Freedom of Religion in Malaysia

I am what I believe

MALAYSIA has seen a fair share of cases involving religion. These include cases of people wanting to convert out of a religion, bodies being taken by religious authorities for burial and citizens being charged with spreading “deviationist teachings”.

FREEDOM OF RELIGION

Article 11 of the Federal Constitution states that every person has the “right to profess and practise his religion”. But what does that mean? What is “to profess”? And what is “to practise”?

The word “profess” is often associated with religion. The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary defines “profess” as “to affirm, or declare one’s faith in or allegiance to (a religion, principle, God or saint, etc.)”. I think this is a good definition. Other synonyms of the word in a number of dictionaries include “claim”, “acknowledge”, “state”, “avow”, “assert”, “annunciate”, “enunciate”, “aver”, “pronounce” and “announce”.

A few things can be derived from these definitions:

> I determine my own religious views;

> No one else defines my religious views; and

> I am free to believe in what I want to believe in.

Why Christian in Malaysia use Allah

If it is suggested by adherents of the respective faiths, this could perhaps be more acceptable.
But when followers of one faith, suggest (and insist) that believers of another faith, re-write their Scriptures to pander to their “unsubstantiated convictions” then we are not too far from the “height of arrogance.”

By Dr. Rev. Eu Hong Seng, Pastor
A layman’s perspective
In the current ongoing debate, some are of the opinion that Christians should just give in and forego the use of the word “Allah” so that the threats and attacks on churches will stop and Malaysia can continue to enjoy her peace and move on unhindered to developed nation status. Now, more than ever the country needs clear-minded Malaysians and not “confused” citizens, Christians included.
There are ten salient facts and reasons and I would like to address these to the ordinary man in
the street and lay people in the Church.1.

1. The use of "Allah" predates Islam
"Allah" is the Arabic name for God, and it indeed pre-dates Islam and even Christianity. The pagan Arabs of the Arabian Peninsula called God "Allah," even though they worshipped hundreds of idols in addition. Christians all across the Arab World today use the word "Allah" for God, and if one were to read an Arabic Bible, he would find that God is indeed called "Allah."
"Allah" is also the name that Jesus Christ called God. "Allah" is the Arabic equivalent of "Elohim," which is Hebrew for God. The "im" is a plural appendage of respect, and so the word is "Eloh," which is very similar to "Allah." In addition, the Aramaic word for God is "Alaha," and Aramaic was the language which Jesus himself spoke. Moreover, the word "Allah" is found in the English version of the Bible which we read today. In Matthew 27:46 we read: "About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, 'Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?' - which means, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'" The word "Eloi" is the Aramaic form of the Arabic "Allah."2
It is important to know the fact that Christians in Malaysia didn’t start using “Allah” only recently, as some contend.

From the heart of a Muslim - Tawfik Hamid

I was born a Muslim and lived all my life as a follower of Islam.

After the barbaric terrorist attacks done by the hands of my fellow Muslims everywhere on this globe, and after the too many violent acts by Islamists in many parts of the world, I feel responsible as a Muslim and as a human being, to speak out and tell the truth to protect the world and Muslims as well from a coming catastrophe and war of civilizations.
I have to admit that our current Islamic teaching creates violence and hatred toward Non-Muslims.

We Muslims are the ones who need to change. Until now we have accepted polygamy, the beating of women by men, and killing those who convert from Islam to other religions.
We have never had a clear and strong stand against the concept of slavery or wars, to spread our religion and to subjugate others to Islam and force them to pay a humiliating tax called Jizia. We ask others to respect our religion while all the time we curse non-Muslims loudly (in Arabic) in our Friday prayers in the Mosques.

WHAT IS SHARI‘A?

“It is through the Shariah, commonly translated as “Islamic Law”, that Islam is expressed in Muslim societies… Shariah had come to signify Islam per se. If Islam is submission to the Will of God, then Shariah is the path by which submission is enacted, the actual route map of religion as a way of life. Hence, for many Muslims, Islam is the Shariah and the Shariah is Islam.” (Ziauddin Sardar, Desperately Seeking Paradise, London, Granta Books, 2004, pp. 216-217)

Introduction
In the twenty-first century there are increasing calls for greater shari‘acompliance in the West, especially in the UK, and for full shari‘a to be practiced in more Muslim-majority countries.
Shari‘a is an Arabic word meaning “path” or “way”. Nowadays it is used to mean “Islamic law”, the detailed system of religious law developed by Muslim scholars in the fi rst three centuries of Islam. This law expresses the Islamic way of life and – much more than the Qur’an – is the key to understanding Islam.

By converting to Christianity President Obama is an “apostate” in the eyes of Islam

Islam is a one-way street. Non-Muslims can convert to Islam, but Muslims are not allowed to convert from Islam. All schools of Islamic law specify the death sentence for an adult male Muslim who chooses to leave his faith. Although this is rarely carried out, the law imposes many other penalties on apostates, and provokes powerful hostility towards them amongst Muslims.

President Barack Obama`s late father and grandfather were Muslims, but the president himself is a professing Christian. According to Islamic sharia law, the child of a Muslim parent is to be regarded as a Muslim, regardless of the other parent`s faith. By embracing Christianity Obama has made himself an “apostate” in the eyes of Islam, that is, he is someone who has abandoned Islam, and as such under sharia he deserves the death penalty.

Islam, the second largest religion in the world with around 1.4 billion adherents, stands alone among world religions in officially prescribing a range of severe punishments for any of its adherents who choose to leave their faith, punishments that include the death sentence, writes Sookhdeo, International Director of Barnabas Fund, and Director of the Institute for the Study of Islam and Christianity.

INDONESIA - CHURCH ARSON THREATENS COMMUNITY RELATIONS IN PADANG LAWAS

Two churches and a pastor's house were set on fire by a mob of up to 1,000 Muslims in Sibuhuan, Padang Lawas regency, North Sumatra on 22 January. There were no fatalities, but hundreds of Christians fled their homes to avoid possible attacks. At the time of writing no one had been arrested.

The arson attack was the culmination of a dispute between the two communities over the use by local Christians of buildings not registered as churches. According to local police, the two buildings, which have been reduced to ashes, were considered "places of prayer" rather than "churches", as they did not have the necessary permits, a claim denied by the church leaders.

This is apparently the first time such attacks have happened in this area, where substantial Muslim and Christian populations live alongside each other. The Muslim community is reported to be "tired of seeing too many faithful and too many prayers".

A North Sumatra Police spokesman reported that, at meetings following the arson attacks, the Padang Lawas administration, local agencies and religious leaders have "all agreed the financial losses caused by the attacks will be covered and that neutral locations would be provided for Christians to rebuild the churches".

Source: barnabas fund

Spate of anti-Christian attacks

West Java has witnessed a spate of anti-Christian attacks in the last few months. In December 2009, at Islamic New Year, thousands of demonstrators stormed a church in Bekasi regency, setting objects on fire. On 31 December the authorities in East Bekasi, under the influence of hard-line Muslim groups, ordered a large church to stop its services and other activities. On 3 January 2010 hundreds of residents of the North Tambun sub-district prevented members of another church from taking part in services. In Bogor Regency Muslims took to the streets to protest against the building of a permanent church.

But incidents of intimidation and violence have been reported from other parts of Indonesia too, particularly from areas where militant Islamist groups are present and active. On 21 January, under pressure from such groups, the authorities ordered a church in Sepatan, in the Tangerang district of Banten province, to stop its services. The next day two Protestant churches and a pastor’s house were set on fire by a Muslim mob in Sibuhuan, in the Padang Lawas regency of North Sumatra. The Muslim community was said to be tired of seeing “too many faithful and too many prayers”. Many Muslims feel threatened by the explosive church growth of the last 50 years; church leaders estimate that Christians may number 15% or even 20% of the population.

Even in some areas where there is no violence, Christians are enduring intense pressure, arising either from government restrictions on religious freedom, or from the extension of Islamic sharia law. A prominent cleric from Indonesia's biggest Muslim organisation has said that sharia law should take precedence over laws passed by the country’s parliament.

Indonesia: Fire of Hatred Burns Again

On Tuesday 27 April hundreds of Muslims descended on a building site belonging to a Christian education foundation in Cibeureum, in the Bogor regency of West Java. They ransacked and set fire to the building, and destroyed other property. Residents claimed that the rioters were from outside the village, which suggests that the attack may have been orchestrated.

Muslim leaders had accused the foundation of reneging on an agreement not to create a Christian education centre in a mainly Muslim area and of planning to build a chapel there. Incited by these reports, Muslim residents took matters into their own hands. A spokeswoman for the foundation denied the rumours, saying that the building was intended as a meeting-place.

Police completely failed to prevent the attack. In the afternoon of the same day the local government directed that construction of the building should be postponed until further notice.

An Indonesian church leader said that acts of destruction and anarchy should not be tolerated. “Isn’t this country based on the law?” he asked. “Why have this country’s people behaved like thugs recently?”

The Truth of What Lies Behind the Veil

by Jacqueline Pascarl

Before this commentary gets underway, I feel that it is necessary to close the gate before the horse bolts. So first up, let me say that I am not anti-Islamic, I have lived as a Moslem woman from the age of seventeen until I was twenty-two (and admittedly, found it not to my liking for a number of reasons).

Much of my professional life has been spent working with, and for Moslem people in the war zones of Bosnia Herzegovina, Kosovo and Albania as an humanitarian relief worker, and I have travelled and worked extensively in the Middle East, Europe, Africa and Asia - so I have seen quite a bit of the world and can compare how varying societies adapt the Islamic religion to the cultural morays and sensitivities of their regions.

Daftar Muslim yang Meninggalkan Islam

Muslim sering membual dan merenungkan dgn hati senang atas berita non-muslim memeluk Islam, tetapi mereka tidak menceritakan sisi lain dari cerita di mana kaum muslimin yang berbondong-bondong meninggalkan Islam. Ada lebih banyak Muslim meninggalkan Islam daripada bertobat baru bergabung dengan Islam. Muslim yang meninggalkan Islam dalam jutaan, yang belum pernah terjadi sebelumnya dalam sejarah Islam. Halaman ini akan berisi berita yang terkait dengan "Muslim Meninggalkan Islam" dan link ke Kesaksian Muslim yang meninggalkan Islam dan berpindah ke keyakinan lain.

Mantan Muslim yang menjadi atheis / agnostik / deists

• Ibn Warraq
• Parvin Darabi
• Taslima Nasrin
• Ali Sina
• Ayaan Hirsi Ali - Belanda feminis dan politikus
• Anwar Sheikh
• Mark Gabriel A
• Zak Gariba
• Ampbreia
• Wafa Sultan - Arab Amerika psikiater
• Salman Rushdie - Inggris Penulis Lahir India
• The Murtad
• Dr, Shaikh Younus - Dokter Pakistan & Rasionalis