Terry Jones, the infamous anti-Islam pastor from Florida, was arrested by the American police on Sept 11 last year when he was on his way to burn 2,988 copies of the Quran.

Prior to that, Jones had generated much controversy with his outrageous antics.

Earlier this week, a defiant Jones appeared in a court in Polk County wearing a T-shirt with the words ‘NUKE ISIS’ on it.

That’s his right.

The most important thing is that he has been compelled to face the legal consequences for his Islamophobic behaviour.

Not so in Malaysia, when de facto Law Minister Nancy Shukri ( left ) has defended Ibrahim Ali over the latter’s threat to burn the Malay Bible, arguing that the Perkasa clown did so merely to “safeguard Islam”.

Nancy was right in clarifying that only the Attorney-General’s Chambers has the right to prosecute someone caught on the wrong side of the law.

Minister creating confusion

However, she has only ended up creating more confusion when she said what Ibrahim Ali had done was “in line with the spirit in Article 11(4) of the federal constitution ”.

This is what Article 11(4) says: “State law and in respect of the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Labuan, federal law may control or restrict the propagation of any religious doctrine or belief among persons professing the religion of Islam.”

In other words, simply because the copies of the Bible concerned were printed in Malay, they were perceived as a means to proselytise to the Muslim community in the country.

And because Islam has been elevated to an almost sacrosanct status in Malaysia, any act that appears to threaten it has to be severely dealt with.

But Nancy’s foolish remarks have resulted in a greater conundrum.

Since English is widely used and understood by many in Malaysia, wouldn’t the easily available English Bibles across the country be next on the list to be banned – or burned – in order to ensure no English-speaking Malay/Muslim could be ‘misled’?

And would the Chinese Muslims in Malaysia , too, one day demand Chinese Bibles be taken off the shelf for a similar reason?

Where do we end then?

Close down all the non-Islamic places of worship and expel the entire non-Muslim community from Malaysia to ensure a ‘purely’ Muslim environment?

Emboldening irresponsibility

Nancy must be reminded to read Article 11 in its totality, for Article 11(5) also makes it abundantly clear that “this Article does not authorise any act contrary to any general law relating to public order, public health or morality”.

And I suppose it does not take a genius to conclude whether threatening to burn a religious book would constitute an act contrary to ‘public morality’.

If Ibrahim Ali’s provocative and contemptible behavior can be tolerated, what more with the backing of a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, it would not be a surprise if one day, Malaysia would go down the path of Pakistan , where religious minorities, including Muslim groups which are seen as ‘heretics’, are increasingly targeted for persecution by religious fanatics.

What Nancy did has set a dangerous precedent, in that irresponsible groups such as Isma and Perkasa now feel ‘vindicated’ and are more likely than not emboldened to take on any individual or religion with verbal or even physical menace in the name of Islam.

They no doubt have the audacity to up the ante now that the state seems to be behind them. Expect more to come.

I, never for once, buy the argument that Islam per se breeds violence or promotes radicalism.

One can cite all the verses in the Quran to demonstrate the ‘barbaric’ nature of the Muslim faith.

The thing is, even the Bible itself, the Old Testament especially, contains what some call ‘ dark passages ’ too.

After all, religious texts are subject to interpretation by those with the power to do so.

The development in the last two decades also shows that Buddhism has become more intolerant in Thailand, Sri Lanka and Myanmar, not to mention the rise of Hindu fundamentalism in India.

Muslims must take a stand

The problem in Malaysia is that not many are willing to speak out when a handful of fanatics hijacked Islam for their own purposes, to the extent that even Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, the self-proclaimed ‘moderate’ leader, has been conspicuously silent time and time again.

Much as I hope to defend the right of Muslims to practice their faith peacefully and in harmony with others, there is only this much I can do as a non-Muslim.

The onus is on them to take a stand and shout the religious thugs down, be they from Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat.

Khalid Samad may have his political agenda when he faces down those from PAS who want Oktoberfest banned ( left ), but the country would see more hope if more Muslims can defend the right of non-Muslims to follow their own lifestyle without posing harm to society at large, and vice versa.

Simply put, saying merely “they do not represent me” is not enough, for it is high time the Muslim community as a whole has the wisdom and courage to arrest the radicalisation of Malaysia.

Forget the Islamic State or al Nusra in faraway Syria or Iraq.

If we can stop the fanatics in our midst, all these foreign-born terrorists will not have a chance to gain a foothold in Malaysian society.

But can we?

JOSH HONG studied politics at London Metropolitan University and the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. A keen watcher of domestic and international politics, he longs for a day when Malaysians will learn and master the art of self-mockery, and enjoy life to the full in spite of politicians.