MORAL policing of Muslims is unfortunately hardly new in Malaysia. But on 3 Aug 2011, the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) went a step further by entering the Petaling Jaya-based Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC), purportedly to investigate a complaint. Christian leaders and secular bodies such as the Bar Council and some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) […]
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Church survival and complicity
Gurdwara Sahib Sentul was stoned and had a glass door damaged (Stock pic source: morguefile.com) THIS is not another commentary on “Allah” and its usage, nor is it about the attacks against churches, a Catholic school and a Sikh gurdwara after the issue spiralled out of control. It is instead about the private dilemma the […]
“Everything’s gonna be alright”
THE “Allah” controversy and subsequent arson attacks on churches are making local and international headlines, casting a dark pall on Malaysia. In the face of this discord, a group of young people banded together in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, 9 Jan 2010, to spread a message of hope. They held placards that read “Everything’s gonna […]
“Attack on churches un-Islamic”
THE cowardly and utterly senseless act of a group of misguided, chauvinistic bigots in torching at least three churches in the Klang Valley this morning must be condemned in no uncertain terms by all peace-loving Malaysians. This act of arson, committed presumably in the name of Islam, desecrates the very religion it purports to protect. […]
The furore over Al Islam
(Pic by Mateusz Stachowski / sxc.hu) NOW and then, journalists should engage in a little navel-gazing. Caught in the tide of chasing news deadlines, we forget to take time to question the methods we employ in news gathering, writing and presentation. What is at stake when we don’t question our own practices is our public […]
Al Islam breached code of ethics
PETALING JAYA, 13 July 2009: Al Islam magazine clearly violated journalistic ethics when it went undercover at a Catholic mass and partook of the holy communion, the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) said today. “I don’t question the subject matter of the story, which was about finding out about alleged conversions of Muslims to Christianity. […]
Catholics lodge report against Al Islam
PETALING JAYA, 10 July 2009: The two Catholics who lodged a police report against the Al Islam magazine over an article in which the journalist took the holy communion wafer out of his mouth and photographed it, have started a peaceful protest campaign against the magazine. Joachim Francis Xavier and Sundhagaran Stanley, from Penang, are […]
An orthodox Christmas
Syrian Orthodox icon GROWING up, I always used to dread explaining to people which religious faith I belonged to. The questions were typical. “You’re a Christian? So you’re not Indian.” As if to imply one could not be both. “Are you Catholic or Christian?” All Catholics are Christians, though all Christians are not always Catholics. […]
Reinterpreting Christmas
Advent is represented by lighting four candles, before a fifth is lit on Christmas day (© Traute Klasser / sxc.hu) CHRISTMAS is celebration. Shopping. Decorations. Parties. Carols. But very few of us are aware that in the Christian calendar there are four Sundays that build up to the climax of Christmas day. These Sundays are […]
Prejudice in religious finery
IN his Life of Samuel Johnson, James Boswell writes that he once told Johnson, “I had been that morning at a meeting of the people called Quakers, where I had heard a woman preach.” To which Johnson replied, “Sir, a woman’s preaching is like a dog’s walking on his hind legs. It is not done […]
