normanfernandez

CHRISTIANS CAN NO LONGER BE APOLITICAL AND INDIFFERENT.

Christians and Christianity in Malaysia is fast becoming an enemy of the state. Christians have for far too long been apolitical and indifferent. It must now dawn on the Christians that they and their faith are under attack. Christians must now be more conscious and assetive in protecting and defending their faith.

 

Christians form 9.2% of Malaysia’s 28.3 million population. According to the Official Catholic Directory 2012, the number of Catholics as at 2010 stands at 1,007,643 and some 70% of the Catholics reside in Sabah and Sarawak. Further it is estimated that there are approximately 50,000 migrants and itenerants of Catholic faith in the Kuala Lumpur Archdiocese. 

 

While for the majority of Muslims and Christians in Malaysia live ( and wish to) in harmony and tolerance respecting each other,  there is now a segment of vociferous Muslims bordering on extremism who has taken upon themselves to speak for the moderate Muslims who seem to have been cowed to silence to the extent they have become be apathetic. These groups have become evermore brazen in putting their views across. Christians and Christianity has become the Muslim’s boogeyman in Malaysia.

 

Take the latest incident. Last month the Johor Education Department organized a seminar for some 55 primary and secondary schools in the Johor Bahru district “Pemantapan Aqidah, Bahaya Liberalisme dan Pluaralism serta Ancaman Kristianisasi Terhadap Umat islam. Apa Peranan Guru.” (Strengthening faith, dangers of Liberalism and Pluralism and the threat of Christianity towards Muslims. What is the Role of Teachers ?). Imagine, a religious body joining hands with a government agency whose salaries are paid by tax-payers and Christians included, to organize a seminar with the objective of scaremongering and to cultivate fear and bigotry. 

 

Although after adverse publicity and much criticism , the organizers dropped the words “Ancaman Kristianisasi” ( Threat of Christianity), it cannot be denied that the whole purpose of the course was to brainwash and instill in the teachers  the dangers of Christians and Christianity. Worst, the fact that that the seminar was sanctioned and allowed to continue means that Barisan Nasional government and perhaps the party you may have voted had approved the seminar.  It is to these teachers who have been inculcated with prejudicial and bigoted values, you Christian parents are entrusting your children’s education to. Any wonder why Chinese parents have completely bypassed the national schools as a medium of education for their children.

 

Catholics still remember when on November 2006 about  1000 Muslim protestors besieged Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Ipoh after the Mufti of Perak Harussani Zakaria send an SMS claiming that 600 Muslim students of Ungku Omar Polytechnic were to be baptized by the national mariner Azhar Mansor. Investigations revealed that the Mufti of Perak, Datuk Harussani had sent an SMS after a Malay lady met and informed him of the ‘impending” event. No attempt was made by the Mufti to verify the authensity of report. The Mufti out to have realized that, one does not become a Catholic by a mere handshake or the Church will allows any individual let alone a Muslim to conduct baptism but unlike other faith, applicants interested in the Catholic faith must first undergo a rigorous course of study before voluntarily accepting the Catholic faith.

 

The same Mufti was again mischief making when in February 2006 made a sensational claim that some 250,000 Muslims have apostasised while 100,000 Muslims have submitted application to renounce their religion. When demands were made for the Mufti to substantiate his claim, he could not do since his allegation was a lie from the start. In both the incidents no action was taken against the Mufti ( or even against the woman). 

 

In truth, Dr Mohd Azam Mohd Adil, a law professor at UITM, in his research found that the National Registration Department recorded only 750 applications beween 1999 and 2003 to July 2003 to change names from Muslims to non Muslims in the identity card and of these only 220 were granted and even then most of the applicants were converts to Islam. Even more startling were the revealation that the actual numbers of applicants who filed an application to leave Islam for the period between 1994 and 2003 was a mere 100. No wonder former Mufti of Perlis, Dr Mohd Asri Zainal Abidin poured scorn about the Mufti of Perak’s preposterous claim.

 

In 2009, Catholics were mortified to read about two Muslim journalist who went undercover to investigate the going on in a Catholic church. The two journalist not only participated in the ceremony but also consumed the holy wafer, spat out the remains and photographed it and published the picture in an article in the May 2009 edition of al- Islam entitled “Tinjauan al-Islam Dalam Gereja: Mencari Kesahihan Remaja Murtad”. Despite this sacrilegious act of desecrating the white wafer which is sacred and of utmost reverence to Catholics, no action was ever taken against the journalist nor against the publication.

 

Since the political tsunami of March 8, 2008, attacks and insults against Christians and Christinianity has intensified. A segment of Muslims in Malaysia encouraged by the fact that no action is taking by the authorities against them have grown more brazen and assertive to spew unsubstantiated accusations    and are on a relentless witchhunt against Christians and Christianity.

 

Hardly a month passes by when some individual, group or blogs raise the temperature by alleging that Christians are covertly attempting to convert Muslims and or have converted Muslims.

 

At the forefront in spooking the Muslims has to be Dato Hassan Ali the former Selangor State Exco for Islamic Affairs who with a religious zeal regularly makes spurious and preposterious allegations which hightens tension and  driving a wedge between the Muslims and Christians. Using the cover of his NGO, JATI, he has in recent months alleged that Christian missionaries have been using solar-powered talking bibles to spread Christianity to Muslims. Add to that, he has also alleged that Christians have set up welfare groups to extend financial and other forms of assistance to single mothers, the poor and the elderly and also have have alleged that Christian preachers were slowly spreading their belief among school-going Muslim children by way of free tuition classes. Then there were the allegations of Christians sending or distributing Christian pamphlets and literature in public places, homes, universities. If all that is not enough, there was also allegation of a conversion ceremony where the participants were made to drink holy water. Unlike other faith, Catholics do not drink holy water. Perhaps he got mixed up with zam-zam water which Muslims do.

 

If all these are not enough, Utusan Malaysia sensationalises preposterious allegations obtained from internet sites and questionable blogs to the extents it frontpaged a preposterios allegation obtained from a blog and without any attempt to verify, that Christians are plotting to make Christianity the official religion in Malaysia with a Christian Prime Minister. As if on cue, PERKASA and other Muslim NGO’s immediately went on a hissy fit lodging police reports nationwide. In truth, it was a dinner organized by the National Evangelical Fellowship, Global Day of Prayer, Marketplace Penang and Penang Pastors Fellowship which incidentally had the attendance of the Chief Minister of Penang. The Home Minister expressed his grave concern and lo and behold ordered a police investigation not against the blog or the newspaper but to investigate the allegation if there were any truth about Christians wanting to make Christianity the official religion and a Christian as the Prime Minister. As usual no action was taken against the newspaper for the baseless and provocative report nor against the blogger for the unsubstantiated and seditious posting. Can’t a national leader attend a Christian event ?

 

Christians must realize their mistake thus far. Christians and particularly Catholics have for far too long remained apolitical and apathetic. Christians must realize,  it is their indifference which have embolden a segment of the Muslims population in Malaysia to commence a withhunt against Christians and Christianity to the extent that Christians and Christianity has become an enemy of the state. Christians and particularly Catholics must be conscious of what is happening to their faith and must take a stand. Your vote must  reflect the stand.

 

Younger generation Christians have paid the price for the mistakes of our elders indifference and apathy. Let us not make the same mistake. Let us not endow such a nation to our children. Take heed and vote wisely. Christians have a choice.

 

NORMAN FERNANDEZ

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