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Sunday, August 28, 2011

Malaysia confronts its ethnic and religious divisions

By Al Jazeera
A recent raid by the Islamic Religious Department (Jais) on a church charity dinner sparks debate about religion and ethnicity in Malaysia.



Malaysia’s Selangor Islamic Religious Department (known as Jais) worked with police in early August to raid Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. The church was holding a charity dinner at the time of the raid. While authorities have not issued an official explanation for the raid and are still conducting an investigation into the events, the dinner’s opponents claim participants were attempting to convert Muslims to Christianity. Those who supported the raid say the action was undertaken in the name of defending Islam.

Participants say they were holding the dinner in support of pan-Malaysian unity and deny accusations of proselytising. The Thanksgiving dinner attendants included citizens of different races and religions.

The raid may reflect tensions that undercut Malaysian society, which is divided along both religious and ethnic lines. Sixty percent of the country is Muslim, and just over half are ethnic Malay.

According to the constitution, citizens claiming Malay ethnicity must be practicing Muslims, speak the Malay language, and adhere to Malay cultural values. The conditions are in place to ensure that only Malay may claim protection under special laws that reserve jobs and other benefits for the ethnic majority. Although they are an ethnic majority in the country, Malay have been historically disadvantaged, advocates say, because of ethnic Chinese and Indians’ advantageous roles in trade and commerce.

As a result, ethnic minorities are underrepresented in the civil service, universities, and at other institutions.

But some in the country are hoping to encourage a pan-Malaysian identity that transcends ethnic, cultural, and religious identities. Prime Minister Najib Razak has promoted a campaign called1Malaysia to rally Malaysians around the idea of common nationality.

In March, religious tensions were inflamed when a Christian newspaper in the country successfully challenged a law that prohibited Christians from using the word “Allah” to refer to God. Violence broke out between Christians and Muslims after the law was overturned, and heightened tensions surrounding religion in the country may have contributed to the August 3 church raid.

Today on The Stream, Ali Gharib will join the show as guest host. He covers national security for ThinkProgress. Also joining the show from Malaysia via Skype are Marina Mahathir (a women’s rights activist), Khairy Jamaluddin (leader of Barisan Nasional Youth and member of Parliament), and Nik Nazmi who is a State Assemblyman and member of the People’s Justice Party.

These are some of the social media elements featured in this episode of The Stream.

  • The video below allegedly shows the raid by the Selangor Islamic Religious Deparment, or Jais, on the Damansara Utama Methodist Church. Some websites say it first appeared on pro-Umno blogs on August 16.

  • Netizens reacted to the news of the raid, which took place on August 3.

  • Raiding a religious sanctuary whether mosque, temple, kuil or church is totally unacceptable. It's a very provocative act! #Malaysia

  • http://t.co/GCi2jIP separation of church (or mosque) and state! why is it so hard to get malaysia????

  • How do u openly convert a muslim in a christian church during a muhibbah dinner? Can only happen in Malaysia, ask Jais!

  • Earlier in August, a Malaysian TV advertisement that attempts to illustrate proper Ramadan etiquette was pulled when many viewers complained it was racist, particularly for stereotyping the small Chinese population in the country.

  • In 2009, Prime Minister Najib Razak spearheaded a campaign called 1Malaysia to address ethnic and religious tensions and promote a common nationality. One netizen, inspired by the campaign, created an anti-racism rap, as shown below.

  • Thumbnail image: Malaysian Muslims perform a prayer ahead of Eid al-Fitr in Kuala Lumpur August 21, 2011. Muslims in Malaysia will celebrate the festival of Eid al-Fitr either on August 30 or 31, depending on the sighting of the new moon of Syawal, the month after Ramadan. Muslims celebrate the end of the sacred Ramadan with the Eid al-Fitr festival. REUTERS/Bazuki Muhammad

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