What drives the authorities up the wall

Joe Fernandez

The real issue is that the home ministry lives in constant fear that Muslims will read the ‘Al-Kitab, Berita Baik’ and decide that ‘this is the original stuff”.

These are interesting times that we live in. The 30,000 bibles in Malay print, held up at Kuching Port since Jan 11, will be released by the home ministry pending the fulfilment of two conditions. Another 5,100 bibles seized at Port Klang will not be released unlike those at Kuching.

This smacks of double standard, which will not hold up in any court of law. Yet the Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail thinks that the decision will not prejudice a pending case involving The Herald at the Court of Appeal. Obviously, the AG knows something that others don’t since there’s little sign that the appeal will ever be heard.

De facto Law Minister Nazri Aziz opines that the release of the bible in Kuching is not sub judice as there are no enactments in Sabah and Sarawak against the bible being in Malay print.

The first condition for Kuching is that the importer labouriously stamps each copy of the bible with the words “For Christians Only”. He should perhaps consider sub-contracting the job to the home ministry where the officials have been known to tar-black offending lines and passages in numerous publications. The forbidden fruit surely now tastes sweeter.

The other condition is that each copy should carry a serial number. Serial numbers would probably make it easier to produce evidence in court should any Muslim be found with a copy of the bible. Also, the Customs at the airports and seaports will now be able to prevent the bibles from being smuggled into Peninsular Malaysia where the holy book continues to be banned in Malay print.

A Malaysian from Sabah and Sarawak would have to leave his bible behind if he wants to visit Peninsular Malaysia. Otherwise, if the Customs misses his bible, he could face an uncertain fate for running foul of some law or fatwa yet to come.

Two thousand years ago, the Roman Empire had a similar attitude towards Christianity. The emperors routinely fed Christians to the lions at the Coliseum for the amusement of its citizens. In the end, Rome like the Greeks ditched its galaxy of Gods and Goddesses, embraced Christianity and ceded the Vatican as the Holy See and seat of the Holy Roman Catholic Church.

Tough stand

The home ministry cannot throw the book at Hindus, for example, found in possession of the Al-Kitab, Berita Baik. “For Christians Only”, getting into semantics, is therefore an unreasonable condition. The alternative would be to stamp “Not for Muslims” or “For non-Muslims only”. The second comes across as if the home ministry is proselytising. The first alternative is definitely a no-no considering, again, that “the forbidden fruit tastes sweeter”.

The tough stand taken by the Sarawak government probably had something to do with the speedy release of the bibles. No doubt the imminent state election figured in the equation. In any case, the Sarawak government needs rare praise. It did not cite “Muslim sensitivities”, unlike in Peninsular Malaysia, and do nothing about getting the bibles released.

Christians in Sabah and Sarawak have no choice but to use the Malay bible since they are more comfortable in that language than English. Also, there’s no bible available in the local languages.

Muslim-majority Indonesia must be credited as well for bringing out the bible in Malay translation.

It was not easy to translate the bible from Greek into other languages. Thousands of experts have to be employed to work on a translation. It takes maybe 25 years or more before the Vatican approves a translation.

It’s an over-simplification to say that the home ministry is bent on curtailing the rights of the Christians although it does look that way.

The real issue is that the home ministry lives in constant fear that Muslims will read the “Al-Kitab, Berita Baik” and decide that “this is the original stuff”. God in the bible in Malay print is Allah, the one word that drives the ministry up the wall.

After all, the Quran itself is based almost wholly on the bible plus the years of the Prophet Muhammad. If the bible had been available in Arabic instead of Greek after Christ, it’s anyone’s guess whether there would have been a Quran or Islam today.

Tolerant religion

It would be naïve to think that many Muslims will not read the “Al-Kitab, Berita Baik”. If their faith in Islam is shaken by their reading of the bible, they will surely abandon the Ummah. Many Muslims already think that Christianity is a more tolerant religion than Islam and one that allows for the practice of local language, culture, customs and traditions. Besides, many Muslims themselves don’t know much about their own faith.

Those who are lost will have to seek, as the bible advises, “and they shall find”; “knock and the doors shall be opened to them” and “ask and they shall receive”. This is the favourite portion of the bible with born-again Christians who credit their faith for their material success in life.

The bible, among other sources, also inspired the all-time best seller The Secret by Rhonda Byrne and subsequently, The Power.

Again, it’s from the bible that we find that “there are those who see and don’t see’, hear and don’t hear”.

Those who are in law should find the bible particularly interesting and useful. Western civilisation, including the law, is based on the Judeo-Christian tradition. However, secular law is always several steps behind compared with religion, moral studies, ethics and civics. The more one reads up on these subjects, the less that one will be convinced by the ability of existing law to render true justice and equality.

Patently, the home ministry should re-think its pre-occupation with the bible in Malay print and its fixation with the term Allah. God has 99 attributes, no names, and Allah is just one of them. Many Muslims, especially in Sabah and Sarawak, are rightly proud that the Christians recognise Allah – he who has the Godhood which is the power to create the entities – as the main attribute of God. The People of the Book – the bible, the Quran and the Jewish holy books – are members of a common faith divided initially by language and subsequently by ignorance.

If the pope can declare in recent days after 2,000 years that the Jews were not responsible for the death of Jesus Christ, the Muslims can come around to the Catholic view that they are members of a protestant branch of Christianity like the Anglicans and others. This would pave the way for Muslims to be represented at the Ecumenical Council of Churches and help bridge the divide between Islam and the West.