Muslim NGOs the real threat to Islam

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vox populi small thumbnail 'A Malay Bible will not cause a ripple in other Muslim countries. I believe the Muslims' faith over here is not as weak as these NGOs take it to be.'

NGO lodges police report on Malay Bible

David Dass: This is the age of the internet. There are thousands of religious sites on the internet explaining and expounding the tenets of every religion. Bookshops and libraries are stocked with books from every faith.

Adherents of one faith will read the religious texts of other faiths to advance their knowledge of spirituality or to advance their spirituality. Sometimes just out of curiosity, some may convert. This is inevitable.

Malay is the national language of Malaysia. The medium of instruction in schools is Malay. The natives of Sabah and Sarawak often use Malay as a primary language. The Christians among them have been using the Indonesian Bible or Al-Kitab for generations - long before they came into Malaysia.

The term for ‘God' in the Indonesian Bible is ‘Allah'. ‘Allah' is an Arabic term for God and was used by the Christians to describe God long before the time of Prophet Muhammad.

The High Court has ruled that it is lawful for non-Muslims to use the term ‘Allah'. What is this fuss really about?

ONG: Malaysia is the one and only country in the world where the government bans the use of its own national language. Malaysia is the one and only country in the world where followers of the Christian faith are compelled to practise their religion using foreign languages.

Louis: There they go again. A Malay Bible will not cause a ripple in other Muslim countries. But it is a big deal over here.

I believe the Muslims' faith over here is not as weak as these NGOs take it to be. It is an insult to them that a mere bible will shake their faith. These NGOs are just making a mountain out of a mole hill.

Not Confused: I just don't believe these NGOs are constantly in fear of their religion being sidelined. To me, it just indicates that these people have little or no faith in their fellow Muslims and that Islam is weak and in turmoil.

I always thought that Islam was robust and strong, but I am now fast coming to the conclusion that these so-called ‘defenders of the faith' organisations are weak and not committed to their faith.

Passerby: There is nothing to stop all sorts of groups from claiming that they received the Malay bibles from Muslims. They don't have to account to anyone, just like Jais (Selangor Islamic Affairs Department) recently.

Even if there is no evidence, they can still say there is evidence. Non-Muslims cannot use 'Allah' and Muslims cannot use the English word 'God' or 'God' in any other vernacular language spoken, other than BM. Stupid is as stupid does.

Free Thinker : Can everyone get this straight: religion (Islam) is not confined to a single language (Malay). If it is, then what about the Indians (Malayalees and Telugus), Chinese Muslims and others who use their own languages to read the Quran?

Bob Teoh: So much for the 10-point solution by Idris Jala. By the way, the Al-Kitab can be downloaded on the internet free. So are these Muslim NGOs going to file another police report?

AnonymousB: Now we know why we have so many problems confronting this nation. It is always "this is out of bounds", "that is sensitive", "this is seditious" and "that is unquestionable".

Look, at one time the world was assumed flat and those questioning it had paid their lives for holding on to their belief.

Malaysia will be a third world tribal country in no time if we are not quick enough to put these cavemen where they belong, in the cave.

Top religious leaders back Apostasy Act

MfM: You need to understand Islam to know why such an Act is being proposed. I for one would rather not have this act imposed upon non-Muslims, but instead enforce the actual syariah punishment for apostasy upon the apostate himself.

No manner of persuasion or coercion should be able to force a Muslim to leave his state of belief. If he does, he is deemed to have acted in treasonous manner. An apostate, when he declares himself as one, is seen as a poison to others and thus, all the four ‘madzhab' of the Ahlul Sunnah agree that the punishment is death.

That is what the Apostasy Act should be about. Syariah law applies to Muslims. And as such, the law on apostasy as well.

Before somebody here says there is no compulsion in Islam, let me explain it. There is no compulsion for someone to become a Muslim and accept Islam. But if you're already a Muslim, regardless of whether by birth or reversion, you accept the laws of Islam and the punishments should you go against these laws.

Passerby: Isn't it just a Muslim's belief that when he leaves Islam for another religion, an apostate is still a Muslim? Yet, when he embraces another religion, he has by definition left Islam, and has passed into another religion.

So by wanting to kill an apostate, you are forcing a believer in another religion to conform to yours. If an apostate leaves Islam, he rejects all the tenets of Islam including its hold and rights over him.

The standard you set is not the standard anyone else has to live with. Whether once a Muslim or not.

Centurion: Corruption, I suppose, is acceptable to these holier-than-thou, so-called religious experts, considering their salaries are paid from my tax money.

Joker: If the muftis are so afraid of the non-Muslims influencing the Muslims, they should ask the government to only use funds from Islamic sources.

The government should set up a special Islamic account. No funds from corporate taxes should be channelled into this account as companies earn interest from the accounts in banks. Similarly, no royalties from Petronas should be used because again, Petronas earns interests.

Sales tax, import duties and other general tariffs also cannot be used because the goods may be non-halal. Only zakat payments and personal income taxes from Muslims can be used.

Care must be taken that the halal income tax not be parked in a general account which will mix it with non-halal sources.

TakBolehTahan: Seriously, no one is undermining anyone's faith, particularly the Muslims'. It is the Muslim politicians who keep undermining their own faith.

 


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