Many people, including Muslims, are disappointed, if not angry, with the outcome of the trial of the cow head (pun intended) demonstrators as reported in No remorse from cow-head protesters .

They feel that the demonstrators had insulted Hindus and thereby had committed a serious crime affecting racial and religious harmony in the country. The prosecutor and presiding judge, on the other hand, viewed it otherwise as merely a minor issue, and hence freed four of the accused, slapped a fine of RM3,000 on two and imprisoned one of them for a week, and fined twelve of the demonstrators RM1,000 each.

That this would be the outcome was apparent to all (except the ignorant) after the incident when the home minister, Hishammuddin Hussien, openly and unashamedly supported the cow head demonstrators. A clearer understanding of the incident will help all to judge and respond to the judgment and whether any further action needs to be taken.

It was reported that the cow head demonstrators had paraded and kicked a cow head to show their anger and objection to the building of a Hindu temple in their area. They chose the cow head for this purpose because cows are considered to be sacred in Hinduism.

But the cow head demonstrators had foolishly thought that they were insulting Hindus by parading and kicking the cow head. In reality, they were insulting Muslims by desecrating something blessed.

The cow is one of the few animals selected to be sacrificed in the name of Allah for daily consumption and during the Haj in Mecca. By parading and kicking the cow head, the demonstrators were, in fact, treating the cow head like trash.

Isn’t this a big insult to Islam, relegating the cow, one of the few animals acceptable for sacrifice in Islam, to the status of trash? Without doubt, the acts of the cow head demonstrators were truly sacrilegious when we further note that the cow head had been paraded, kicked and spat on.

This was from a cow which they had sacrificed earlier in the name of Allah, something halal which had been blessed by Allah. Isn’t this a very serious insult to Islam?