Religious unity not govt’s agenda
Since when has Christianity become the ‘enemy of the state’, so much so that a seminar is deemed necessary to brainwash young Muslims into hating everthing to do with Christianity?
With such chronic hatred against the Christian community in place, where does Malaysia today stand in relation to religious tolerance? Does the nation still have what it takes to own up to the fact that the spirit of muhibbah or goodwill between Malaysians of different races has, like an avalanche, crumbled, burying deep any hope of reconciliation between people of different faiths in this country?
Jeswan Kaur, Free Malaysia Today
Does religious harmony count for anything in this country of 28 million people? Hardly, as far as the Barisan Nasional (BN) government is concerned.
Had racial unity been a priority for Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, he would have wasted no time in scrapping tomorrow’s seminar about the alleged “threat posed by Christianity”, the world’s largest religion.
The seminar is themed “Pemantapan Aqidah, Bahaya Liberalisme dan Pluralism Serta Ancaman Kristianisasi Terhadap Umat Islam. Apa Peranan Guru?” (Strengthening the Faith, the Dangers of Liberalism and Pluralism and the Threat of Christianity towards Muslims. What is the Role of Teachers?).
The uncalled-for weekend programme is organised by the Johor Education Department and the Johor Mufti Department and will involve 110 religious teachers from all the national schools in the state.
Islamic Affairs Minister Jamil Khir Baharom is all in support of the seminar, saying it was meant to protect Muslims and not to hurt any quarter.
He said the seminar will be held according to the laws that allowed states to hold such programmes if Muslims were deemed threatened.
“The states have the right to safeguard the interests of Muslims, it is within their jurisdiction. The interests of Muslims is important and we must consider this,” he said.
What threat is Jamil talking about and where is it coming from? Has he, like the Johor Mufti Department, become so “delusional” about the fate of Muslims in this country that teachers are now being used as scapegoats to validate Muslim belief in Islam?
Who is posing a threat to the Muslims of this country? To character-assassinate Christians is not going to help improve matters when truthfully, the problem lies within the Muslim community itself, its ummah or community being swayed by the emotions of extremist minds.
Since when has Christianity become the “enemy of the state”, so much so that a seminar is deemed necessary to brainwash young Muslims into hating everthing to do with Christianity?
Is anarchy what Jamil and the Johor Mufti Department hope to achieve, using this seminar as a conduit to unleash their hatred towards the Christian community?
Proselytisation no child’s play
An officer with the Johor Mufti Department has said the state authorities “fear young Muslims will be confused and not understand” when faced with attempts to convert them, albeit there being no attempts at proselytisation.
Should one deduce then that it is as easy as “ABC” to seduce the young Muslims into renouncing their faith? Is their belief in Islam so shallow that they can easily give up their trust in Islam?
Christians form 9.2% of Malaysia’s 28.3 million-strong population.
The seminar has triggered yet another outrage among the country’s Christians amid an already souring relations between them and the country’s majority Muslims over several sensitive incidences in the recent past.
Church leaders had come out to condemn the Johor mufti and education department for allowing the seminar to take place, saying it endorsed the unproven claim that Christians were threatening the Islamic faith.
Religious unity not BN’s agenda
With such chronic hatred against the Christian community in place, where does Malaysia today stand in relation to religious tolerance? Does the nation still have what it takes to own up to the fact that the spirit of muhibbah or goodwill between Malaysians of different races has, like an avalanche, crumbled, burying deep any hope of reconciliation between people of different faiths in this country?
But then religious unity was never of any interest to the federal government under BN. Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has unabashedly made it known he will do everything in his power to uphold Malay rights and privileges.
It is just as hurting when former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad last year cautioned the non-Malays against being too comfortable calling Malaysia as their home. The non-Malays, he said, had to be indebted to the Malays for being granted the citizenship that enabled them to reside in Malaysia.
As always, Najib has no “comments” on topics that concern harmony between Malaysians of different faiths. He and his band of ministers are keeping their mouths shut on the controversy tomorrow’s seminar has caused. What should the rakyat make of this “deafening silence”? Is it wrong to affirm that BN and Najib do not care a fig about the declining confidence plaguing rakyat of different faiths?
Why then the show by Najib of sealing formal ties with the Vatican in July last year, in what was seen as a high point in religious relations?
