Recently in Malaysia Category

Disputed or mocked from their perspective, that is. What kind of action should they take? Well, it could range from character assassination and demands for censorship to riots and murder.

"Muslims allowed to 'take action' if islam disputed or mocked - Umno's Friday sermon," from the Malaysia Chronicle, February 1 (thanks to all who sent this in):

KUALA LUMPUR — Federal religious authorities today urged Muslims nationwide to respect non-Muslims, but warned against compromising their faith in tolerating other beliefs.

Today’s message comes a week after last Friday’s sermon that warned Muslims of attempts by “enemies of Islam” to confuse them into believing that all religions are the same.

In today’s sermon, in conjunction with World Interfaith Harmony Week here, the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (JAKIM) urged Muslims to respect and protect the rights of adherents of other faiths.

“The most important lesson (in Islam) is that we are prohibited from treating others unfairly just because of religious differences,” it said.

The sermon however said Muslims were allowed to “take action” if their religion was disputed or mocked, citing verse 60:9 from Quran:

“Allah only forbids you from those who fight you because of religion and expel you from your homes and aid in your expulsion.

“He forbids that you make allies of them. And whoever makes allies of them, then it is those who are the wrongdoers.”

The sermon also warned against those who manipulated religion for their personal interests, and those who compromised their faith to tolerate other religions.

“The tolerance does not mean that we affirm their doctrines of faith, because in the case of faith, Islam does not compromise with kufur (blasphemy) and syirik (idolatry),” it said.

JAKIM warned that extremism in tolerance could become a catalyst for disarray in society which would then weaken the country’s socio-political stability.

In the sermon, the religious body warned non-Muslims to stop disputing things which were already finalised in the Constitution and Muslims’ exclusive rights.

The sermon ended by urging Muslims to identify with their Prophet Muhammad by preaching to non-Muslims through tolerance and with a noble attitude in order to attract them towards Islam.

In last week’s sermon, Muslims were told that being too open-minded and allowing Islamic rights to be abused by other religions was a “dangerous” act.

“It is very clear that, today, enemies of Islam are seeking to divert and undermine the Muslim community’s faith.

“They are united among themselves and are attempting, with their many tricks and ways, to stake their claim on the usage of ‘Allah’ in their scriptures,” the sermon had said.

JAKIM insisted that “Allah”, a word that millions of Arab Christians and those in non-Arabic-speaking lands use to describe their God, belongs to Muslims and is an exclusive right to those who profess Islam as it was clearly to prevent Muslims from becoming confused over the true identity of their God.

The “Allah” dispute, which first erupted after the watershed Election 2008, remains a hot-button topic in the run-up to this year’s polls.

Debate resurfaced in December after DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, who is also Penang chief minister, called on Putrajaya in his Christmas message to lift a ban on Malay-language bibles in Borneo Malaysia.

Hot on the heels of the DAP leader’s remarks, several state Rulers and Islamic religious authorities reminded non-Muslims of state laws banning use of the word, despite conflicting with a 2009 High Court judgment that ruled “Allah” was not exclusive to Islam.

Arabic-speaking Christians were using the word "Allah" to refer to the God of the Bible since before the invention of Islam. This does not in reality signify their Islamization or dhimmitude; it is just the word they have used. But now Islamic supremacists in Malaysia have made it into an issue, and Johor Islamic Religious Council Adviser Datuk Nooh Gadut is threatening violence against those who do not fall into line.

"Abuse of 'Allah' makes one apostate: official," from Bernama, January 12 (thanks to Blazing Cat Fur):

JOHOR BARU (Jan 12): Johor Islamic Religious Council Adviser Datuk Nooh Gadut today said those who allow the abuse of the word 'Allah' can be considered as apostates and should repent immediately.

He said the word 'Allah' was the exclusive right of Islam and Muslims.

"When the doctrine of tauhid was clearly stated in the Quran and Hadis, besides the ijmak ulamak, then there is no compromise.

"If one dares to violate the doctrine on purpose and while being in a rational state of mind, he can be considered as apostate and infidel," he told reporters after opening the seminar on endowment and inheritance planning in Islam, here today.

Present were President of Malaysian Islamic Chamber of Commerce Tan Sri Muhammad Ali Hashim and as-Salihin Trustee Berhad chief executive officer Abdul Aziz Peru Mohamed.

Nooh said the Quran had clearly explained that 'Allah' was the exclusive word for Muslims as stated in Surah Al-Thaha verse 14 which means: "Verily, I am Allah. There is no god except Me. So worship Me and establish prayers for My remembrance."

"So, it is clear that whoever say that all religions are the same can be considered as an apostate.

"That is why when we talk about faith and the doctrines of the Quran, it cannot be based on political interpretation of either the opposition or the government," Nooh said.

He also rapped certain quarters for meddling with the social contract which had been the foundation for peace and harmony in the country.

"If the issue is not resolved soon, it can lead to chaos. To whom it may concern, do not cross the line because I'm sure one day the Muslims will lose their patience and will do anything to defend their faith," he added.

Where did Ismail Ibrahim get the idea that there was something wrong with Christians asking for equal rights in a majority-Muslim state? Has he been reading Islamophobic literature?

Also: Arabic-speaking Christians were using the word "Allah" the God of the Bible since before the invention of Islam. "Stop demanding religious equality, says ex-Fatwa Council chief," from the Malaysian Insider, December 28 (thanks to Jerk Chicken):

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 28 ― Non-Muslims should drop their demand to use “Allah” for their gods as the Arabic word is fundamental to Islamic belief and therefore exclusive to Muslims, National Fatwa Council former chairman Datuk Dr Ismail Ibrahim was reported saying in a Malay daily.

Ismail was weighing in on the latest debate over the Arabic word for god, in a row between Islamist opposition party PAS and its secular ally, DAP, which appears to be a hot-button topic in the run-up to national polls due soon.

“Enough is enough, enough with all the other policies, including the ones enshrined in the Constitution that has been claimed for equality, to be granted equal rights... therefore the right to recognise the concept of the divinity in this religion, don’t grab, challenge and manipulate so. The name ‘Allah’ is still something basic and fundamental to Islam.

“The name ‘Allah’, from a philosophical point, its definition and concept is not equal with the name Tuhan, God, Lord and so on in the usage of other religions,” he was quoted as saying by Sinar Harian in its front-page report today.

Ismail was further reported saying those insisting the word “Allah” be allowed for use in Malay bibles should desist due to linguistic and cultural differences.

He gave an example that Arabs could swear by the word “Wallahi” hundreds of times in their daily conversation but the oath was incomparable to that understood by Muslim Malaysians in the local language and that this difference between an ordinary oath and the Syariah term was explained in the Quran.

“The same, therefore, with the use of the name ‘Allah’ that is being attempted to be compared with other languages, especially Arabic, even though this comparison should be understood from a linguistic and cultural angle between Malay and Arabic,” Ismail told the newspaper.

Without naming anyone, he urged the parties against looking for petty reasons to justify the usage of “Allah” for the Christian god.

Christians form 9.2 per cent of Malaysia’s 28.3 million-strong population, with many in east Malaysia using the Malay language and the word “Allah” to refer to their God.

In recent years, the Christian and Muslim religious communities have been engaged in a tug-of-war over the word “Allah”, with the latter group arguing that its use should be exclusive to them on the grounds that Islam is monotheistic and the word “Allah” denotes the Muslim god.

A legal tussle over the use of the word “Allah” remains unresolved, with the Catholic Church still barred from publishing the word in its weekly newspaper, despite winning a High Court decision on December 31, 2009....

By which she means not jihad terrorists, but those who report upon and oppose their actions. "Puteri Calls For Stern Action Against Individuals Who Tarnish Image Of Islam," from Bernama, November 28 (thanks to Twostellas):

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 28 (Bernama) -- A Puteri Umno delegate today called on the authority to take stern action against the individuals who belittle or tarnish the image of Islam in the country.

Terengganu Umno Religious Bureau chairman Laila Daud said this was because that individuals could also tarnish the country's sovereignty, shake the political stability and threaten national security.

She said there were political parties, including PAS, which had been manipulating Islamic religious issues, including the proposed hudud laws, just to get the people's support as they knew that the issues were close to the Malays' hearts.

Laila said Umno, on the other hand, had been consistent in upholding Islam even since the pre-Independence era by implementing various physical and spiritual development programmes.

"I truly believe that Umno is the party that has done so much in upholding Islam than PAS," she said when debating the religious motion at the Puteri Umno General Assembly 2012 at Putra World Trade Centre here today.

At the end of her debate, Laila also prayed that leaders of PAS would join their counterparts in Umno in upholding Islam....

"The Prophet wrote the (marriage contract) with 'Aisha while she was six years old and consummated his marriage with her while she was nine years old and she remained with him for nine years (i.e. till his death)." -- Bukhari 7.62.88

Muslims take this seriously and imitate Muhammad in this. Article 1041 of the Civil Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran states that girls can be engaged before the age of nine, and married at nine: "Marriage before puberty (nine full lunar years for girls) is prohibited. Marriage contracted before reaching puberty with the permission of the guardian is valid provided that the interests of the ward are duly observed."

The Ayatollah Khomeini himself married a ten-year-old girl when he was twenty-eight. Khomeini called marriage to a prepubescent girl "a divine blessing," and advised the faithful: "Do your best to ensure that your daughters do not see their first blood in your house."

The Qur'an also allows for marriage to pre-pubescent girls, stipulating that Islamic divorce procedures “shall apply to those who have not yet menstruated” (65:4).

Thus this news should come as no surprise to anyone -- except those who have bought the deceptive line of Islamic supremacists in the West, that Aisha was actually nineteen, etc.

"Activists slam marriage of 12-year-old in Malaysia," from AFP, November 23 (thanks to Lachlan):

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysian activists on Friday slammed the wedding of a 12-year-old to her 19-year-old boyfriend, renewing their calls for the government to outlaw child marriages.

Nur Fazira Saad and Fahmi Alias married last week in northern Kedah state after the girl's father agreed to the union and an Islamic court granted permission, The Star daily reported.

"It is better for them to get married rather than doing something improper," Saad Mustafa, the girl's father, was quoted as saying.

But Ratna Osman, executive director of activist group Sisters in Islam, described the young couple's marriage as "shocking".

"I don't understand why this is allowed in a country like Malaysia... We are talking about a developed country," she told AFP. "The concern is that this is a child being married off... No parents should be doing this."

Child marriages are not uncommon in the conservative Southeast Asian country, where 60 percent of the population of 29 million people are Muslim.

Two years ago, the marriage of a 14-year-old Muslim girl to a 23-year-old schoolteacher triggered similar calls for reform.

Girls below the age of 16 must obtain the permission of Islamic courts, which regulate civil matters for Muslims. But activists say such permission is too readily granted.

There was another outcry in October when two men, aged 19 and 22, were released on probation after courts convicted them of statutory rape.

In both cases the girls, aged 12 and 13, had not been forced, lawyers said....

Oh, well, then!

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has urged the United Nations, particularly the Security Council, to take immediate resolute action over what it called irresponsible military action by Israel against innocent civilians in Gaza.

If you're a moderate Muslim government like Malaysia, when is any Israeli military action not 'irresponsible'?

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman said Malaysia condemned in the strongest terms the continuing Israeli military assaults and air strikes on Gaza, which have led to the deaths of a Palestinian leader and seven others, including two children.

The aforementioned 'leader' was a terrorist and murderer of numerous civilians, but this somehow fails to merit a mention in the quoted Malaysian media piece.

"Malaysia urges all parties involved to stop any provocative action, remain calm and exercise restraint to avoid greater damage and loss of life, especially among the civilian population in the Gaza Strip," he said in a statement on Thursday.

Malaysia also demanded that Israel immediately cease its military aggression towards the Palestinian people, he added. -Bernama

But don't be concerned. Imam Rauf, Daisy Khan, Zahra Balloo, Linda Sarsour, and Reza Aslan are at this very moment jetting to Petaling Jaya to set him straight about Islam's tolerance and open-mindedness.

"PAS Youth: No religious freedom for Muslims," from The Star, November 11 (thanks to Twostellas):

PETALING JAYA: Islam, according to PAS Youth chief Nasrudin Hassan, does not advocate religious freedom for Muslims, online portal The Mole reported.

“Islam has never advocated religious freedom as the believers should accept that the religion is the only truth.

“Thus, someone who is born as a Muslim, he or she should embrace the religion, practise and defend it,” the portal quoted Nasrudin in its recent article.

The Mole also referred to his recent blog posting where he outlined several Quranic verses on Islam.

“Nasruddin in his blog post cited a verse from Quran (Al Anaam: 153) stating that there is no religious freedom and freedom to choose for a born Muslim, except to surrender himself to Allah,” the article stated.

The article drew a comparison between his stand and that of PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar on freedom of religion.

However, according to the article, Nasrudin declined to comment on her remark as he had not listened or read the full transcript.

The Lembah Pantai MP, who has denied that she supported apostasy, met Selangor Islamic Affairs Depart­ment (Jais) officials on Friday to submit her complaint and provide an explanation over the matter.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Lebanese authorities have arrested two Malaysians believed to be suicide bombers and suspected to be linked to the al-Qaeda terrorist organisation.

The two, aged 21 and 28, were nabbed at Beirut International Airport.

Malaysian ambassador to Lebanon Ilango Karuppannan confirmed that the duo were picked up several days ago.

“They will be brought to court on Monday (tomorrow) and we will ask them whether they require counsel,” he told Bernama.

On Thursday, Lebanon's Al-Joumhouria newspaper, quoting security sources, said the Malaysians were detained by army intelligence on charges of being al-Qaeda members.

Investigations revealed they were recruited into al-Qaeda by another Malaysian before being taken to Yemen where they met other members of the organisation.

Al-Joumhouria said that about two months ago, the two Malaysians had tried to enter Syria via Turkey on a jihadist mission to carry out suicide attacks.

Their planned attacks were coordinated by a man who was said to be responsible for the entry of all jihadists into Syria.

When the two Malaysians failed to enter Syria, they decided to head to Lebanon to carry out terrorist attacks but their activities caught the eye of the army intelligence.

Meanwhile, YVONNE LIM reports that the families of the suspects had been notified.

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman said that Wisma Putra [the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs] was closely monitoring the matter.

“We have been in touch with the authorities in Lebanon and we are also investigating the matter.

“The families of the suspects have been notified.

“We will reveal the details when more information is confirmed,” he said.

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 12 — A High Court ruling against Muslim transsexuals in Negri Sembilan yesterday is raising concerns that Islamic law is now supplanting the Federal Constitution as the country's supreme law, legal experts have said.

Civil liberties lawyer Syahredzan Johan and law lecturer Azmi Sharom told The Malaysian Insider that there is a worrying trend that the judiciary has been putting Islamic law above all other laws in Malaysia's dual-track court system - pointing to yesterday's judgment as an example of an erosion of the Federal Constitution.

“There is a worrying trend in which the judiciary appears to place Islamic enactments on a higher pedestal than the Constitution.

“Islam is the religion of the Federation, but that does not mean that 'Islam', or what the authorities deem as 'Islam', supersedes other Constitutional provisions,” Syahredzan said.

High Court judge Datuk Siti Mariah Ahmad had dismissed a challenge by a group of Muslim transsexuals to an Islamic legal provision barring men from wearing women's clothes or dressing up as females, saying Muslims cannot be exempted from Syariah [sharia] legal provisions.

The judge had also ruled that Part II of the Federal Constitution - which guarantees Malaysians fundamental liberties such as equality before the law, freedom of religion, and which prohibits slavery and enforced labour among others - is exempted by section 66 of the Negri Sembilan Syariah Criminal Enactment 1992, according to lawyer Aston Paiva, who represented the transsexuals.

He said the judge had relied on the religious opinion on the Negri Sembilan mufti to justify section 66 in making her oral ruling. He added that the written judgment of the case was not yet available and the judge had not indicated when it would be released.

Section 66 of the state's Islamic criminal code states that “any male person who, in any public place wears a woman's attire or poses as a woman shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding RM1,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or both.”

Syahredzan said the Seremban High Court ruling followed an earlier Federal Court decision in which it was held that Islam must be protected “at all costs”. 

“The Supreme Court in the case of Che Omar Che Soh is clear on this; provisions relating to Islam must receive secular fiats to become law,” he said, adding that it meant the proposed laws must be passed by Parliament or the State Legislative Assemblies.  “It also means that laws enacted, regardless of whether they are Syariah enactments or Acts of Parliament must be subjected to and consistent with the Constitution,” he said.

Azmi, an associate professor at Universiti Malaya's (UM) law faculty, went a step further.

“It is going to give a carte blanche to state legislative assemblies, Islamic religious departments and muftis to make any laws that go against the Constitution simply by saying it is Islamic and circumnavigating the Constitution.

“If you do not respect this basic rule, then what safety net do we have as citizens?” he asked.

Where is the Vast Majority of Peaceful Muslims to rein these people in? "Thousands attend anti-Innocence rallies in Malaysia," from AGI, September 21 (thanks to C. Cantoni):

(AGI) - Bangkok, 21 Sep - Thousands attended today's anti-Innocence movie rallies in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur. Two separate demonstrations converged on the US embassy at which point four delegates handed the embassy's chief of security a statement demanding that the US acknowledge full responsibility for the Innocence of Muslim's release. During the rallies US and Israeli flags were burned to cries of "Allah is great." (AGI)

Irshad Manji's expansive and broad-minded Islam is her own creation, with no basis in Islamic tradition. Hugh Fitzgerald said it back in 2008: "Irshad Manji has certainly created her own private Islam. She is the child of Asian refugees from Uganda. She has never lived in a Muslim society. She has always enjoyed the freedoms of the West. But she feels, out of filial piety, and perhaps for other reasons, that she will do best if she continues to identify as a Muslim and if, furthermore, she keeps claiming that Islam itself is or can be made into something perfectly acceptable to people such as herself. She's wrong. And any apostate, who had been born into and grown up in a society suffused with Islam, would be able to set her right."

But why don't we see more Muslims calling for any kind of reform in Islam? Here's why: even half-hearted and deceptive attempts at "reform" like Manji's are labeled un-Islamic.

"Jais to charge publisher of Irshad Manji's book," from the Sun Daily, August 29 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

SHAH ALAM (Aug 29, 2012): Book publisher and activist Faisal Mustaffa will be charged in the syariah court over Irshad Manji's banned book, Allah, Kebebasan dan Cinta (Allah, Liberty and Love).

Faisal was told by the Selangor Religious Department (Jais) that he was under arrest and would be charged for failing to answer the questions of religious officers, after he had exercised his right to remain silent as provided for under the law.

"This is ridiculous. I was asked to come here for one case, and I have been charged for another case. I co-operated with their investigation," Faisal told theSun today.

He said Jais officers intimidated him by raising their voices and threatening him for declining to answer their questions.

His lawyer Afiq Mohd Noor was also prevented from accompanying Faisal during the interview but was later allowed in after he protested that he has the right to legal representation. According to sources, Faisal's name was found on the invoice when they raided the office of ZI Publications in May to seize the book.

His house was raided by Jais on June 12 and Aug 8. Jais also seized 28 of his books, including 13 copies of Irsyad Manji's banned books.

"They came to my house around midnight to seize the books and asked me to give a statement at the headquarters," he said.

Non-governmental organisation Lawyers for Liberty condemned Jais' action, saying in a statement: "Lawyers for Liberty views with serious concern Jais' harassment, abuse of power and complete disregard for the legal rights of an accused person which amounted to a serious assault on the freedom of speech and the legal safeguards as guaranteed by the constitution and the law."

On May 29, Jais seized about 180 copies of Irshad Manji's book from the Malaysian publisher.

He famously said this back in 2003, and now has repeated it. Apparently Israel's rule of the world is singularly inept, as Barack Obama is President of the United States and the UN regularly rains down spurious condemnations upon the rulers of the world. Conspiracy Paranoia Alert: "Israel Rules The World By Proxy - Tun Mahathir," from Bernama, August 13 (thanks to Lachlan):

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 13 (Bernama) -- There is substance to allegations that Israel rules the world by proxy, says former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

"I wonder whether people notice it or not, but Presidential candidates of the United States of America, the sole superpower, all have to seek approval from Israel.

"Mitt Romney, the Republican candidate for President, has just made the pilgrimage. And he has made a public pledge that he will be even tougher against the Palestinians and Iran than Obama (US President Barack Obama)," he said in his latest entry in his blog at chedet.cc today.

Mahathir believes Obama will soon make this pilgrimage and make more promises to fight for Israel....

"It is not about what is good for the Unites States which counts.

"One can imagine the policies that will be adopted by whichever government or president wins, and it is clear the United States cannot ignore Israel's views when reacting to anything of concern to Israel.

"Looks like the tail is wagging the dog," he said.

Sharia advancing in Malaysia, as it is everywhere else. "Action against non-Muslims for spreading their religion to Muslims," from the Bernama, August 5 (thanks to Nicolei):

YAN, Aug 5 — The Islamic Religious Council in the states can take action against non-Muslims for trying to spread their faith among Muslims in the country.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharum said this can be done based on existing enactments that prohibit non-Muslims from doing so.

"Distribution of reading materials and in the form of audio video is disallowed as it will lead to dissatisfaction of Muslims," he said at Yan Hospital here today.

A newspaper reported that two men believed to be foreign tourists tried to spread Christianity as Muslims were preparing to break their fast in Penang on Thursday.

Jamil said the case of a man who was fined and jailed in Pahang in 2002 for trying to spread his faith to Muslims should serve as a lesson to non-Muslims. — Bernama

SERDANG, July 19 ― The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community along with liberalism and pluralism were today branded as enemies of Islam by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in front of a crowd of over 11,000 imams and mosque committee members from across the nation.

“LGBTs, pluralism, liberalism ― all these ‘isms’ are against Islam and it is compulsory for us to fight these,” he said.

Najib also said the government supports human rights, but within the boundaries of Islam.

“We do support human rights, but we must do so within the boundaries set by Islam,” he said.

Everyone knows how many human rights there are within Islam. Nothing to fear here, yes? Yes, there's nothing to fear...unless you're a woman, Jew, homosexual, former Muslim, or non Muslim, among other things.

The prime minister also told Muslims to avoid discord which could threaten those who safeguard Islamic principles.

“If the nation falls into a state of chaos, who will safeguard these people?” he asked.

A 'state of chaos' in Najib's mind probably means an insufficient amount of devotion to Islamic supremacism on the government agenda. It is an Orwellian turn of phrase that we should expect from this or any other Prime Minister of a Muslim-controlled government.

The event, organised by the Prime Minister’s Office, started off with the Minister in Prime Minister’s Office Maj-Gen (R) Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom saying that imams must defend the government against these threats.

“There are so many attacks on our religion. LGBTs, pluralism, liberalism, Seksualiti Merdeka. We must stand strong and defend the government,” he said.

Attendees were also given a book which was written by Najib himself, entitled “Agenda Islam Dalam Transformasi Negara”.

Yesterday, Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim also said that he did not support the rights of LGBTs and advocates the sanctity of marriage being that between a man and a woman.

Liberalism is the belief in total liberty and equality of an individual, while many conservative Muslims are opposed to religious pluralism because of fears it could lead to other religions being put on the same standing as Islam.

KUALA Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has given the Sri Muniswarar Kaliyamman temple committee five days to vacate the premises to make way for a new development project, Malaysia Nanban reported.

Hindraf information chief S. Jayathas, representing the 30-man temple committee, urged the developer to incorporate the century-old Hindu temple in the project in Bukit Nanas instead of asking the temple to relocate.

“The temple, located in Jalan Tengah, off Jalan P. Ramlee, is sited on DBKL reserve land and is the only temple for Hindus within the Kuala Lumpur business zone, also known as the Golden Triangle,'' he said.

Jayathas added that the temple should be saved from demolition and given the land title.

TWO Indian cultural organisations were taken by shock recently when they applied to use the auditorium of the government’s official Taman Budaya park in Penang for their classical dance concerts.

It was not so much that their applications were rejected that bothered them. What smarted was that the shows were disallowed purportedly because they contained ceremonial acts and the placement of a [non Islamic] deity on stage, which are much part and parcel of classical Indian dance.

The Taman Budaya is operated by the National Culture and Arts Department. Ironically, it is on the grounds of the birthplace of Tan Sri P. Ramlee – one of the finest liberal performance artistes to emerge from Malaysia in modern times. The auditorium is even named after him.

The National Culture and Arts Department is an arm of the Malaysian federal government. The top leadership of this government department, according to this organization chart posted at their website, appears to be 100% Muslim. So a government department run by Muslims wouldn't ban non Islamic deities from being portrayed in stage performances, would they? Obviously all those Muslim officials and directors and ministers are misunderstanding the tolerant, pluralistic religion of Islam somehow.

The two groups – the Temple of Fine Arts and the Penang Hindu Association – claimed to have been told that the auditorium stage must not have the relevant images and statues because of their [non Islamic] religious allusion.

But such items are integral historical and creative components of the age-old practice of disciplines such as the Bharatanatyam and the Kathakali. This is because the presentations are to a large extent based on ancient mythologies that are rooted in the cultural fabric of the shows.

And such references to ancient mythologies are common features of performing arts in other cultures. It is not only Indian dances that have such invocations. Many ancient disciplines from other civilisations also employ ceremonial or ritualistic acts.

One can see similar elements in the Beijing Opera of China, the Kabuki of Japan, the Kechak of Indonesia and Passion Play of Europe. Such elements are also ingrained in the Wayang Kulit or shadow puppet shows that have played across the Nusantara region for centuries.

So when the two groups protested that they were not allowed to hold such performances despite the features in question being traditional elements, it beguiles the mind.

It is only beguiling for those who are either blissfully unaware of the Malaysian government's real agenda, or for those who still deny the longstanding official policy of Islamic supremacy. For those who still think Islam can somehow peacefully coexist with other traditions, cultures and belief systems, look no further than Malaysia.

Jihad Watch reader D.T. kindly sends in the above statement from the Borders bookstore chain in Malaysia, responding to the arrest of one of its managers for selling a book by Muslim reformist and purveyor of her own private Islam Irshad Manji.

The statement is as supine as one might expect, protesting that "there was no way for Borders to know that JAWI [Federal Territory Islamic Department] considered the books to be objectionable." Presumably, then, if it had known, it wouldn't have sold them, and free speech be damned. No stand on principle. No defense of free thought. Just weaselly protestations.

This is nothing surprising coming from a bookstore chain that, when Karen Armstrong and I both had biographies of Muhammad out at the same time, placed hers in the "Islam" section and mine in "Medieval History" -- making hers easy to find and mine next to impossible. Borders also has a company policy that Qur'ans must always be placed on the top shelf.

Cowards, fools, Useful Idiots, and dhimmis.

Timely intervention of minister stopped DBKL officers from tearing down the place of worship.

KUALA LUMPUR: A temple, which was in the midst of demolition by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), was saved in Kepong today, after timely intervention of Federal Territory and Urban Wellbeing Minister Raja Nong Chik Zainal Abidin.

The Veppam Kaliamman Amman temple, along Jalan Kepong, received an eviction notice only at 8.30 this morning, and work to break down the temple began 15 minutes later.

The temple committee, stunned at the speed of the whole exercise, immediately called the Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Deputy Minister M Saravanan, who is in charge of temples in the federal capital.

FMT learnt that the deputy minister had in turn called top officials of the Federal Territory land office under the purview of the ministry but they refused to take orders to stop the demolition.

Saravanan was told that the land division was only answerable to the minister and when he contacted the minister, Raja Nong Chik Zainal Abidin, the latter immediately ordered the demolition stopped.

“Luckily the minister was available to talk… otherwise, I do not know what would have happened.

I think we all know what would have happened -- see here, here, here, here and here for a small sampling of Malaysia's sordid track record in regards to non Muslim houses of worship.

“But within 15 minutes, before I could reach the spot, DBKL enforcement officers had already torn off the temple’s awning. I am very disappointed with DBKL. They know if any temple was to be demolished, a proper discussion must be held but in this case this was not done.

“The eviction notice was prepared only yesterday and handed to the temple committee at 8.30am this morning and demolition started at 8.45am. This is utter nonsense… this is a classic case of little Napoleons running the show,” said Saravanan, who was clearly irked with the incident.

Who changed land status?

The deputy minister said he did not even ask the demolition be cancelled but just asked for it to be postponed until a proper discussion was held.

The temple even had a letter from Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak allowing it to operate on a temporary basis as it sits on government [Muslim] land, he said.

“The land was originally reserved for place of worship… but somehow along the way the status of the land was changed to a Muslim place of worship… it can’t be because the land is beside a sewerage treatment plant. I don’t think Muslims would want a surau or a mosque there.

KUALA LUMPUR, June 19 — The government views the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans-sexual (LGBT) issue seriously and is controlling its spread through prevention efforts and legal enforcement, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Dr Mashitah Ibrahim told the Dewan Rakyat [the lower chamber of the Malaysian parliament] today.

She said these efforts were done with the help of the Islamic Development Department (Jakim) and State Religious Department (Jain) [Islamic Religious Police] through programmes such as the BEST! Tour which aimed to educate teenagers on social ills such as HIV Aids caused by homosexual lifestyles.

Of course. After thirty years of the AIDS pandemic, everyone knows that only homosexuals spread the virus that causes AIDS. With 'facts' like these, how can Malaysian education efforts on HIV or homosexuals go wrong?

“A series of rehabilitation and treatment courses will also be given to Muslims who have deviated from societal norms, while Jakim and Jain have conducted a Mukhayyam programme with repented transsexuals to obtain positive feedback from them,” she said in reply to an original question from Datuk Mohd Jidin (BN-Setiu) who wanted to know the government’s seriousness in tackling LGBT issues in the country.

'Rehabilitation and treatment' of LGBTs--apparently being a homosexual or transsexual is in the Malaysian government's view akin to being a drug addict. Under a Muslim government like Malaysia's, such views are state sanctioned and are not to be challenged, as Irshad Manji herself recently found out.

In terms of enforcement, she said laws clearly stated in the Syariah Criminal Offences (Federal Territories) Act 1997 (Act 559) can only be enforced on Muslims.

Of course, as to who is and who isn't a Muslim, that is up to the Government and the Sharia courts to decide. If they say you're a Muslim, then by Allah you are one. Your own say in the matter is irrelevant.

Dr Mashitah said the government and state religious authorities will take legal action against any Muslims involved in LGBT and who flout laws in each state.

There are no legal and religious provisions in Malaysia that allow homosexuality, free sex and same-sex marriages, she added. — Bernama

Sharia's provisions on homosexuality are quite harsh. Homosexuality is in fact a capital crime in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Yemen, Mauritania, and Sudan. But don't expect the official Malaysian government press agency Bernama to bother pointing out any of this.