AG has erred, we won’t return seized bibles, says Mais
(Malay Mail Online) – The Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais) has said it will not return the bibles seized from the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM), claiming that the Attorney-General has erred by deciding not to pursue charges in the case.
In a strongly-worded statement this morning, Mais insisted that there are grounds to “prosecute” BSM under the Selangor Non-Islamic Religions (Control of Propagation Among Muslims) Enactment 1988.
The council said it will ignore the Selangor government’s directives for the bibles to be returned, saying that the matter was “beyond” the purview and jurisdiction of the state.
“The reason given by the Attorney-General not to prosecute parties involved can confuse Muslims, because the Attorney-General had opined that the Al-Kitab was a collection of books from the Torah, Zabur (Psalms) and Injil (Bible) whereas the ‘Berita Baik’ referred to the Bible,” Mais said in a statement.
“We are well aware of the actions and efforts of some irresponsible parties who sully Islam by abusing phrases or names which are based on the Al-Quran in order to make it easier to proselytise to Muslims,” said the statement signed by Mais chairman Datuk Mohamad Adzib Mohd Isa.
“Mais and Jais as enforcers are responsible in safeguarding the sanctity of Islam especially in Selangor,” the statement added.
Mais also said it will urge the Selangor deputy state prosecutor to refer the case to the courts to obtain a court order.
The bibles in question were seized by the Selangor Islamic religious department (Jais) which comes under the purview of the council.
Using a Selangor state law that prohibits non-Muslims from using “Allah” to refer to God, Jais raided the premises of the Bible Society of Malaysia on January 2, seizing over 300 copies of the Malay-language and Iban-language bibles which used the word.
On Wednesday, Malaysia’s Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail said there will be no charges in the case.
BSM said in April it will move its headquarters to the federal government-ruled Kuala Lumpur to get “better protection” and avoid future bible seizures by religious authorities.
BSM also said it will also stop importing bibles through Selangor’s Port Klang.
It said it will send the bibles through Penang or directly to east Malaysia where most of its Christian readers of the Malay-language bibles live.
The continuing saga has heightened concerns that religious authorities, which issue rulings for Muslims and operate alongside conventional courts, now have more legal muscle.
