Anwar Ibrahim’s unequivocal statements condemning acts of insensate destruction against churches and those responsible for the climate of opinion that led to such outrages have made him the surpassing Malaysian leader in this time of national crisis.

By saying that Muslims in a majority Muslim nation should protect the rights of minorities, Anwar has not only stayed consistent to his frequent espousals of the nobility of the religion he professes; also, he has plumbed for the humanist principle that the strong protect the weak as a matter of course.

This is not an easy thing to say for a Muslim leader who is in competition with other Muslim leaders for the support of the Muslim majority in whose midst live a sizeable number of non-Muslims...