to use it without the guidance of another. The motto of enlightenment is therefore: Sapere aude (dare to know)! Have courage to use your own understanding! (Immanuel Kant)
The discussion on secularism in this country is a problematic one, chiefly because the term has become trapped in the narrow framework of identity politics dominated by the hegemony of ethno-religious nationalist discourse. As a result, secularism is now an emotive expression invoked as a label to paint its targets as anti-religion. In the Malaysian context, that always means anti-Islam.
Malaysia’s Department of Islamic Development (Jakim), the foremost religious authority in our country, for example, has issued warnings against conspiracies by “enemies of Islam” to manipulate them through ideas like secularism, pluralism, socialism, feminism and positivism. In May last year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, added “human rightism” to the list of offending ideologies that threaten the faith of Muslims.
Why has secularism come to be so demonised? Read the rest of this entry »
Umno’s hypocrisy nauseating!
By P Ramakrishnan
Free Malaysia Today
June 16, 2015
Some Umno leaders seem to have taken leave of their common sense. They don’t make sense when they speak and there is no logic in what they say.
COMMENT
The reaction from two Umno leaders exposes their hypocrisy when they came out with their ridiculous statements with regard to the DAP’s willingness to build a mosque in Kampung Pasir Tumboh in Kelantan.
According to Kelantan Umno liaison chairman Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, “The DAP’s plan to build a mosque in Gua Musang is an insult to Muslims in this country.”
Meanwhile, not to be outdone by Mustapa , Kelantan Umno Religious Affairs Bureau chairman Datuk Ashraf Wajdi Dusuki repeated the same silly statement: “The DAP’s plan to build a mosque in Gua Musang is an insult to Muslims in this country.”
Except for coming out with a sweeping statement claiming outrageously that it is an insult to Muslims in this country, none of them has cared to state in what way it would be an insult to Muslims if a mosque was to be built by DAP. Read the rest of this entry »
Death camps are a ‘blight on the soul of the nation’
Posted by Kit in Human Rights, Religion on Wednesday, 3 June 2015
— MCCBCHST
Malay Mail Online
June 2, 2015
JUNE 2 — The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) is deeply saddened by the discovery of mass graves of migrants at the Malaysian/Thai border in Perlis. We are distressed to read reports that they were victims of abuse and torture at the hands of human traffickers and that several members of our police force may have been complicit.
The exploitation, torture and killing of our fellow human beings at these “death camps” on Malaysian soil are a blight of our nation and humanity. These victims deserve more than the indignity of un-mourned deaths and unmarked graves and their souls call for our prayers and for justice.
As such the MCCBCHST calls on Malaysians of all faiths to hold prayer sessions for the solace and rest of the victims and to ask for those responsible for these “death camps” to be brought to justice.
We call upon regional and national leaders to legislate and enforce sustainable humane solutions to the long-standing challenge of refugees, migrants and stateless people being exploited and abused by human traffickers across our borders. Read the rest of this entry »
Multi-religious society: Destructive or constructive?
Dyana Sofya
The Malay Mail Online
May 15, 2015
MAY 15 — Last month, I had the honour of being selected to participate in the Australia-Malaysia Institute (AMI) Muslim Exchange Programme Visit.
The purpose of the programme was for us, the participants, to discover different perspectives on current cultural issues in an increasingly multi-ethnic and multi-religious migrant society such as Australia.
Through the programme, we were also able to exchange ideas and experiences with various communities there.
As the main objective of the programme was to broaden our understanding of inter-community relations, the state of Victoria was an obvious place to visit. Victorians originated from more than 200 countries, speak more than 230 languages and dialects, and follow more than 130 religious faiths. While their origins couldn’t be anymore diverse, they all migrated with one aspiration in mind – to find a better life for themselves and their children.
A memorable highlight of the visit was when we had afternoon tea and lamingtons (a traditional Australian treat of sponge cake squares coated in chocolate and grated coconut) at a kosher café in Balaclava.
As interesting as the lamingtons were, we were more enthralled by the conversation we had with Abraham, a rabbi and Mohsin, an imam. Read the rest of this entry »
Your faith may be weak, but mine isn’t
Syerleena Abdul Rashid
The Malaysian Insider
24 April 2015
I am a Muslim and a Malaysian who has no problem with other religions displaying their religious symbols. As a matter of fact, I have no problem sitting down and having a cup of coffee with my non-Muslim friends in a “kedai kopi Cina”, or having them eat in front of me during Ramadhan because my faith will not shatter into pieces, by the temptations of such petty things.
I know I am not the only one, and that there are countless other Malaysian Muslims who were repulsed by the idiocy displayed, in Taman Medan a few days ago. Malaysians aren’t stupid – even if the powers that be are adamant about keeping us dim-witted and daft.
We don’t need to be reminded of how gullible, some of our fellow Malaysians have become because of our inept system, favours the illogic and reward random acts of violence. Read the rest of this entry »
Strengthen the foundational structure of our nation – G40
Posted by Kit in Constitution, Islam, Religion on Saturday, 25 April 2015
The Malaysian Insider
19 April 2015
We are a group of Malaysians deeply concerned about the state of our nation. Never before in this country’s history have such stresses and strains been made to bear upon the foundational principles of nationhood which now threaten to subvert the bonds that have held all Malaysians together and kept the nation comprising the territorial components of Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak intact.
Constructed when Malaya achieved independence in 1957 under the Merdeka Constitution, the basic structure was re-examined and re-established when the federation of Malaysia came into being in 1963 with the concerns of the Borneo states taken into consideration.
Malaysia’s constitutional history records the fact that this country is a secular nation with Islam as the religion of the federation. Read the rest of this entry »
I would accept a copy of the Quran
By Kuo Yong Kooi
Malaysiakini
Mar 3, 2015
COMMENT If someone handed me a copy of the Quran, I am happy to accept it with no ill will in my heart. I have concluded long ago that all religious texts in this world are guidelines to improve human behaviours.
The unfortunate part is many people misinterpreted religious text all the time. If someone has got it right, then it does not matter what religion you are from, their action shows.
In my opinion, the rules that the fundamentalists Muslims want every Muslim to follow are not that much different from the monastic rules for the Buddhist monks and nuns. The only big difference is their approach.
Buddhists see the rules as a path for their followers to practice if and only if they want to attain Nibanna (enlightenment). The themes that Buddhism carried all through a person’s religious life are basically an invitation to explore and the gradual training. It is a personal inward journey. No amount of compulsion can facilitate a personal journey.
If a Buddhist decides to go to the beer festivals and have vice activities, that is his or her Karma. It is as simple as that. That is their business. If you want Nibanna, the monastic codes are much stricter than the rules imposed by the Taliban or IS.
A Buddhist monastic cannot have sex, drugs/intoxicants or entertainment. The Taliban can have up to four wives. Read the rest of this entry »
50 shades of religious harmony
Posted by Kit in Malaysian Dream, Religion on Tuesday, 3 March 2015
by Emmanuel Joseph
The Malaysian Insider
3 March 2015
Somehow, over the years, ‘harmony’ in Malaysia, much like ‘democracy’ and ‘liberty’, has been reduced to more of a buzzword than an accepted social norm.
We are, now, in effect, at best, an occasionally harmonious country. When it suits tourism and business interests, we put on this façade of a melting pot of culture, race and religion.
But the once-very-real concept of accepting each other as brothers and sisters of different faiths and cultures appear to have been replaced with a more practical, clinical version of harmony. Read the rest of this entry »
From Sodomy I to Sodomy II – Malaysia regressing to the darkness and repression 17 years ago when the country should be moving forward to greater freedom, justice, prosperity and confidence after the passage of almost two decades
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Corruption, Court, Economics, Mahathir, Najib Razak, Pakatan Rakyat, Religion, Sarawak on Tuesday, 17 February 2015
Wishing all Malaysian Chinese as well as Malaysians, regardless of race or religion, a Happy Chinese New Year as it is now a festivity celebrated by all Malaysians regardless of race and religion.
Chinese New Year, which begins on the second new moon after the winter solstice, has been described as the most important holiday for Chinese people worldwide.
In China, it is marked by the world’s largest annual human migrations with 2.8 billion trips made across the country in the mass exodus of students, migrant labourers, factory workers and office employees making their long journeys home to celebrate the Chinese New Year.
Chinese New Year in Malaysia has become a very Malaysian affair, despite its ethnic origins and associations.
In Malaysia, the Chinese New Year is also marked by major human migrations, but not confined to the Chinese as it affects other ethnic groups as well.
Many issues will jostle for top attention among Malaysians during the Chinese New Year. Read the rest of this entry »
Which Minister is prepared to bell the cat and move a motion in Cabinet on Wednesday to demand that Ismail Sabri should apologise for his racist call on Malay consumers to boycott Chinese business or be sacked from the Cabinet
Posted by Kit in Education, Najib Razak, Religion on Monday, 9 February 2015
The Cabinet is meeting on February 11, its sixth meeting in the new year of 2015, after playing truant for three weeks from Dec. 18, 2014 to 6th January 2015 with Ministers going all over the world on holidays in the midst of the worst floods catastrophe in living memory in Malaysia – and even the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who had to cut short his golf holidays in Hawaii, could not recall all his Ministers to return home which was why the Cabinet could not meet on Dec. 31, after missing an earlier Wednesday Cabinet meeting of Dec. 24, 2014.
The February 11 meeting in two days’ time is shaping up to be a very important Cabinet meeting – the last opportunity for the 35-Minister Cabinet to redeem itself and salvage whatever is left of its credibility by righting a terrible wrong it committed at its last Cabinet meeting in sanctioning, condoning and defending the Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri’s racist call to Malay consumers to boycott Chinese businesses.
What is deplorable and unforgivable is for the 35-Minister Cabinet to do something which all religions and all sound education systems in the world would deplore – to claim and demand that a rabid racist call on Malay consumers to boycott Chinese businesses which is clearly wrong and threatening the very fabric of Malaysia’s plural society is not only right, but must be accepted as right by all Malaysians.
It is a stand that no religion or education system can accept. Read the rest of this entry »
Pastoral letter in reference to Herald case
Posted by Kit in Constitution, Court, Religion on Tuesday, 27 January 2015
– Julian Leow
The Malaysian Insider
27 January 2015
My Dear People of God,
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 2 Timothy 4:7
We have come to the end of a long journey which began in 2008 when we were told that we cannot call God in the way the majority of our Catholics in Malaysia have been used to for centuries.
We mounted a challenge in the court to exercise our constitutional right to manage our own religious affairs. The Church took the position that the minister’s restriction went against the spirit as well as the letter of our Federal Constitution. Read the rest of this entry »
So what’s your freedom worth?
Posted by Kit in Human Rights, Religion on Saturday, 24 January 2015
Syerleena Abdul Rashid
The Malaysian Insider
23 January 2015
As the world experiences the worrying expansion of global radicalism, reports of violence and killings committed in the name of religion evoke all sorts of emotions – it propels humanity into extreme ends: you either strongly disagree or strongly agree with the atrocities committed in the name of God, religion and faith.
Many of us are still trying to make sense of the recent attacks in Paris, the battles fought by Isis and the massacres carried out by Boko Haram. These aggressions aren’t just about a series of offensive cartoons or the overzealousness of installing an Islamic caliphate or even the evil of Western education, but it is a declaration of war against freedom of expression and human rights. Most of all, it signals the breakdown of logic – the raison d’être of religious wisdom and prudence; it indicates an abrupt shift to feverish radicalism.
Every heinous attack committed by religious extremists leaves many of us wondering: what is it about religion that makes one more inclined to embrace violence and lose one’s sense of humour or common sense? Where do you draw the line between jest and insolence? Read the rest of this entry »
Church fails to get 9-man bench to hear ‘Allah’ review
by V. Anbalagan
The Malaysian Insider
11 January 2015
The chief justice of Malaysia has turned down a request by the Catholic Church to convene a minimum nine-man panel to deliberate its review application against the ban on the word Allah when the case comes up on January 21.
The church was instead informed that only a five-man bench would be constituted to hear the matter.
The decision by Tun Arifin Zakaria was conveyed to the Catholic Church by the special officer to the chief justice, Dr Alwi Abdul Wahab, in a letter dated December 31.
The letter which was sighted by The Malaysian Insider, said that the request for a full bench could not be entertained. There were no reasons given on why the request was dismissed.
On December 23, a lawyer for the church had sent a letter to Arifin, urging for at least nine Muslim and non-Muslim judges to hear its arguments on fundamental constitutional provisions relating to religion.
The letter, which was also sighted by The Malaysian Insider, had said the church wanted a quorum that reflected the multi-cultural and multi-religious diversity of Malaysian society, given the nature of the issues raised. Read the rest of this entry »
Court ruling affirms religious authorities are limited by law
Posted by Kit in Constitution, Court, Religion on Tuesday, 30 December 2014
COMMENTARY BY THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER
30 December 2014
There is the law and no one, including religious authorities, can overstep the limits of the law even if they invoke religion as a right.
For too long now, some state religious authorities in Malaysia have issued fatwas (opinions) and treated them as immutable regulations that can be imposed at will and without recourse.
Today, the Court of Appeal affirmed that these state religious authorities have no such power when it upheld a lower court’s ruling that the Federal Territory Islamic Religious Department (Jawi) was wrong in raiding and seizing copies of a controversial book from a Borders bookstore in Kuala Lumpur.
The book, “Allah, Liberty and Love” by Irshad Manji, was seized before a fatwa banning it was issued and, as such, Jawi’s actions were deemed illegal and unconstitutional. Read the rest of this entry »
Let Malaysian Christians and all patriotic Malaysians reaffirm on Christmas 2014 to provide greater support to policies and politics of inclusion where all Malaysians, regardless of politics, race, religion, gender or age can stand as one to promote tolerance, harmony and unity
Christmas 2014 Message
I had hoped that the police return of the 31 Christian hymnals meant for Orang Asli parishioners to Catholic priest Father Cyril Mannayagam in Tangkok, Johore on December 18 would start a virtuous cycle of inter-religious respect, tolerance and acceptance of Malaysia as a plural nation to end the rhetoric and politics of hate, extremism, intolerance and bigotry which had recently hounded, haunted and disgraced Malaysia.
But this was not to be, and there had been no surcease or let-up in the rhetoric and politics of extremism, intolerance and bigotry, as evidenced by the ISMA demand that Muslims should not wish “Merry Christmas” to Christians, the warning that Christmas celebrations were only a ploy by the Christian community to proselytize among the Muslims, and the tearing up by a Perkasa protestor of a DAP banner wishing “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year” in front of the Perak DAP headquarters last Friday.
But Malaysian moderates of goodwill and reason must not despair by such setbacks but must persevere in their mission for harmony, tolerance and moderation in the country.
Let Malaysian Christians and all patriotic Malaysians reaffirm on Christmas 2014 to provide greater support to policies and politics of inclusion where all Malaysians, regardless of politics, race, religion, gender or age can stand as one to promote tolerance, harmony and unity.
Read the rest of this entry »
A Christmas message to my nation
— Charles Ganaprakasam
The Malay Mail Online
December 21, 2014
DECEMBER 21 — On this stunning, life-giving harmonious day, I would like to convey my Christmas wishes to my fellow brothers and sisters who are rejoicing this holy day as a birth of Jesus on earth to redeem us from our sin which we committed by God given free will.
We should not celebrate Christmas without knowing the proper mode of celebrating it. Some celebrate this pure delightful day solely with their friends and family gathering with gleaming smiles and once it’s done, then Christmas is over and they are glad of it.
The most wonderful and meaningful way of celebrating Christmas is through serving the deprived people with pure heart and remembering them as one of our brothers and sisters. We should serve them notwithstanding by where they belong racially, culturally and religiously.
Whether the underprivileged person is in someone’s own neighbourhood or in a distant area, we must not neglect our duty to serve them. Man’s responsibility to help his fellow beings is the central essence of teaching by Jesus Christ.
The notion of serving others not only mentioned in Christianity by Jesus, but also in the teaching of Buddhism and Islam. In Islam it’s compulsory for every Muslim to pay a certain amount of money from their earning as “zakat” for the poor people. Additionally, the Hindu religion traditionally believes that act of serving the needy is for repentance for their sin in this or their previous lifetime to discharge them from cycle of death and rebirth. Read the rest of this entry »
Let the police return of the 31 Christian hymnals start a virtuous cycle of inter-religious respect, tolerance and acceptance in the country for the next 12 months and end the rhetoric and politics of hate, extremism, intolerance and bigotry
Posted by Kit in nation building, Religion on Friday, 19 December 2014
The Police deserves commendation for the return of the 31 Christian hymnals to Catholic priest Father Cyril Mannayagam in Tangkak last night and an amicable settlement of the latest religious standoff in the country over the police seizure of the books which were meant for Orang Asli parishioners.
The police and various government agencies should learn from such an uncalled-for spat and be aware of their role and duty to be extra-sensitive to promote and not to undermine inter-racial and inter-religious understanding and relations.
I fully share the sentiments of the Sabah Speaker and former Sabah Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak, who expressed dismay at the “never-ending problem” of religious controversies over the Allah word issue, hudud and the confiscation of Bibles, hymns and other Christian literature published in Bahasa Malaysia and that “Just as one incident is solved, another one cropped up”.
Let all Malaysians hope and pray that the Sabah Speaker is not correct when he blogged that “it is beginning to look like this is going to be part of the Malaysian ‘culture’ for a long time to come”, urging that Sabah and Sarawak should not “slide down the slippery slope that some states in West Malaysia appear to be heading for” but should continue to take the lead in “maintaining the solidarity between those of different religious faiths”.
Let the police return of the 31 Christian hymnals in Johor start a virtuous cycle of inter-religious respect, tolerance and acceptance in the country for the next 12 months and end the rhetoric and politics of hate, extremism, intolerance and bigotry which had dominated and poisoned inter-racial and inter-religious relations in the country. Read the rest of this entry »
Endorse call on Police to end the year of police harassment of Christians by apologizing and returning the 31 hymn books so that Christmas this year could mark a new beginning for all Malaysians regardless of faith for inter-religious tolerance, understanding and harmony in Malaysia
All Malaysians of goodwill will endorse the call by the former Bar Council president Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan on the authorities to stop harassing Christians.
The police and other enforcement officers must be educated on the 10-point agreement so that they become exemplars in promoting inter-racial and inter-religious tolerance, understanding and harmony instead of being the vanguard of insensitivity and disrespect for the diverse religions and cultures in Malaysia.
Why has Malaysia, which until recent years have been an oasis in the world for inter-religious tolerance, understanding and harmony, become an outpost for extremism, intolerance, immoderation, hatred and bigotry both on matters of race and religion?
Christmas is only a week away. Read the rest of this entry »
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