A parliamentary caucus should be set up to review government decisions on issues that affect freedom of expression, including the banning of books, said an advocacy group.

Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) executive director Sonia Randhawa said last month's ban on 18 titles by the internal security ministry reflects lack of tolerance and that the reasons must be explained.

The books published locally and abroad were prohibited from being reproduced or distributed as they are deemed to be able to disrupt peace and harmony, according to news reports.

"The (claim) that harmony and peace would be disrupted is not valid because the books have been in circulation for at least five to six years, and the contents reflect the diversity of thought in religion," Sonia told a press conference this morning.

"We doubt whether the contents were read in detail before the ministry was advised to ban the books. (Its action) also does not make sense because people who are interested can still access the online edition of many of these books."

Titles like 'What Everyone Know about Islam' by John Espito and 'The Battle for God: Fundamentalism in Judaism, Christianity and Islam' by Karen Armstrong are even used as references for university courses in the east and west, she said.

She described the ban as a serious attack on freedom of speech, saying that individuals and organisations are unable to challenge the decision due to the ministry's absolute power over such matters.

"This is very unfair because we are not given a chance to voice our doubts and the ministry is not telling us anything with regard to the decision to ban these books,"she noted.

CIJ will submit an open letter tomorrow to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to revoke the ban in his capacity as internal security minister. The letter was endorsed by 112 individuals and 11 non-governmental organisations.

Other titles involved are 'The Bargaining for Israel: In the Shadow of Armageddon' by Mona Johulan, 'Islam' (Mathew S. Gordon), 'Lifting the Veil' (Trudie Crawford), 'Sharing Your Faith with A Muslim' (Akbidayah Akbar Abdul-Haqq), 'Hakikat & Hikmah 7 Hari Dalam Seminggu' (Abu Nashr Al-Hamdanly), 'Kontroversi Hukum Hudud' (Kassim Ahmad), 'Risalah No. 2 Dilema Umat Islam-Antara Hadis dan Quran' (Kassim Ahmad), and 'Siri 7 Amalan-Amalan Bid'ah Pada Bulan Syaban' (Ustaz Rasul Dahri).