I was rather disturbed to read about the official request not to mention the name 'Jesus' in Christmas carols during the planned public celebration of Christmas.

It is worrying that even after 50 years of independence in a multiracial country whose religious and cultural diversity is ostensibly celebrated by the Malaysian government in political rhetoric, the powers-that-be, namely Umno, persist in dividing the people and showing the pernicious intolerance, arrogance and cynicism which characterises their modus operandi .

In the process, they reveal to the world their true nature, and if I may say so, ignorance about Islam, a faith which they claim to uphold and defend.

Equally disturbing is Dr Herman Shastri's pathetic defence of his cooption in the name of compromise, which is a sad reflection of the moral resilience of some church leaders.

I have no intention of vilifying Shastri, but if Christian leaders do not speak up for Jesus without fear, whom else can we expect to do so? Maybe we expect too much from Shastri as we do not know what kind of political pressure he was under.

Why is there all this talk about Islam Hadhari when there is no basic understanding of Islamic theology? What is so sensitive about celebrating in public the birth of Jesus?

If Umno is sincere in joining in the festivity, it should accept Christianity for what it is and not try to manipulate the meaning of Christmas by banning the use of the word 'Jesus'. This is not only an insult to Christians but an insult to Islam as well.

Of course, there are major theological differences between Christians and Muslims, not to mention differences of interpretation between Muslims, but unequivocally, the Holy Koran teaches us about the Virgin birth of Jesus, the Resurrection, and the oneness of God.

Allah is the God of Abraham, the God of Jesus and the God of Prophet Mohammed. So it is clear, that celebrating the birth of Jesus will not pose any sensitivity to true Muslims.

A more fundamental issue is freedom of worship, which is the constitutional right of every Malaysian and incidentally, also happens to be an important Islamic principle.

By requesting a ban on the name of Jesus, the authorities are being unconstitutional, un-Islamic and unnecessarily divisive.