Islamic magazine Al-Islam has issued an open apology to the Catholic Church and Christians, which has been posted on the website of its publisher, Utusan Karya.

According to the apology , the magazine's editor apologised for running the May 2009 special report, titled 'Tinjauan Al-Islam Dalam Gereja: Mencari Kesahihan Ramaja Melayu Murtad' (Al-Islam visits church: To verify apostasy among Malay teens).

Al-Islam said that the report had "unintentionally hurt the feelings of Christians especially Catholics".

NONE The monthly magazine also explained that the report was to investigate allegations of apostasy and the actions of its journalists were never intended to deride the Christian faith, let alone desecrate their house of worship.

It stated that Al-Islam journalists who wrote the article also apologised for unintentionally hurting the feelings of Christians in the pursuit of their duty.

Malaysiakini was informed that Kuala Lumpur Catholic archbishop Murphy Pakiam has already been told about the apology. But attempts to contact Pakiam at his residence for comment has so far been unsuccessful.

Sources close to Utusan Karya, which is subsidiary of Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia , said the apology was already in the works but it was delayed as they had to consult with lawyers about the legal ramifications.

This apology came following Thursday’s press conference where Pakiam told reporters that the church would be satisfied if they received an apology from the magazine or its publishers over the matter.

Planned protest cancelled

Meanwhile, the planned protest against Al-Islam on March 25 will not go ahead in the wake of the apology.

Protest organiser K Sudhagaran Stanley said that the apology has vindicated the Catholic community and they now consider the matter closed.

"We accept their apology, the case is closed and we have won. But we will not forget the way the attorney-general and the government have acted on this case.

"There was no action even after we sent a letter to the prime minister," he said.

Stanley lodged a police report against the two Al-Islam journalists in June last year, resulting the magazine being investigated under the Sedition Act.

However, it was revealed last month that no further action will be taken against the journalists.

According to attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail, the case was dropped because the journalists had intended no offence, and were not aware of the significance of the Holy Communion.

The journalists had entered two churches in Kuala Lumpur to investigate allegations of proselytisation of Malays, and had taken the Holy Communion, spat the wafer out and photographed it.

The photo accompanied their article was published last May. Many Catholics considered this as an act of desecration of their faith.