1. Malaysiakini（http://www.malaysiakini.com）
Banning books narrows our horizons, 22 June 2012
by Helmy Haja Mydin
Once upon a time, officers from the Federal Territory Islamic Religious Department (Jawi) decided to confiscate copies of Allah, Liberty and Love, a book by the liberal Muslim activist Irshad Manji.
This was done under the pretext of preventing confusion among Muslims. More disturbingly, the rakyat was told that Jawi has the power to seize ‘any book or article which threatens the faith of Muslims in the country'.
I have not read Allah, Liberty and Love but the dubious act of banning a book is even more confusing to me, for Islam attaches great importance to knowledge and education.
The very first verse of the Quran (Al-Alaq) that was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) can be translated as "Read! In the Name of your Lord, Who has created (all that exists)" [Quran, 96: 1-5].
There is little doubt among scholars of Islam that reading, and by extension, the attainment of knowledge, is a cornerstone of the Islamic faith.
History is rife with examples of those in authority banning books, purportedly for the benefit of society. More often than not, this is done in order to protect the status quo or preserve a chosen ideology.
By controlling what is read, they exert control over what people think. Perhaps the most famous example is the book burnings in Germany, pre-World War II.
One of the first acts of Joseph Goebbels, Hitler's propaganda minister, was to burn all books that were deemed ‘un-German', presaging an era of totalitarian control over the media, arts and information in Germany.
In Berlin, Goebbels declared ‘an end to decadence and moral corruption and the beginning to decency and morality'. Books burned were works by authors of Jewish decent and ‘corrupting foreign influences' or American authors and those of socialist and communist backgrounds.
Ironically, one of works burned was the writings of the German-Jewish poet Heinrich Heine, who had previously written that ‘where they burn books, they will in the end also burn people'.
I was fortunate to have been brought up in a home that encouraged reading. One of my earliest childhood memories is that of my father reading Aesop's The Tale of the Woodcutter, a story on the importance of honesty.
Even though we were by no means wealthy, my parents spent a considerable amount of their disposable income on books for me. This ranged from the simple pleasures of Enid Blyton's Enchanted Forest to the (then) exciting world of the Hardy Boys, alongside random books on dinosaurs or insects or whatever topic that happened to catch my attention at the time. We even had encyclopaedias back then!
I am eternally indebted to my parents for not only opening my eyes to a world of wonder and imagination, but perhaps more importantly, for allowing me to grow and mature alongside my choice of books - indulging my fascination with Neil Gaiman's The Sandman as much as my flirtations with Nietzsche's existentialism.
In fact, the first time I ever had trouble obtaining a book was when I asked a teacher to lend me her copy of Sigmund Freud's The Interpretation of Dreams. I was rebuffed as apparently I wasn't ready for it (I was 18 at the time).
Decisions to ban books are often based on arbitrary notions of what is dangerous and/or derogatory - notions that shift as society changes.
Some books are deemed unsuitable for minors, begging the question: when is one ‘ready' for a particular book? After all, one does not miraculously develop the ability to scrutinise the particulars of a work of literature as the clock chimes at midnight of one's 18th birthday.
Encourage critical thinking from young
The right thing to do then is to encourage critical thinking from a young age, something sorely lacking in our education system. There is much to be said about the ability to deconstruct an argument and to critically analyse it from varying aspects and points of view.
We should be embracing more books - teaching our students to debate, dismantle ideas and confront dogma - instead of banning works that do not conform to our notion of political correctness.
When dealing with a book that is deemed insulting to Islam (or supposedly confuses its adherents), the easiest route for Jawi to take is to ban the book. However, the easiest route is rarely the most appropriate one.
Rather than banning a piece of work outright, Jawi should come up with literature that explains its viewpoints, something that could even be incorporated into the introduction of the local publication of Allah, Liberty and Love.
By expanding our literary horizons, we begin to relate our values and belief systems with those around us. After all, how can you respect another's point of view without attempting to walk in his/her shoes? For those who seek a deeper meaning to their faith, it tends to reinforce one's understanding of religion.
For Muslims, it is worth noting that there is a hadith stating that ‘seeking knowledge is an obligation upon every Muslim, and the Prophet (PBUH) explained that the superiority of the one who has knowledge over the one who merely worships is like the superiority of the moon over every other heavenly body'.
Books are powerful tools that help us understand the changing world around us, as much as the changing world within us. Books might not be the panacea for all that ails us, but they just might make you feel that it is possible to live happily ever after.
・HELMY HAJA MYDIN is a Fellow with the Malaysian libertarian think-tank Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS).
2. Daily Express (http://www.dailyexpress.com.my)
Christians are grateful to govt on Bible: Expert, 22 June 2012
Kota Kinabalu: Christians in Malaysia are grateful to the Government for having cleared the Allah controversy, in so far as allowing Bibles containing the description for God to be used by the fraternity in Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan.
"Now that they (Christians) don't have to worry about restrictions, the focus is on how to bring the people to maturity in terms of educating them in the use of the Bible.
"It is how to apply the knowledge in their lives, so it's more on engagement with the Word of God and applying that in their daily activities.
That's more important," said Dr Daud Soesilo, Global Translation Advisor to the United Bible Societies (UBS).
Dr Soesilo, who is of Indonesian descent and based in Australia, was in Sabah recently to mark the 400th anniversary of the Bahasa Melayu Alkitab. UBS is a united body, a fellowship of all the national Bible Societies around the world.
Although a court decision on the matter is still pending, the Government decided to make a special allowance for the Christian community in the Bornean states during the run-up to the Sarawak State election recently, a move that was praised by its Chief Minister, Tun Pattingi Haji Taib Mahmud.
This was due to the Christian communities in Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan (which was formerly part of Sabah) using Bibles containing the word long before the formation of Malaysia in 1963.
The Government, thus, released the shipment of 5,000 copies of the Alkitab last year that had been impounded at the Klang and Kuching ports. Dr Daud paid tribute to Albert Corneliszn Ruyl for having completed a monumental work in translating Matthew's Gospel into Malay in 1612.
Initially, Ruyl started writing a Malay Grammar book entitled A Mirror of the Malay Language. Subsequently, he translated the Book of Cathechism into Malay, followed by the translation of the Gospel according to St Matthew.
According to Dr Soesilo, historical records date the first Bahasa Melayu Alkitab (Malay Language Bible) to the year 1612, making it 400 years old today. That was the year in which the Gospel of Matthew was translated into Malay.
"Bahasa Melayu was then the spoken language of the area, the forerunner of what is now known as Bahasa Malaysia and Bahasa Indonesia.
"The Bible was translated from Dutch to Malay by Albert Corneliszn Ruyl from the Netherlands who was a junior trader with the Dutch East Indies Company. Ruyl had studied Malay in Sumatra where it was commonly used in palace courts there."
The first publication of the translation was in 1629, 17 years later.
"The publication of the first translation included the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, and other prayers, including for before and after the sermon, and the benediction. It also contains some songs, a few Psalms and hymns," he said."
Hence, the Christian use of Allah as a reference to God began to be used widely among people in the region, like in the old Arabic Bible.
He said two original copies of the 1629 Bahasa Melayu Alkitab are today at the Stuttgart Public Library in Germany and the British Museum in London.
The first reprint with some minor revision was made in 1651.
The latter copies are available in the Netherlands and in many libraries around the world. He said 1733 saw the publication of the first complete Bible in Malay, followed by a second version in 1879.
Dr Daud said Ruyl set the direction for Malay and Indonesian Bible translations when he used Allah as the translation for God.
"This Arabic word was the cognate of the Hebrew names of God, El, Elohim and Eloah, in the Hebrew Old Testament."
The word has been used continuously in the region ever since.
He said Ruyl displayed ingenuity in using local terms (which are simple and ordinary) to render biblical terms.
"For example, he used berbaiki badan for repent, literally 'to fix body', and ruti manis for unleavened bread, literally 'sweet bread'.
The translator also made cultural adaptations of biblical plants and animals not readily known to his Malay audiences."
In his presentation on Ruyl's Malay Translation of Matthew's Gospel at the Seminar on Migration & Diaspora Asia and the Bible, here, Dr Daud said:
"It's amazing as it became the earliest translation of the Bible ever to be published in a non-European languageÉbefore a full Gospel in Chinese, Japanese and Mongolian."
"The Government agreed that there is freedom to use the Alkitab.
I respect the struggle of people here who continue to stand up for what they believe is right," he said.
（End）
