The AP reports:
Malaysia’s government sought to defuse new religious tensions Monday following allegations that church leaders were conspiring to make Christianity the official religion in this Muslim-majority country.
…The allegation by two anonymous political bloggers about a plot by Christian leaders received little attention until the country’s leading Malay-language newspaper reported it on its front page Saturday under the headline “Malaysia a Christian nation?”
The Malaysian Insider and the Straits Times have further details: the two bloggers (marahku.blogspot.com and bigdogdotcom.wordpress.com) touted a “a grainy photograph showing what they described as a secret pact between the [Democratic Action Party] opposition party and pastors at a hotel in Penang on Wednesday”. In fact, the event was related to a seminar called Unashamedly Ethical, on how Christians should respond to corruption, and the the dinner was held “to honour several pastors from Sarawak” who were taking part. Jeff Ooi of the DAP was present “in recognition of the DAP team who had visited them while in Sarawak for the state election”. The photo in fact showed a normal prayer session.
One of the bloggers also highlighted a chain SMS message doing the rounds which accuses the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition of being an “anti-Christ agent”, and accused the DAP of authoring it – however, no-one knows where it has come from, and the DAP denies any knowledge.
The newspaper, Utusan, is owned by the United Malays National Organisation, which is part of the BN. The UMNO apparently sees political advantage in the idea that Christians (who make up around 10% of the population, and are mostly of Chinese ethnicity) are plotting to take over the country:
Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said these allegations were serious, and that he was awaiting a report about the Penang meeting. “If certain races resorted to raising issues in an excessive manner, it will invite reactions from other races,” he said.
Hardline nationalists and Islamists agree:
Ultra Malay group Perkasa insisted today that the post of prime minister is reserved only for a Malay-Muslim.
Independent constitutional experts have argued that there are no provisions that state the premier must be a Malay-Muslim, but Perkasa women’s wing Youth chief Zaira Jaafar argued otherwise.
She said the sovereignty of the Malay Rulers was enshrined in the Federal Constitution, so the post (of prime minister) must be filled by a figure from the majority race.
Islam is under siege in Malaysia because aggressive Christians are determined to convert Muslims who are nonchalant about their faith, Islamist groups alleged yesterday.
The Muslim Organisations in Defence of Islam (Pembela) accused Christians of strategising an elaborate plan to ensure that more and more Muslims leave the faith, which is illegal in Malaysia.
Pembela president Dr Yusri Mohamad said the Christian’s demands over the “Allah” issue as well as the Alkitab row proved that they wanted to convince Muslims to embrace Christianity and abandon Islam.
“Pembela” is also the name of an Indonesian group translated as “Islamic Defenders Front”; presumably the two are connected. Last summer, I blogged on how the Islamic Defenders Front was using rumours based on misinterpreted images to whip up anti-Christian hate in Jakarta.
As ever, one should remember that although the accusation of conspiring against Islam is false, if Muslims wish to “embrace Christianity and abandon Islam” or to complain about constitutional matters they should be free to do so.
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Can we trade these fools for the jackasses who think Muslims are about to impose Sharia on America?
So different yet so similar.
“if Muslims wish to “embrace Christianity and abandon Islam” or to complain about constitutional matters they should be free to do so. ”
Well that will never happen in Malaysia – the NRD (National Registration Department) has to issue every citizen from the age of 12 onwards a “Mykad” identification card.
On this card are details of religion. Because of a 1988 amendment to the constitution, issues of religion/religious identity cannot be handled by secualr courts and are entirely down to the Syariah (sharia) courts.
Therefore, the NDR will not allow converts from Islam to change their religion on their ID cards unless they get approval from the Syariah courts which operate in all 13 states and have the power to imprison people for “re-education.” So far, only one living person has been allowed by any Syariah court to convert from Islam to another religion (Buddhist in this case, for a woman who originally converted from Buddhism to Islam to marry an Iranian who dumped her after a couple of weeks of marriage.)
Malaysia is an institutionally racist society, since 1969 enacting a “Ketuanan Melayu” policy of giving Malays (who are regarded in the Constitution as being the “original” inhabitants of Malaysia and de facto Muslim) privileges in housing, jobs and government patronage, over the Hindus, Buddhists and Christians who make up around 35 % of the population.
Unfortunately, there are too many people in the West who think that Malaysia is a progressive country.
It is not, and despite articles in the constitution (written in 1949 when the country gained “merdeka” or independence) declaring that people are free to choose their religion, in practice, they are not free at all in issues of religion.
To the point that anyone who is found trying to convert any Muslim to another faith from Islam gets a fine of 3,000 ringgits.
DONT FIGHT YOUR OWN/REGIONAL RACE , BECAUSE OF FOREIGN/FARAWAY RELIGIONS!
Some far-east Asians (Chinese,Indian,Malays,Siamese,Philippines) who have embraced religions originating from Middle-East are fighting each other defending religions which came not from their own land, not from their ancestors and not even from their time.
In Malaysia, the Malays are over-zealously defensive of a foreign faith system. A religion founded NOT by any of the Malays alive now, founded NOT even by any of their ancestors, not originating from their birth place or even from neighboring land or countries.
In Indonesia,its even worse, Malays(Sunnah sect) kill Malays (Ahmadiyah sect) or another Malay (Christianity faith) One religion is originally from Arab, another sect from India , another religion from middle east too, but here in Indonesia the Malay race kills another Malay race over problems not originally existing in their own race. Much of religious problems are still among the original founders in Middle-East.
In Philippines, natives of Muslim religion wage holy war against natives of christian religion. they forget that, before the invasion of faraway religions, there are of same Philippine race,same culture,same language but once faraway religions invades, they suddenly feel different from each other and promote hatred for each other!!!
In Thailand, a Siamese race ,who embraced a faraway religion (Islam) are killing another Siamese race of another foreign religion (Buddhism) . Both religion not from Thailand but both people are of same Siamese race! Why kill your own people for the sake of foreign faith systems?
Stop being stupid, we asians must stop fighting each other and instead we help the others to stop fighting too.
“Some far-east Asians (Chinese,Indian,Malays,Siamese,Philippines) who have embraced religions originating from Middle-East are fighting each other defending religions which came not from their own land, not from their ancestors and not even from their time.”
HELLO!!!
While the irony of the violence associated with “forign” religions is evident, nationalism….or racial and ethnic solidarity…are not necessarily a better mechanism for ensuring social peace than “foreign” religions.
Note the common element in all this strife – Islam – whose founder taught to convert the whole earth to Islam by deceit and the sword. Learn a bit about Islam because it’s coming to you.
See http://www.prophetofdoom.net. It’s also prophecied in detail in the bible
see http://www.fishhouseministries.com