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"A heavy cross to bear (by Hariati Azizan - The Star/Asia News Network Apr 26, 2015)
There is a scene in an early episode of the popular vampire series True Blood, when the leading character Sookie gets a lesson from her bloodsucking love interest Bill about the things that can destroy the undead.
"What about Holy water?" she asks. "It's just water," he says. "Crucifixes?" "Geometry."
Some of this logic would have come useful last week when a group of around 50 residents of Taman Medan in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, mobbed a new church in the neighbourhood, demanding for the cross outside the house of worship be taken down. As they had argued, in a Muslim-majority area, the sight of the cross challenges Islam and can influence younger minds.
The reaction of many, including a number of religious leaders and the Prime Minister, towards the extreme behaviour of the group of Muslims has injected some needed common sense into the public consciousness on the divisive matter.
The moderate G25 called for firm action against those they described as "the ignorant, intolerant Muslims." The group of prominent Malays felt that the protesters have tarnished the image of Islam.
"The Taman Medan protesters, by their crude, disrespectful and unreasonable behaviour, have tarnished the image of Islam, the very religion they claim to 'protect'. "Islam is a religion of peace, mercy and compassion and there is no place in Islam for intolerance towards other faiths and their places of worship," G25 said in a statement sent by its coordinator Datuk Noor Farida Ariffin.
The Muslim Professionals Forum had also denounced the protest, saying that this "mindless act of hatred and incitement against another religion's place of worship has no place in Islam and deserves unreserved condemnation".
Sisters In Islam refuted the mob's comment that the cross would influence young Muslims in the neighbourhood. "Their worry that young Muslims' faith in the religion would be threatened is unfounded. "The cross does not have magical powers that can compromise a person's belief. As Muslims, the protesters should have faith in Allah, and should not be threatened by the symbols of other religions," the Islamic NGO stated.
Actress Wardina Safiyyah also staked at the heart of the matter: "Dear Muslims, act like Muslims. Only vampires fear the cross. Let the Christians worship freely. The Prophet says 'Kindness makes things beautiful, while violence renders them defective.'" One has to agree that the fear of the cross among many Malaysian Muslims is curious, given that even the modern-day vampires, if the recent pop vampire-lore is of any indication, seem to be able to see through the symbolism."
I decided to leave the reporter's name in tact when quoting the headlines as it is important to see that how ironical it is, if not farcical the protest was!
Lessons for me are:
1. the report quoted a lot of Muslims who pointed out how these protesting Muslims have 'misplaced good intention' in public! It is SIGNIFICANT as the world need to hear and see the silent majority of the Muslims in PUBLIC every time some Muslims have done something that is silly, 'stupid', and damaging the good name of the great religion! MORE of these public showing please! Keep up the good work!;
2. in a multi-religious society, each religion MUST stick to its own teaching without criticizing and attacking the other. This is especially so when the constitution of the land, as in Malaysia and in Singapore, guaranteed the freedom of religion! Religion must be kept out of politics at ALL COST. Otherwise, the COST TO PAY for a society torn by religious conflicts will far outweigh that of keeping the society religiously in harmony! Religion is emotional. And when emotion is stirred, rationality has NO CHANCE in HELL (pardon the pun) to prevail! Guard against it with fearless determination and swift action every time someone try to upset the delicate balance!;
3. of course, despite the clear danger of stirring up religious disharmony, SOME people, in particular politicians fighting for a place to keep in power and hence the many 'riches' that come with power WILL be tempted to RISK it all! This is what an incumbent government will need to do: to make sure that religion is NOT exploited in this manner. Singapore has done this very well and I am thankful for it. From this report, as least we are seeing our closest neighbours are also having the silent majority speaking out when Muslims did something unhelpful to religious harmony. This is great!
"A heavy cross to bear (by Hariati Azizan - The Star/Asia News Network Apr 26, 2015)
There is a scene in an early episode of the popular vampire series True Blood, when the leading character Sookie gets a lesson from her bloodsucking love interest Bill about the things that can destroy the undead.
"What about Holy water?" she asks. "It's just water," he says. "Crucifixes?" "Geometry."
Some of this logic would have come useful last week when a group of around 50 residents of Taman Medan in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, mobbed a new church in the neighbourhood, demanding for the cross outside the house of worship be taken down. As they had argued, in a Muslim-majority area, the sight of the cross challenges Islam and can influence younger minds.
The reaction of many, including a number of religious leaders and the Prime Minister, towards the extreme behaviour of the group of Muslims has injected some needed common sense into the public consciousness on the divisive matter.
The moderate G25 called for firm action against those they described as "the ignorant, intolerant Muslims." The group of prominent Malays felt that the protesters have tarnished the image of Islam.
"The Taman Medan protesters, by their crude, disrespectful and unreasonable behaviour, have tarnished the image of Islam, the very religion they claim to 'protect'. "Islam is a religion of peace, mercy and compassion and there is no place in Islam for intolerance towards other faiths and their places of worship," G25 said in a statement sent by its coordinator Datuk Noor Farida Ariffin.
The Muslim Professionals Forum had also denounced the protest, saying that this "mindless act of hatred and incitement against another religion's place of worship has no place in Islam and deserves unreserved condemnation".
Sisters In Islam refuted the mob's comment that the cross would influence young Muslims in the neighbourhood. "Their worry that young Muslims' faith in the religion would be threatened is unfounded. "The cross does not have magical powers that can compromise a person's belief. As Muslims, the protesters should have faith in Allah, and should not be threatened by the symbols of other religions," the Islamic NGO stated.
Actress Wardina Safiyyah also staked at the heart of the matter: "Dear Muslims, act like Muslims. Only vampires fear the cross. Let the Christians worship freely. The Prophet says 'Kindness makes things beautiful, while violence renders them defective.'" One has to agree that the fear of the cross among many Malaysian Muslims is curious, given that even the modern-day vampires, if the recent pop vampire-lore is of any indication, seem to be able to see through the symbolism."
I decided to leave the reporter's name in tact when quoting the headlines as it is important to see that how ironical it is, if not farcical the protest was!
Lessons for me are:
1. the report quoted a lot of Muslims who pointed out how these protesting Muslims have 'misplaced good intention' in public! It is SIGNIFICANT as the world need to hear and see the silent majority of the Muslims in PUBLIC every time some Muslims have done something that is silly, 'stupid', and damaging the good name of the great religion! MORE of these public showing please! Keep up the good work!;
2. in a multi-religious society, each religion MUST stick to its own teaching without criticizing and attacking the other. This is especially so when the constitution of the land, as in Malaysia and in Singapore, guaranteed the freedom of religion! Religion must be kept out of politics at ALL COST. Otherwise, the COST TO PAY for a society torn by religious conflicts will far outweigh that of keeping the society religiously in harmony! Religion is emotional. And when emotion is stirred, rationality has NO CHANCE in HELL (pardon the pun) to prevail! Guard against it with fearless determination and swift action every time someone try to upset the delicate balance!;
3. of course, despite the clear danger of stirring up religious disharmony, SOME people, in particular politicians fighting for a place to keep in power and hence the many 'riches' that come with power WILL be tempted to RISK it all! This is what an incumbent government will need to do: to make sure that religion is NOT exploited in this manner. Singapore has done this very well and I am thankful for it. From this report, as least we are seeing our closest neighbours are also having the silent majority speaking out when Muslims did something unhelpful to religious harmony. This is great!
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