Every year I make it a rule to give a chocolate to my husband on 14 February, and he also gives me a white chocolate or cookies in return on 14 March annually. However, my husband is not a Christian. I think that this small gift-giving habit is not religious but more socially accepted occasions which strengthen personal relationships in general. (Lily)
1. New Straits Times (http://www.nst.com.my)
Shedding light on grey areas , 11 February 2012
by Nuraina Samad(news@nstp.com.my)
T is that time of the year again when the world celebrates Valentine's Day -- with the exception, of course, of Islamic countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran and Pakistan.
In modern democratic Malaysia, Muslims are warned by religious leaders and young leaders of an Islamic party against celebrating it.
In Islamic countries, the celebration of love and romance on Feb 14 is banned because it is linked to Christianity.
In Malaysia, Muslims are told not to celebrate Valentine's Day not only because of its Christian elements but because these religious authorities and politicians believe it leads to immoral activities such as premarital and unlawful sex.
Muslims intent on celebrating Valentine's Day are reminded of the fatwa (edict) issued by the National Fatwa Council in 2005 against the celebration, declaring that it had never been promoted by Islam and contains Christian elements.
The council had also pointed out that the practice invites undesirable and illicit activities prohibited by Islam. In issuing the edict, the council had taken into account the various theories surrounding the celebration but concluded that it is rooted in Christianity.
I'm no religious leader and have no intention of getting involved in a debate with the National Fatwa Council or anyone else over the 2005 fatwa.
It's a good sign that the council issued the edict because it shows that it responded to questions by Muslims in the country over whether or not it is permissible in Islam to celebrate Valentine's Day.
Some time ago, a fatwa was issued on yoga because of its Hindu origins. The fact that it was popular among Muslims is a microcosm of Malaysia's multi-ethnic society. This is the age of wanting answers for what used to be acceptable practices.
As the world modernises, global citizens embrace modernity and progress. At the same time, as people fight for democracy and freedom, segments of the world population become more conservative. Some, more religious, for different reasons.
On a moderate non-political scale, ordinary folk, in this case, among Muslims in Malaysia, have grown closer to religion and want to be sure that their faith is intact in whatever they do.
So they question the Islamic validity of such western practices including celebrations such as Valentine's Day and fitness activities such as yoga or qi gong.
These practices fall under grey areas because there is no specific mention of them in the Quran or the Sunnah -- the fundamental sources of Islamic law. Muslims turn to religious scholars for decisions on these grey or new issues or when controversies arise.
It was a matter of time before Valentine's Day got to be controversial. In 2010, Pas Youth said Valentine's Day and New Year's Day celebrations led to immoral activities with dire consequences like unwanted babies and thus, many cases of baby dumping.
Last year, Pas Youth initiated operations in Kedah, Kelantan and Selangor to check immoral activities during Valentine's Day as pre-emptive measures to promote a sin-free lifestyle.
The week before Valentine's Day, the national religious development department (Jakim) launched a campaign "Beware The Valentine's Day Trap". On Feb 14, religious authorities in Selangor raided several budget hotels and detained more than 80 Muslims for khalwat or close proximity.
Earlier this week, Pas Youth chief Nasrudin Hassan at-Tantawi said Valentine's Day celebrations must be stopped as it would lead to immoral activities (read: vice). His deputy, Nik Abduh Nik Aziz went further, calling the government to place anti-Valentine Day's advertisements on television to discourage Muslims from celebrating the event. The movement will be submitting a memorandum to the government on this.
Non-Muslim and Muslim bodies have reacted. Non-Muslim groups reminded Pas Youth that Malaysia is a democratic country of diverse cultures and religions "so don't impose your values on us".
Muslim groups have called on the movement to "fight for something more important that affects Muslims" and to "investigate the true origin of this celebration first before creating a commotion which offends other religions".
The debate will go on for as long as bodies like Pas Youth take the moral ground and seek to ban the celebration. For Muslims -- and we really do not know how many celebrate Valentine's Day -- it is simply a day for sweethearts to celebrate their love by sending red roses, cards and gifts.
They don't think there's anything bad about it except that they'll be spending more and helping those florists and restaurants make a killing.
It is not a day where Muslims make a point of checking into a hotel -- budget or six-star -- to do what they're not supposed to do.
So, in the days before Valentine's Day, will we see anti-vice campaigns on budget hotels? Will there be a stop to all those commercials promoting the celebration?
Perhaps we could all join Kelantan in celebrating this month as "husband and wife" month as an alternative to Valentine's Day.
The state government launched it on Thursday to popularise it as annual celebration nationwide.
Women, Family and Health Development Committee chairman Wan Ubaidah Omar said Kelantan wants to "spread the message that they can love each other but it must be in a halal (permissible) way by being married."
Yes indeed. It is all about love. Just like Valentine's Day -- except that we would have a whole month of celebration.
Meanwhile, let's not make a big deal about Valentine's Day. As Sisters in Islam points out-- "there are more pressing issues" facing the ummah and, although Pas Youth has denied it -- "don't be a moral guardian".
2. (http://www.raymondibrahim.com)
Muslim Persecution of Christians: January 2012
'Good Muslims Cannot Convert to Christianity'
by Raymond Ibrahim
Stonegate Institute
February 9, 2012
- She was flogged -- given 40 lashes as hundreds of Muslim spectators jeered -- for embracing a "foreign religion."
- The happy cheers of Christian children singing carols "became terrified whimpers" when four Muslims, one of them with an axe, barged into the church, slapped the children, wrecked the furniture, and kicked the altar -- for "disturbing their prayers."
The beginning of the New Year saw only an increase in the oppression of Christians under Islam, from Nigeria, where an all-out jihad has been declared in an effort to eradicate the Muslim north of all Christians, to Europe, where Muslim converts to Christianity are still hounded and attacked as apostates. According to the Chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, "The flight of Christians out of the region is unprecedented and it's increasing year by year"; in our life time alone, he predicts "Christians might disappear altogether from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Egypt."
An international report found that Muslim nations make up nine out of the top ten countries where Christians face the "most severe" persecution. In response to these findings, a Vatican spokesman said that "Among the most serious concerns, the increase in Islamic extremism merits special attention. Persons and organizations dedicated to extremist Islamic ideology perpetrate terrible acts of violence in many places throughout the world: the Boko Haram sect in Nigeria is but one example. Then there is the climate of insecurity that unfortunately in some countries accompanies the so-called "Arab spring"—a climate that drives many Christians to flee and even to emigrate."
Categorized by theme, January's batch of Muslim persecution of Christians around the world includes (but is not limited to) the following accounts, listed in alphabetical order by country, not severity of anecdote.
APOSTASY
Iran: A Christian convert who was arrested in her home has been sentenced to two years in prison. Previously she endured five months of uncertainty detained in the notorious Evin prison, where the government hoped she would come to her senses and renounce Christianity. She was convicted of "broad anti-Islamic propaganda, deceiving citizens by formation of what is called a house church, insulting sacred figures and action against national security." Likewise, Iranian Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani continues to suffer in prison. Most recently, he rejected an offer to be released if he publicly acknowledged Islam's prophet Muhammad as "a messenger sent by God," which would amount to rejecting Christianity, as Muhammad/Koran reject it.
Kenya: Muslim apostates seeking refuge in Kenya are being tracked and attacked by Muslims from their countries of origin: An Ethiopian who, upon converting to Christianity, was shot by his father, kidnapped and almost killed, is now receiving threatening text messages. Likewise, a Ugandan convert to Christianity is in hiding, his movements severely restricted since "the Muslims are looking to kill me. I need protection and help."
Kuwait: A royal prince who openly declared that he has converted to Christianity, confirmed the reality that he now might be targeted for killing as an apostate.
Norway: While out for a walk, two Iranian converts to Christianity were stabbed with knives by masked men shouting "infidels!" One of the men stabbed had converted in Iran, was threatened there, and immigrated to Norway, thinking he could escape persecution there.
Somalia: A female convert to Christianity was paraded before a cheering crowd and publicly flogged as punishment for embracing a "foreign religion." Imprisoned since November, "the public whipping was meant to mark her release." She received 40 lashes as hundreds of Muslim spectators jeered. An eyewitness said: "I saw her faint. I thought she had died, but soon she regained consciousness and her family took her away." Likewise, "Somali Islamists arrested a Muslim father after two of his children converted to Christianity" and fled. He is accused of "failing to raise his sons as good Muslims, because "good Muslims cannot convert to Christianity."
Zanzibar: After being robbed, a Muslim convert to Christianity called police to his house; they discovered a Bible during their inspection. The course of inquiry immediately changed from searching for the thieves to asking why he "was practicing a forbidden faith." He was imprisoned for eight months without trial, and, since being released, has been rejected by his family and is now homeless and diseased.
CHURCH ATTACKS
Azerbaijan: A pastor has been threatened with criminal proceedings following a raid on his church during Sunday service. Earlier, he was told that "a criminal case had been launched over religious literature arousing incitement over other faiths," and was pressured by authorities to leave the area, which he did, traveling great distances each week to lead church services.
Egypt: Before a bishop was going to inaugurate the incomplete Abu Makka church and celebrate the Epiphany mass, a large number of Salafis and Muslim Brotherhood members entered the building, asserting that the church had no license and so no one should pray in it. One Muslim remarked that the building would be suitable for a mosque and a hospital.
Indonesia: A sticker on the back of the car of a member of the beleaguered Yasmin church saying "We need a friendly Islam, not an angry Islam," distributed by the family of the late Muslim president, prompted another Islamic attack on the church: scores of Muslims "terrorized the congregation and attacked several church members." Since 2008, the congregation has been forced to hold Sunday services on the sidewalk outside the church and then later in the home of parishioners. Not satisfied, hundreds of Muslims later searched and found the private home where members were congregating and holding service and prevented them from worshiping there as well: "It crosses the line now. The protesters now come to the residential area, which is not a public place." A new report notes that anti-Christian attacks have nearly doubled in the last year.
Nigeria: Soon after jihadis issued an ultimatum giving Christians three days to evacuate the region or die, armed Muslims stormed a church and "opened fire on worshippers as their eyes were closed in prayer," killing six, including the pastor's wife. Then, as friends and relatives gathered to mourn the deaths of those slain, "Allahu Akbar" screaming Muslims appeared and opened fire again, killing another 20 Christians. Several other churches were bombed, and seven more killed.
Pakistan: Enraged by the voices of children singing carols at a nearby church, Muslims praying in a mosque decided to silence them—including with an axe: "The children were preparing for mass to be celebrated the next day which was a Sunday. The loud cheers became terrified whimpers when suddenly four men, one of them with an axe, barged into the church. The men slapped the children, wrecked the furniture, smashed the microphone on to the floor and kicked the altar. "You are disturbing our prayers. We can't pray properly. How dare you use the mike and speakers?" (Islam forbids Christians from celebrating loudly in church, banning bells, microphones, etc.) Also, a center owned by the Catholic church for 125 years, and used for "charitable purposes"—it housed a home for the elderly, a girls' school, a convent and chapel for prayer—was demolished, after it was discovered that its land is worth much money; in the process, demolition workers destroyed Bibles, crosses, and a statue of Our Lady.
Zanzibar: Muslims destroyed two churches: one was torched, while the other demolished—all to yells of "Allahu Akbar."
DHIMMITUDE
[General Abuse, Debasement, and Suppression of non-Muslim "Second-Class Citizens"]
Denmark: In Muslim majority Odense, an Iranian Christian family had two cars consecutively vandalized—windows smashed, seats cut up, and set ablaze—because the cars had crucifixes hanging in them; the family has since relocated to an undisclosed location. Likewise, "Church Ministry" will change its name to "Ministry of Philosophy of Life" to accommodate Muslims.
Egypt: In the latest round of collective punishment, a mob of over 3000 Muslims attacked Christians in a village because of a rumor that a Coptic man had intimate photos of a Muslim woman on his phone (denied by the man). Coptic homes and shops were looted before being set ablaze. Three were injured, while "terrorized" women and children who lost their homes stood in the streets with no place to go. As usual, it took the army an hour to drive 2 kilometers to the village and none of the perpetrators were arrested.
Nigeria: Boko Haram Muslims set ablaze a Christian missionary home. Occupants of the home, mostly orphans and the less-privileged, were rendered homeless as a result. Meanwhile, a top officer allowed the mastermind behind the Christmas Day church bombings to escape, evincing how well entrenched Islamists are in government.
Pakistan: A judge has denied bail to the latest Christian charged with desecrating the Koran, under Pakistan's blasphemy laws, despite the lack of evidence against him: according to Sharia, the word of a Christian is half that of his Muslim accuser (his landlord).
Saudi Arabia: Officials strip-searched 29 Christian women and assaulted six Christian men after arresting them for holding a prayer meeting at a private home. Imprisoned last month without trial, they have not been told when or if they will be released. Authorities conducted the strip searches of the women, who insisted they had committed no crime, in unsanitary conditions. As a result, some of the women have been injured and are suffering illnesses, but authorities have provided no medical treatment.
Sudan: Authorities threatened to arrest church leaders if they engage in "evangelistic activities" and fail to comply with an order for churches to provide names and identifications: "The order was aimed at oppressing Christians amid growing hostilities toward Christianity… Sudanese law prohibits missionaries from evangelizing, and converting from Islam to another religion is punishable by imprisonment or death in Sudan, though previously such laws were not strictly enforced." Accordingly, days and weeks later, two evangelists were arrested on spurious charges and beat by police.
Turkey: A Christian asylum seeker who fled from Iran because of his faith "was brutally assaulted by his Turkish employer with hot water and his body was severely burned," due to "the extreme religious views" of his Muslim employer, who "told him he had no rights and that he would not pay him any money," after the Christian asked for his agreed wages. He "is just one example of hundreds of Iranian Christian asylum seekers who are living in such situations in Turkey."
ABDUCTION, RANSOM, MURDER
Egypt: The abduction of a 16-year old Christian girl, who disappeared over a month ago, has become a "tug of war between the Christian family and Muslim lawyers." The court sided with the Islamists, ordering the girl to be held in a state-owned care home till she reaches 18—the legal age of conversion—instead of returning her to her family. Coptic activists argue that the decision "encourages Islamists to continue unabated the abduction of Christian minors for conversion to Islam."
Pakistan: A Christian girl who was abducted in 2001 when she was 15 and forced to marry a Muslim, returned to her Catholic family after 10 years. Her case is not an isolated case: "there are at least 700 cases a year of Christian girls kidnapped and forced to marry Muslims. Likewise, "within the past three months, nine women have been abducted and forcibly converted to Islam."
Sudan: After a large truck smashed through the gates of a Catholic Church compound, Muslims affiliated with Sudan's Islamic government kidnapped two Catholic priests and "severely beat" them and looted their living quarters, stealing two vehicles, two laptops and a safe. Later, the kidnappers forced the priests to call their bishop with a ransom demand of 500,000 Sudanese pounds (US$185,530).
Switzerland: A Muslim man hacked his daughter to death for dating a Christian: were they dating in a Muslim-dominated country, the Christian, as so often happens, would have likely received similar treatment.
Syria: The Christian community in Syria has been hit by a series of kidnappings and brutal murders; 100 Christians were killed since the anti-government unrest began; "children were being especially targeted by the kidnappers, who, if they do not receive the ransom demanded, kill the victim, including some who are "cut into pieces and thrown in a river." These latest reports are reminiscent of the anti-Christian attacks that have become commonplace in Iraq for a decade.
Tajikistan: A young man dressed as Father Frost—the Russian equivalent of Father Christmas—was stabbed to death while visiting relatives and bringing gifts. The Muslim mob beating and stabbing him screamed "you infidel!" leading police to cite "religious hatred" as motivation.
About this Series
Because the persecution of Christians in the Islamic world is on its way to reaching epidemic proportions, "Muslim Persecution of Christians" was developed to collate some—by no means all—of the instances of Muslim persecution of Christians that surface each month. It serves two purposes:
1. Intrinsically, to document that which the mainstream media does not: the habitual, if not chronic, Muslim persecution of Christians.
2. Instrumentally, to show that such persecution is not "random," but systematic and interrelated—that it is rooted in a worldview inspired by Sharia.
Accordingly, whatever the anecdote of persecution, it typically fits under a specific theme, including hatred for churches and other Christian symbols; sexual abuse of Christian women; forced conversions to Islam; apostasy and blasphemy laws; theft and plunder in lieu of jizya (tribute); overall expectations for Christians to behave like cowed "dhimmis" (second-class citizens); and simple violence and murder. Oftentimes it is a combination thereof.
Because these accounts of persecution span different ethnicities, languages, and locales—from Morocco in the west, to India in the east, and throughout the West, wherever there are Muslims—it should be clear that one thing alone binds them: Islam—whether the strict application of Islamic Sharia law, or the supremacist culture born of it.
(End)
