1. The Malaysian Insider (http://www.themalaysianinsider.com)
Religious leaders say nothing wrong with Muslims receiving Christian aid, 21 August 2011
by Clara Chooi
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 21 — Muslim and Christian leaders agreed today that all religious institutions should help the needy regardless of their religious beliefs, said exploitation of their desperation for aid to proselytise should be rejected.
The stance was established this evening when the leaders, including Perlis Mufti Dr Juanda Jaya and Council of Churches Malaysia general secretary Reverend Dr Hermen Shastri, huddled together at a closed-door function here in a forum to discuss the role of religious institutions in disbursing help to the needy.
The touchy subject of impoverished Muslims turning to Christians for help has been raging on for weeks, possibly adding strain to inter-religious ties in Malaysia although the country recently established diplomatic relations with the Roman Catholic church.
The row first exploded when the Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) in Petaling Jaya was raided by religious authorities investigation a proselytisation complaint. It later exacerbated when allegations surfaced that Christian organisations have been attempting to lure impoverished Muslims into the religion by offering them aid.
Pro-Umno newspapers have been highlighting the issue of late, beginning with Utusan Malaysia’s report on a Christian conspiracy to usurp Islam. In the latest twist to the saga, a tuition centre accused of trying to convert Muslim schoolchildren to Christianity was ordered shut after the Malay daily highlighted the allegations last week.
But today’s forum participants disagreed that religion should stand in the way of an individual’s need for welfare, noting that all faiths preach extending assistance to the less fortunate. Such assistance from religious bodies, they said, should not be politicised but should instead be promoted extensively to inform the needy that such help is available.
The leaders however sighed over the lack of communication between the country’s different religious communities, repeatedly pointing out that such inter-religious matters should not have to be discussed in such a clandestine manner. The forum, organised by the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas), was held in a small function room at Hotel Midah here and saw the participation of a group of religious leaders, civil society representatives and handpicked media organisations.
“We are of the same opinion that the issue of poverty should be tackled by all, especially the religious institutions. But programmes to help the poor should be better organised. More importantly, whatever activity that involves the congregation of different religious communities should be done in a more open and transparent manner, in a manner that shows respect for one another,” Dr Juanda (picture) said.
He noted that the disbursement of zakat funds reach even the non-Muslims, adding that a recipient does not need to embrace Islam to receive aid.
“It is given in order to reduce hostilities between religions. If a non-Muslim needs help, it is right to give them help. And I believe that when a person needs help, when they are in desperate conditions, they will accept it from anyone,” he told the forum.
Dr Juanda added that on the ground, relationships between the different religious communities have always been cordial and harmonious but lamented that unfounded fears that the issue could heighten religious tension have quelled open discourse.
“These issues can be resolved quickly and should be so that all misconceptions can be cleared immediately. Programmes like this forum should be held often so that no matter what happens, we can always contact one another directly to get information,” he said.
When the topic of proselytisation was raised, Hermen said that should such activities occur, there are appropriate laws that can be used but stressed that the acts of “one or two persons” should not be used to demonise the entire religion.
He agreed that certain sects may choose to proselytise the needy by offering assistance in return but said this was not done after consultation with the church.
“If someone says — if you want charity, you must convert — we do not condone it. So if that happens, then those persons must face the consequences. But we cannot characterise the whole religion just because one or two persons do it,” he said.
Hermen said response to help offered by the church varies between different individuals, with some feeling “drawn” to the religion after receiving the assistance.
“But, we do not make it a condition that a person must be Christian first before receiving charity. Never a condition that they should become a member of our faith,” he stressed.
Dr Maszlee Malik of Universiti Islam Antarabangsa said better networking and cooperation among the religious communities is needed to tackle such sensitive matters, adding that certain incidents are better kept out of the media.
“It helps that there is substantial communication between one another and I think alot of issues, like what we have now, could be solved behind the media or even, without going to the core or diving into legal issues,” he said.
2. Just International (http://www.just-international.org)
FORGING UNITY THROUGH RELIGION?, 23 August 2011
by DR. CHANDRA MUZAFFAR
Is religion in multi-religious Malaysia a force for unity --- or disunity? This is an important question to ask at this juncture since religion has assumed tremendous significance in the public arena in recent times.
In the first decade and a half of our Independence, religion was not perceived as a hindrance to national unity. The Malaysian Constitution recognised Islam as the religion of the Federation. It was an affirmation of the identity of the new nation which had evolved from Muslim Sultanates. If this identity was not acknowledged, the Malay-Muslim populace would have felt that the Malaysian state had not taken cognisance of their identity as a people.
The Islamic identity of the land expressed itself through both ceremony and substance in the early years of Merdeka. The recital of the doa at official functions was an example of the former; state funding for the building of mosques and Islamic religious instruction in national schools were examples of the latter. Ceremony and substance continue to feature in the expression of Malaysia’s Islamic identity.
The non-Muslim communities were not unhappy about the status and practise of Islam. By and large the nation’s Islamic identity did not impinge upon their rights. In fact, the Constitution, then and now, protects their right to profess and practise their religion, to manage their own religious affairs, “to establish and maintain institutions for religious or charitable purposes; and “to acquire and own property and hold and administer it in accordance with law.” It is a truism that Buddhist Viharas, Hindu temples, and Christian Churches are integral to the landscape of a nation where more than 60% of the population is Muslim. The religious festivals of communities which constitute less than even 10% of the total are celebrated as public holidays, and have become etched in the people’s collective psyche.
However, the relatively tension free coexistence among the majority and minority religious communities of the first 15 years, began to witness some strains from the eighties onwards. Rapid Malay urbanisation since the seventies has created a situation in which Muslims today share physical and cultural space with people of other faiths as never before. The consequent interaction has resulted in an increase in inter-religious marriages and divorces, and the attendant problems of conversion especially of minors, custody of children, the abandonment of one’s religion, the religious status of the deceased, and so on.
Often, in situations like this where interaction gives rise to friction, segments within a religious community become more conscious of religious boundaries. Any breach of what is sometimes an artificially constructed boundary arouses passions and heightens tensions. The controversy over the use of the term “Allah” by non-Muslims is a case in point.
To overcome this and other controversies, there has to be a fundamental change in the mindset of the influential stratum of Muslim society. There will be no solution to controversies such as child conversion as long as one accords primacy to religious injunctions that have developed over time rather than the perennial values and principles of the Qur’an. Our religious establishment, religious teachers at all levels and the media will have to be imbued with a more enlightened and dynamic outlook on the meaning and practice of faith in a multi-religious society grappling with contemporary challenges.
In this regard, it is important to emphasise that while this conservative, sometimes atavistic, mindset that confronts us transcends party affiliations, the dogma associated with it is more closely aligned to PAS than UMNO. This is why it is PAS that sought to introduce hudud—the emblem of this dogma--- in Kelantan and Trengganu , something which no UMNO-led state or federal government has done in the last 54 years.
If a certain mindset within a segment of the Muslim population is a barrier to national unity, so is a certain movement within the growing Christian community. Evangelical Christians determined to spread Christianity are becoming more zealous. Non-Muslim communities are their main targets in Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah and Sarawak. But there is increasing evidence to suggest that Malays are also being approached --- in spite of the constitutional provision that restricts “the propagation of any religious doctrine or belief among persons professing the religion of Islam.”
The evangelical push in Malaysia and other parts of the world has a lot to do with the rise of what is broadly described as the Christian Right in the United States. For the Christian Right exporting their brand of the religion serves to strengthen the global hegemonic power of the US. As Iain Buchannan shows in his superb academic study of this movement entitled The Armies of God, converting Muslims to Christianity is one of the evangelist’s cherished goals. Since Muslims worldwide have always resisted conversion, the tactics employed are more subtle and sophisticated.
Many Christian groups in Malaysia and other countries are opposed to this sort of evangelism. They know that it is not only a betrayal of the essence of Jesus’ message of love, compassion and justice but also inimical to harmonious relations among different religious communities. They emphasise universal values shared by Christianity, Islam and other religions.
It is these shared values that should be the fount of unity in a multi-religious society. They underscore our common humanity. If religions through the deeds of their adherents bring forth our common humanity, they will help forge unity in this land that we call our home.
By Dr. Chandra Muzaffar
22 August 2011
・Dr. Chandra Muzaffar is Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Yayasan 1Malaysia and Professor of Global Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia.
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