Recently in Non-Muslims in Muslim countries Category

"Indonesia's president has accepted a statesmanship award from a U.S. interfaith foundation that says it hopes to encourage him to promote freedom of worship and tolerance in the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation." -- Associated Press, May 30, 2013

Irony of ironies.

"RI fails to protect religious minorities, says US report," from The Jakarta Post, June 18 (thanks to Phillip):

The US Department of State’s 2012 Report on International Religious Freedom has revealed that the Indonesian government has failed to properly address the banning and assault of religious minority groups.

The annual report was released by the US Embassy in Jakarta on Tuesday.

“The Indonesian government honors the freedom to choose religion but fails to prevent violent acts toward religious minority groups,” a statement in that report said as quoted by Antara news agency.

The report said the Indonesian government respected six official religions but that some religious sects were deemed as deviant by clerics.

The report also said that the police tended to be lenient on hard-liners that tried to implement laws that limited religious freedom.

“Police failed to protect religious minority groups when they are being attacked by hard-liners,” the report said.

How odd that so many Muslim countries would misunderstand Islam's teachings of tolerance! Could it have to do with the Qur'an's command to make the "People of the Book" "pay the jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued" (9:29)?

"US report names ‘worst’ violators of religious freedom," from the Free Speech Blog, May 2:

An arm of the US government named 15 nations as the “worst violators of religious freedom”.

The Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent advisory body created by the International Religious Freedom Act to monitor religious freedom abuses internationally, released its 2013 report, which idenitifes “governments that are the most egregious violators.”

The 15 countries are Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Uzbekistan, Egypt, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Vietnam, all of which severely restrict independent religious activity and harass individuals and groups for religious activity or beliefs. These nations are classified as Tier 1 “countries of particular concern” (CPCs) in the report.

Despite its recent opening and political reforms, change in Burma have “yet to significantly improve the situation for freedom of religion and belief.” The report states that most violations occurred against minority Christian and Muslim adherents. China’s government is also cited for its ongoing severe abuses against its citizens’ freedom of thought.

The report said that Egypt’s transitional and elected governments have made progress toward religious freedom, it further highlighted the attacks that Coptic Christians have sustained in the period after the Arab Spring that brought down the Mubarak regime. “In many cases, the government failed or was slow to protect religious minorities from violence.”

The former Soviet states of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan were included for pursuing state control over religion, targeting Muslims and minorities alike. Iraq was cited for, among other things, tolerating “violent religiously motivated attacks” and Iran for “prolonged detention, torture, and executions based primarily or entirely on the religion of the accused.”

Saudi Arabia continues to suppress religious practices outside of the officially-sanctioned Wahhabi interpretation of Islam, interferes with the faith of guest workers and prosecutes individuals for “apostasy, blasphemy and sorcery”, according to the report. Pakistan has a strict blasphemy law and failure to prosecute acts of religious violence, the report said.

The situation in Sudan has deteriorated since South Sudan gained its independence. Criminalization of apostasy, the imposition of the government’s strict interpretation of Shari’ah on both Muslims and non-Muslims and attacks against Christians, were cited in the report for the decline.

The report also identified Nigeria for continuing religious violence between Muslims and Christians compounded by the government’s toleration of the sectarian attacks....

How is it that the government of the Islamic Republic misunderstands Islam so spectacularly as to be this intolerant? Could it be that Islam doesn't actually teach that non-Muslims should be treated as equals? Naaah -- that couldn't be!

"Nursing mothers imprisoned: UN report details Iranian persecution of non-Muslims," by Benjamin Weinthal for FoxNews.com, March 22 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

Iran’s hard-line regime has intensified its violent crackdown on Christians and other religious minorities, even imprisoning nursing mothers for practicing their faith, according to a new UN report.

The March report provides a rare, detailed view into the shocking treatment of Christians in Iran, where American Pastor Saeed Abedini is serving an eight-year sentence for his alleged work with Christians.

“The persecution of Christians has increased,” said Ahmed Shaheed, the UN’s expert on human rights in Iran. “It seems to target new converts and those who run house churches.”

At least 13 Protestant Christians are currently in detention centers across Iran, and more than 300 Christians have been arrested since June 2010, according to the report. In addition to Christians, the nation’s 350,000 Bahai, who form Iran’s largest non-Muslim faith, have suffered under Tehran’s repression.

While most of the cases have not made headlines, the report spotlighted some examples.

Iran’s judicial authorities sentenced Christian Pastor Behnam Irani in 2011 and church leader Farshid Fathi in 2012 to six-year prison terms. Irani was convicted of “actions against the state,” because he preached Christianity, while Fathi was convicted of “religious propaganda.”

Abedini was sentenced in late January to eight years in Iran’s Evin prison for practicing Christianity in Iran.

Fathi was accused of distributing Persian-language Bibles and coordinating trips for church members to attend religious seminars and conferences outside the country, the report stated.

Iran’s regime shut down the home-based Janat Abad Assemblies of God Church in Tehran last year.

“Fundamentally, it is an issue of intolerance of different views,” Shaheed said.

There is a “new Islamization in part of the government” that might explain the spike in repression targeting Christians, he added.

The UN report is the latest evidence that Iran’s clerical leaders seek to stamp out religious freedoms for minorities and dissent in the authoritarian Islamic Republic....

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.

Notable initial members of the coalition include Hari Singh Matharu of Sant Sipahi Vichar Manch; Amritpal Singh Amrit of Amritworld.com; Raviranjan Singh of Akhil Bhartiya Hindu Mahsabha; Kiranpal Singh Tyagi of Akhand Hindusthan Morcha; Baikhunth Lal Sharma Prem Singh Sher, coordinator of Akhand Hindustha Morcha; Jaspal Singh Manchanda; and Narain Kataria, President, Indian American Intellectuals Forum; and others. These Sikh and Hindu individuals and groups stand together with SION for Sikh and Hindu rights.

Sikhs are among the foremost victims of Muslim persecution. Prem Singh Sher said in a statement: “There is no ideology worst then Islam in world. For ages, it has shed blood in the name of the religion.”

Bhupinder Singh Bhurji, Chairman and CEO of Namdhari Sikh Foundation and a Sikh priest, gave an invocation at the AFDI/SIOA Freedom Rally at Ground Zero on September 11, 2011. AFDI is SION’s American organization.

"Khyber militants behead Sikh for ‘spying,’" by Ibrahim Shinwari for Dawn, January 9 (thanks to Lookmann):

LANDI KOTAL, Jan 8: A local militant group on Tuesday beheaded a Sikh ‘spy’ and chopped his body before throwing it in Bazaar Zakhakhel area of Khyber Agency.

Mahinder Singh, 40, had been missing since November last year, according to officials in Jamrud. The officials said Tawheedul Islam had claimed the responsibility for the killing by leaving with the body a leaflet saying the man had been killed for spying for its rival militant group, Lashkar-i-Islam.

They said the body packed in a gunnysack was found in a dry stream in Chora area. The killing was confirmed by the slain man’s brother, Paswand Singh.

He said his brother’s killing was a cruel act with the members of a small religious minority.

“We have no enmity with anyone and have lived peacefully in Khyber Agency for more than six decades,” he said.

Mr Paswand said if the government couldn’t provide the members of religious minorities with proper security, then it should arrange for their migration to a safer country.

He said his brother had a herbal medicine shop in Tabbai village of Bazaar Zakhakhel, where he was kidnapped by unidentified gunmen on Nov 20 last year.

He denied that his brother was affiliated with any militant group.

Mr Paswand said he had contacted the local political administration along with an application for (slain) ANP leader Bashir Ahmad Bilour for recovery of his missing brother, but to no avail. He said no militant group had contacted him after his brother’s kidnapping.

Mr Paswand said his family had lived in Kalanga Maira of Akkakhel in Bara tehsil for over 40 years before migrating to Peshawar three and a half years ago after Lashkar-i-Islam imposed jiziya, an Islamic tax on minorities, in Bara. He said his brother left behind two wives and eight children with one of his sons disabled by polio.

"Every month there is an incident, like taking property of Hindu people or forced conversion of Hindu girls." More details on this appalling attack can be found here. Islamic Tolerance Alert from the Islamic Republic of Pakistan: "Pakistani Hindus protest destruction of temple," from AP, December 2 (thanks to all who sent this in):

KARACHI: Pakistani Hindus on Sunday protested the destruction of a Hindu temple in Karachi. The temple was razed, along with some nearby homes, by a builder.

Minority Hindus have complained of increasing harassment and discrimination in Muslim-dominated Pakistan in recent years, including the destruction or desecration of their places of worship.

Residents and members of the Hindu community said on Sunday a builder with a police escort razed the small temple in one of the older neighborhoods of Karachi, along with some surrounding buildings....

Hindus complain that girls are forcibly converted to Islam, there is no legal recognition for Hindu marriages, and Hindus are discriminated against when it comes to access to government jobs or schooling.

”Every month there is an incident, like taking property of Hindu people or forced conversion of Hindu girls,” he said.

During partition in 1947, the violent separation of Pakistan and India into separate countries, hundreds of thousands of Hindus decided to migrate to India, where Hinduism is the dominant religion.

Those who remained and their descendants now make up a tiny fraction of Pakistan’s estimated 190 million citizens. Most live in Sindh province in the southern part of the country.

Will the Islamophobia never end? "Pakistan's minority Hindus feel under attack," from the Associated Press, November 8 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

They came after dusk and chanted into the night sky "Kill the Hindus, kill the children of the Hindus," as they smashed religious icons, ripped golden bangles off women's arms and flashed pistols. It wasn't the first time that the Hindu temple on the outskirts of Pakistan's largest city was attacked, and residents here fear it will not be the last.

"People don't consider us as equal citizens. They beat us whenever they want," said Mol Chand, one of the teenage boys gathered at the temple. "We have no place to worship now."

It was the second time the Sri Krishna Ram temple has been attacked, and this time the mob didn't even bother to disguise their faces. The small temple, surrounded by a stone wall, is a tiny religious outpost in a dusty, hardscrabble neighborhood so far on the outskirts of the city that a sign on the main road wishes people leaving Karachi a good journey.

Local Muslim residents blamed people from a nearby ethnic Pashtun village for the attack, which took place in late September on the Day of Love for the Prophet, a national holiday declared by the government in response to an anti-Islam film made in the U.S. No one was seriously injured in the attack.

It was the latest in a rising tide of violence and discrimination against Hindus in this 95 percent Muslim country, where Islamic extremism is growing. Pakistan's Hindu community says it faces forced conversions of Hindu girls to Islam, a lack of legal recognition for their marriages, discrimination in services and physical abuse when they venture into the streets....

It isn't just Hindus who are facing problems. Other minorities like Christians, the mystical Muslim branch of Sufis and the Ahmadi sect have found themselves under attack in Pakistan, where the rise of Muslim fundamentalists has sometimes unleashed a violent opposition against those who don't follow their strict religious tenets.

The discrimination has prompted some Hindus to leave for India, activists warn, though the extent is not known. Around 3,000 Hindus left this year, part of a migration that began four years ago, sparked by discrimination and a general rise in crime in Sindh, said DM Maharaj, who heads an organization to help Hindus called Pakistan Hindu Sabha.

He said he recently talked to a group of Hindus preparing to move to India from rural Sindh, complaining that they can't eat in Muslim restaurants or that Muslim officials turned them down for farming loans. Even during recent floods, they said Muslims did not want them staying in the same refugee camps.

Other Hindu figures such as provincial assembly member Pitamber Sewami deny there's a migration at all, in a reflection of how sensitive the issue is. Earlier this year, there were a string of reports in Pakistani media about Hindus leaving the country, sparking a flurry of promises by Pakistani officials to investigate.

In India, a Home office official said the Indian government noticed an upward trend of people coming from Pakistan but called reports of Pakistanis fleeing to India "exaggerated." He said he does not have exact figures on how many Pakistani Hindus have stayed in India after entering the country on tourist visas. The official spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the topic.

There's more of a consensus of the seriousness of the problem of forced conversion of Hindus.

Zohra Yusuf, the president of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan says the pattern goes like this: A Hindu girl goes missing and then resurfaces days or weeks later married to a Muslim boy. During court hearings to determine whether the conversion was voluntary, students from nearby Islamic schools called madrassas often flood the room, trying to intimidate the judges by chanting demands that the conversion be confirmed.

Maharaj says he's tried to intervene in roughly 100 cases of forced conversions but has only succeeded in returning a girl safely back to her family once. If a girl decides to renounce Islam and return to Hinduism, she could be signing a death warrant for herself and her family even if her conversion was forced....

"Aceh is a special territory that enforces Sharia." And that means that non-Muslims cannot build new houses of worship or repair old ones -- it's Islamic law.

Islamic Tolerance Alert from modern, moderate Indonesia: "Nine churches and six Buddhist temples shut down under Islamist pressure in Banda Aceh," by Mathias Hariyadi for Asia News, October 18 (thanks to Kreen Akrore):

Jakarta (AsiaNews) - Authorities in Banda Aceh, capital of the Aceh Special Territory, ordered the closure of nine Christian home churches and six Buddhist prayer houses for alleged irregularities in their building permit. According to Deputy Mayor Hajjah Illiza Sa'aduddin Djamal, the buildings were illegal because they lacked the right permit. Under the law, private homes cannot be used "for religious ceremonies or functions."

"Aceh is a special territory that enforces Sharia," she said and home churches violate the law because they lack the appropriate building permit (Izin Mendirikan Bangunan in Indonesian).

The issue is more complicated in the case of Christian places of worship because the latter require the agreement of a certain number of local residents and that of the local interfaith dialogue group. Under the pressure of radical Muslim groups, permits are often denied.

Deputy Mayor Djamal also wants the authorities to monitor the activities of Buddhist and Christian communities to ensure that their services are performed in the right places. This is necessary, in her view, to "maintain interfaith harmony." At the same time, "we shall not issue any new permit for other churches or vihara (Buddhist temples)."

Local Muslim extremists welcomed the decision. Yusuf Al-Qardhawy, head of the Aceh branch of the Islamic Defence Front (FPI), called on other jurisdictions to follow Banda Aceh, enforce Islamic law and stop any non-Muslim worship activity that is not approved.

He said the situation would be monitored constantly to ensure that rules are respected. Local sources note that the municipal order shutting Buddhist and Christian places of worship follows a complaint filed by Islamists concerning an "improper" use of buildings....

Because everyone knows that Buddhists in Indonesia have total control over the treatment of Muslims in Myanmar. "FPI Attacks Buddhist Temples During Rohingya Protest," by Rahmat for the Jakarta Globe, August 10 (thanks to Simara):

Makassar. A rally by the Islamic Defenders Front against the killing of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar turned violent in Makassar on Friday, as protesters attacked two Buddhist temples in the South Sulawesi capital.

The Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) began the rally after finishing their Friday prayer at Al-Markaz Al-Islami Mosque, forming a convoy and traveling down some of the city’s main streets.

On Jalan Sulawesi, they stopped and threw stones at Kwang Kong Buddhist temple. A few protesters were seen banging the door of the temple with wooden sticks.

The group also went to throw stones at Xian Ma temple, which is a secretariat office for the South Sulawesi branch of the Council of Buddhist Communities (Walubi)....

"We are businessmen but have been compelled to leave our motherland because of harassment, lawlessness, looting, kidnapping of girls and their forced conversion to Islam." Compare this to the rights that Muslims enjoy in India. "Pakistani Hindus arrive with horror tales," from PTI, August 10 (thanks to Ajay):

In the backdrop of a 14-year-old Hindu girl’s abduction in Pakistan’s Jacobabad city in Sindh province three days ago, a controversy erupted when a delegation of 150 Hindus was detained by Islamabad for seven hours on Friday before being allowed to enter India for a pilgrimage. Head of the delegation Anup Kumar said they were supposed to cross over to India in the afternoon, but their arrival was delayed because the Pakistani authorities were apprehensive that they may not return due to the law and order problems in the southern province of Sindh, where most of Pakistan’s estimated seven million Hindus live.

Why would they want to return?

Before leaving Pakistan, members of the delegation had to give an undertaking to the authorities that they would not seek asylum from the Indian government and would under all circumstances return to Pakistan within 30 days, Kumar said.

He said Hindu families were not safe in Pakistan and kidnapping of young Hindu girls and brides at gunpoint by fundamentalists had become a routine affair. “There is no law and order in Sindh and the government is watching the activities of fundamentalists as a mute spectator.”

Kumar said the recent abduction of the teenager in Jacobabad had sparked fear among the minority community, which was now planning an exodus.

He said it was possible that the majority of the delegation members would never like to go back to Pakistan in the prevailing circumstances. He said Hindu girls were being forced to convert to Islam after being abducted.

In Islamabad, President Asif Ali Zardari took serious note of reports of a "sense of insecurity" among Hindu families in Sindh and directed the authorities to allay the minority community’s grievances.

Media reports from Jacobabad said seven Hindu families comprising 90 people had decided to move to India for good. “We are businessmen but have been compelled to leave our motherland because of harassment, lawlessness, looting, kidnapping of girls and their forced conversion to Islam," said Amesh Kumar of Bakhshapur area in Jacobabad.

An unnamed Hindu man from Quetta told the Dawn newspaper: “Pakistan is our homeland and at the moment we are going to India for visiting our sacred places. But if I find the situation in India better than in Pakistan, I will prefer to settle there and others also think the same way.”...

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

“They came to lynch us. They shouted ‘death to Kurds, death to Alevis.’ They told us to leave and threatened to kill us if we did not." The Evli family probably should have just resigned themselves to having to wake up early, seeing as how "Ramadan is a month of holy war and death for Allah. It is a month for fighting the enemies of Allah and God's messenger, the Jews and their American facilitators."

"Alevi family's home stoned, stable torched in southeastern Turkey," from the Hürriyet Daily News, July 30 (thanks to Lachlan):

The home of an Alevi family was stoned and their stables burned down by an angry mob yesterday after the family allegedly told a Ramadan drummer not to wake them for sahur, the meal before sunrise.

Members of the Evli family in the Sürgü village of the southeastern Malatya province allegedly asked a Ramadan drummer not to drum in front of their home the night of July 28 as they were not fasting and had work early in the morning. The two sides quarreled after the drummer rejected the family’s request.

News of the incident was heard throughout the village and a mob of around 60 people gathered in front of the Evli family’s house yesterday. The group hurled stones at the family's home and said the family members were “Kurds and Alevis.” The small contingent of gendarmerie soldiers in the villlage was unable to contain the crowd so reinforcements were called in from the Doğanşehir district.

The group reportedly chanted slogans, yelled “Allahu ekber,” meaning God is great, sang the Turkish national anthem and said “this family will leave this place.” Evli family members turned off their lights and hid in their homes in terror. The group also set a stable belonging to the Evli family on fire, which prompted the gendarmerie to fire shots into the air.

Security forces were able to disperse the crowd after reinforcements arrived.

Hasan Hüseyin Evli, whose home was attacked, said his family had wanted to live in peace together as Alevis and Sunnis. “We do not want such incidents, we have never hurt anyone,” he said.

Leyla Evli showed journalists the stones hurled at her home by the mob. “They came to lynch us. They shouted ‘death to Kurds, death to Alevis.’ They told us to leave and threatened to kill us if we did not,” she said.

I am confident that Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf is jetting his way to Saudi Arabia right now, so as to explain to the authorities there that Sharia is benign and completely compatible with Western notions of human rights.

Islamic Tolerance Alert from the Kingdom of the Two Holy Places: "Sri Lankan at Risk of Being Beheaded for Praying to Buddha," from The Chakra, July 26 (thanks to David):

A Sri Lankan youth employed as a domestic aid has been arrested in Saudi Arabia for praying to a statue of Lord Buddha, which is considered an offence according to Islamic Sharia law. According to the Bodu Bala Sena, the youth bearing passport no. 2353715 identified as Premanath Pereralage Thungasiri has been arrested by Umulmahami Police, which is a grave situation. While the youth is a Buddhist, the charge levelled against him is that he paid obeisance to the Buddha at the house where he was employed.

The Bodu Bala Sena organisation further said those employed in Muslim-majority countries are prevented from practicing their religious faiths, and if found to do so are punished severely. Recently a Sri Lankan woman was arrested for gazing at a child at a shopping complex, where she was accused of witchcraft, on the grounds that she had a black cord around her wrist.

On prior occasions too many Sri Lankan female domestic workers were forced to embrace Islam, and wear the traditional attire, while so far four Sri Lankan youth have been beheaded in that country. (Source: Ceylon Today)

Saudi Arabia is an Islamic theocratic monarchy where the religion of Islam is the official religion. Non-Islamic proselytism and conversions are illegal and conversion by Muslims to another religion (apostasy) carries the death penalty. Under Saudia [sic] Arabia Sharia Islamic law, children of Saudi parents are considered Muslim, regardless of the country or the religious tradition in which they may have been raised.

It is not permissible according to Sharia, they said. And it's true: Sharia forbids Christians in the Islamic state to build new churches or repair old ones. And while stories like this one are common enough, the iron dogma in the U.S. that Sharia is benign and completely compatible with Constitutional freedoms must never be questioned.

"Churches should not be built in Islamic countries, say preachers," from the Arab Times, July 27 (thanks to David):

KUWAIT CITY, July 26: A group of Islamic preachers claimed that churches should not be built in Islamic countries particularly in the Arabian Peninsula following the issuance of an approval for constructing a church in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh, reports Al-Watan Arabic daily.

Undersecretary of Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Mutlaq Al-Qarawi stressed that the ministry is not responsible for issuing licenses for building churches, and only receives the applications for licenses, which they refer immediately to the Municipality for review.

Meanwhile, Sheikh Nazem Al-Misbah pointed out that the Fatwa and Legislation Department should be questioned for such issues, stressing that based on his knowledge about Islam, it is forbidden to build churches in the Arabian Peninsula.

Adding to the Sheikh Nazem’s comment, Sheikh Mohammad Humoud Al-Najdi said building churches in Kuwait should be prohibited, as Kuwait is a part of the Arabian Peninsula.

Furthermore, Sheikh Sayed A-Rifae Al-Husseini expressed displeasure towards Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, and the Municipality for approving the construction of a new church in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh, stressing that it is not permissible as per the Sharia.

He added that giving excuses such as it is a matter of human rights and international norms to build it, is not acceptable, as Islam comes first, and people should respect religion first before serving humanity or anything else.

Remember: in Muslim countries, you must respect Islamic practices and sensitivities. And in non-Muslim countries, you must respect Islamic practices and sensitivities. Islamic Tolerance Alert from the Kingdom of the Two Holy Places: "Saudi warns non-Muslims: respect Ramadan or else," from The Associated Press, July 20 (thanks to all who sent this in):

Saudi authorities are warning non-Muslim expatriates against eating, drinking or smoking in public during Ramadan, the monthlong sunrise-to-sunset fast - or face expulsion.

The Interior Ministry of the oil-rich kingdom is calling on non-Muslims to "show consideration for feelings of Muslims" and "preserve the sacred Islamic rituals."

Otherwise, a statement says, Saudi authorities will cancel violators' work contracts and expel them....

Saudi Arabia, the ultraconservative Sunni kingdom, is the home of Islam's holiest sites. It enforces a strict interpretation of the religion.

Here yet again, for AP you're "ultraconservative" if you want to impose Sharia and "ultraconservative" if you oppose Sharia.

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.

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.

GEORGE TOWN: Umno assemblyman Dr Hilmi Yahaya hit out at Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng for propagating politics of hatred over the demolition of a Hindu temple last month.

Teluk Bahang representative Hilmi said Lim has stirred the religious sensitivities of Hindus by blaming Umno and Barisan Nasional for the demolition.

He said Lim could have instead easily resolved the issue by engaging Penang port management, the Penang Port Sdn Bhd (PPSB).

“He attempted to create hatred among Hindus against Umno and BN when we are the innocent parties,” said Hilmi, also the PPSB chairman.

The 40-year-old temple located just outside the Prai Bulk Cargo Terminal (PBCT) was demolished in April.

PBCT general manager, Abdul Halim Abdul Kader apparently ordered the demolition citing the temple posed danger because it was located next to a chemical pipeline.

No points for guessing which is more important to many Muslims--a pipeline or a temple.

Hilmi maintained that PBCT management ordered the demolition with his knowledge.

However, Lim was quick to lay the blame on Umno and BN for the tearing down of the temple.

At the recent assembly sitting, Lim even warned that Hindu temples could be in danger if Umno was returned to power in Penang.

Now where would Minister Lim get such a crazy idea that Muslims are a threat to Hindu temples, or to Buddhist temples or Christian churches for that matter? Perhaps, as he is a non-Muslim living in a majority Muslim state, he must know what he's talking about?

Irked by Lim’s comments, state opposition leader Azhar Ibrahim lodged a police report against the DAP secretary-general over his comments.

Malay [Islamic] supremacist organisation Perkasa also conducted mock Hindu funeral rites for Lim outside his residence, claiming that the chief minister was inciting racial and religious hatred.

KOTA BARU: PAS appears to make a small consensus following the controversy on designs of new buildings but insist there be no images of idols.

The Kelantan state government will allow buildings to be constructed without any Islamic features so long they do not have elements that are against the religion, said Kelantan Mentri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat.

'Mentri Besar' means senior minister of the Malaysian State government, or the equivalent of a U.S. state governor.

“Islam is a universal religion and is suitable for all races. The Buddhist association can build it (its new building) as long as it does not have elements that go against Islam.

“For instance, they can have any Chinese designs, architecture or colours but they are discouraged from putting images of idols on the buildings,” he told reporters after launching the state Muktamar Dewan Ulama PAS in Machang Saturday.

There you go. As long as it doesn't have 'idols' or other, um, 'unIslamic elements'. That sounds 'moderate', doesn't it? Of course, a typical Buddhist temple is probably chock-full of non-Islamic elements, but never mind.

He was asked to comment on a controversy involving the Kelantan Buddhist Association, which was required to abide by municipal by-laws requiring new buildings within its jurisdiction to have Islamic features.

It had been reported that the Kelantan Buddhist Association had submitted an appeal to the state government for its building to be constructed with Chinese features at Jalan Sultan Zainal Abidin here.