The recent brutal religious police raid on a Malaysian church is proving to be a watershed moment, a moment that, for Christians in Malaysia, is showing just how bad the persecution in their own country has become. Even Malaysia’s Christians have begun to notice. From “Upset, Christians tell each other to pray for a change in government”, by Dana Kay, Malaysia Chronicle, 8 August 2011.
A Head Elder, Senior Pastor Ambrouse Linang who is also the Secretary-General of the
Association of Churches in Sarawak expressed shock at the continuation of the Christian attacks, commenting that it made nonsense of [Prime Minister] Najib’s recent high-profile visit to the Vatican.
“Paranoid is the word. It has become a norm for some Muslim to over-react over rumors or hearsay. This government used to say Muslims all over the world are being persecuted. Look at us Christian, are we not being persecuted in our own country?”
Christian parish council member, Ding worried about the Christians’ freedom of worship in Malaysia. “It appears to be getting worst by the year. A wise government unites its entire people, not divide them. It is time for Christian to rise and pray together for a better government and for a better country, not a government which is so bent on making the races suspicious and scared of each other,” she said.
Malaysia’s Christians sole remaining defense appears to be to depend on the power of prayer to maintain what few shreds of freedom they have left.
Meanwhile, the Muslims are closing ranks to defend the actions of the defenders of Allah. From “Islamic groups defend Jais raid”, By Lisa J. Ariffin, The Malaysian Insider, August 08, 2011:
Several Islamic groups have united in support of the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) raid on a church in Petaling Jaya last Wednesday which has sparked an outcry.
Muslim Organisations in Defence of Islam (Pembela) leader Dr Yusri Mohamed said today that Jais did not “storm”, “raid” and “barge” into the Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) as portrayed in the media.
Why would a organization named ‘Muslim Organizations in Defence of Islam’ be necessary? Who is ‘attacking’ Islam in Malaysia, exactly? The Christians? The Buddhists? The Hindus?
“Based on information obtained from Jais, the reason for inspection was to see if there were Muslims present during the function and to make sure there was no derogation of Islam,” Yusri told reporters here.
“The operation was carried out in accordance to principles and provisions of existing law.”
What exactly is considered to be ‘derogation’ here? The fact that Muslims are in a church, receiving aid from Christians? And of course the thuggish action the inspection such as that carried out by religious police is legal and never a derogation of any kind, permitted by laws that were written by Muslims. As the principles and provisions of existing Malaysian law are written in order to maintain Islamic supremacy in perpetuity, what is the moral worth of such laws? What is the use of following an unjust law in an unjust system that guarantees the supremacy of Islam?