Non-halal books? What’s next?
We do not want this action by Jakim to be a precedent which, if left unchecked, will lead us to follow in the footsteps of the Chinese during the Qin Dynasty where they burned books and buried their scholars, or the Nazis when they burned Jewish literature, or the Spanish conquistadors when they destroyed the Aztec codices.
Dr Kamal Amzan, Free Malaysia Today
Muslims can now can look forward (or backward) to bookstores having halal and non-halal sections nationwide.
Publishers get ready. Books about yoga, the poco-poco dance and even Lee Kuan Yew’s “Hard Truths to Keep Singapore Going” will be placed in the non-halal section.
If you haven’t heard, Jakim has declared Lee’s book haram.
But do not worry, no rush, you still have ample time. It took Jakim nine months before they realised Lee Kuan Yew’s book was not suitable for Malaysian Muslims.
According to The Malaysian Insider, 15 books/magazines were declared haram by Jakim. Upon going to their site, I found out that one of them is “Majalah Tora Aman Doraemon — Kisah Penciptaan Dunia”.
Though Doraemon made the cut, romance books by Mills and Boons, books like “Poem of the Man God”, “The Da Vinci Code”, “The Anarchist Cookbook”, “Misteri Nusantara”, “Koleksi Cerita Hantu Asia” did not make it to the list.
And if I may add, anyone reading and believing in Doraemon needs a trip to Tanjung Rambutan.
Lee Kuan Yew’s book may be offensive to some but then again it is not compulsory reading. I know I am pushing the fantasy further but even IF it is made compulsory reading, Jakim should not have banned it but instead pursued legal and civil way to deal with the matter.
They must realise that we are not a country of mullahs and ayatollahs, but a constitutional democracy that protects the civil rights of everyone, and yes that includes Muslims.
Muslims are therefore free to choose what to read and insinuating we will become less of a Muslim just from reading certain books, or doing yoga, is very, very insulting; demeaning and superficial to say the least.
Books, works of art, public debates are essential to critical thinking, problem solving and the maturing of a society. It creates a nation of critical thinkers who look for and find answers outside the box. Banning books no matter how controversial they are cannot be the answer, what more in the name of protecting Malaysian Muslims.
The country needs thinkers, at this juncture now more than ever.
