Allegations of Christian proselytisation of Muslims in Malaysia have been alarmist and slanderous and have reached heights of absurdity.

The so called 'proof' of Christian proselytisation in the form of three cases of Muslims reverting from Christian conversion back to Islam is not the proof that has been hyped.

If this is all there is to it - three shadowy stories - it shows to what extent the accusers are willing to sacrifice the country's peace for dubious and doubtful ends.

The proof does not justify the hullaballoo created and has all been at the expense of a tolerant and forebearing Christian community, not to mention the harm done to the image of the majority of reasonable, tolerant and fair-minded Muslims in the country, and the reputation of the nation itself as a moderate nation, where all forms of extremist conduct is deplored.

The world if not the nation must be guffawing.

The man who cries wolf too often will hear others crying foul over his divisive ways and he may soon find himself offending the Almighty himself who does not delight in those who slander and falsely accuse the innocent.

No religion, least of all Islam, encourages its followers to create trouble for others, or slander them with false accusations. There must be other ways of political grandstanding and to play to the gallery.

It is time for the government to put a stop to the shenanigans or be criticised for its failure to stem an unhealthy situation.

There has been one false report too many, one after another and you wouldn't want to think such people major in spreading lies as a religious duty.

I was aghast to read reports that Lina Joy was cited as a statistic of the proselytisation. In truth Lina Joy was a woman who fell in love with a Catholic Malaysian of Indian descent who married him and merely wants to live a normal quiet life.

Her husband is a simple and peace-loving man who happens to be of a different religion and Lina Joy chose not only the man but also the same faith. It happens all the time all over the world.

But what was different was she was persecuted and their safety was at risk so they had to flee overseas to carry on with their lives.

No one would have known of Lina Joy had she not been denied her constitutional right to have her Mykad reflect her new religion, a travesty of justice that is well documented. She is not a product of proselytisation as falsely reported.

But she is a victim of injustice, religious persecution and will be an indelible taint on the country's administration of the day.

It is regrettable that the Johor State Education Department has exacerbated the false accusations of Christian proselytisation by holding a seminar for teachers and creating further alarm instead of allaying the false rumour-mongering.

It is improper for the department to conduct such an exercise and abuse its power. If teachers are fed dubious information, even untruths, think of the ramifications.

Teachers should be given accurate and reliable information not be trained to be propagandists for any religion. Teaching is a profession and there ought to be no-go areas even for teachers and religion ought to be one because of the plural religious nature of Malaysian society.

It shows a confusion of roles and lapse of propriety when religion is allowed to spill into the normal curriculum of state school teachers who should not be biased against any religion in the country, albeit Islam being the official religion.

Official religion is not a blank cheque to push religion beyond the meaning of the constitution. Otherwise anyone can be presumptuous and do all sorts of things in the name of religion and imagine the mayhem that results.

It shows that even educated people can fall prey to false rumours and false reports and it can't be good when the education authorities fail to lead by example but have themselves fallen victim to the ideas of the religious instigators.

Ignorance, prejudice and misinformation remain stumbling blocks to the building of a progressive Malaysian state and for every step forward taken by the government, the country is taken back several steps by others in the government itself, so as to leave everyone puzzled as to who is really in control.

Whatever we believe we owe it to one another to respect our humanity. Ultimately we all have to live with one another and there is no benefit in inciting hatred and suspicions.

Ours is not to play God and usurp his role and play judge and jury but to love one another and build up one another regardless of our religion or race or station in life.

It will be a happy day when all Malaysians can mix with one another freely and without fear from those who want to tear the country apart by their negative and destructive ideas and conduct and create divisions between people.

The spread of false accusations of Christian proselytisation of Muslims will only make it difficult for ordinary Malaysians to reach out to one another in times of need or even in daily encounters for fear of being falsely accused.

There is a proper way to resolve religious issues but spreading false rumours, concocting lies and peddling misinformation.

Religion can make someone a saint or a lunatic and for this reason we ought to stem out any activity that incites others to religious bigotry, suspicion and tension resulting in a fragmented society.

"Drive out the mocker and there will be peace," is a pearl of wisdom for the government to reflect on and act in the interest of the nation.