Holy books and the forbidden word – Fuad Hafis

It has been a few years now that reading newspapers seems to have a similar effect as does watching a sitcom: a staple comedy relief for our crushed souls, barely surviving as the prices of goods and essentials skyrocket and inflation triples to 3.2%.

I reckon no one seems to realise this, thanks to the Selangor Islamic Department's (Jais) spotlight-grabbing raid on the Bible Society of Malaysia and confiscation of copies of the Malay Bible, which I think Jais has no use for.

In all seriousness, who in the world would believe that Muslims have such brittle faith that by reading the Malay Bible containing the word Allah, whether deliberately used or accidentally, would make them more likely to convert?

I assume that the English Bible was untouched during the raid because it does not contain the forbidden word, or simply because Jais believed that Malays couldn't read English.

Why can’t they let Christians worship their God in their own words, without regulation or limits from Islamic authorities?

Correct me if I’m wrong, we are not God, therefore we don’t have the say on who can and who can’t use the word Allah. Besides, they are also of the Abrahamic faiths, so what is the fuss?

While our dear Najib Razak explained that he has kept silence on this issue to further avoid fuelling the fire, I think his administration is atrociously weak.

His failure to address this very issue has torn the nation in just over a month. Racial and religious tension sparked, with Molotov cocktails thrown at churches, and a cemetery vandalised by unknown individuals. I’m afraid that we are moving backwards.

It appears that everything is okay as long as it’s done in the name of Islam, even if it means hurting others, and I find that disturbing.

No worries. Kangkung is still cheap. So is satay, assuming Anwar Ibrahim takes over Kajang by storm. Najib said recently that the Kajang by-election was a waste of money, but clearly whoever voted for him felt that it was a waste of their money.

He should spend more time finding a way to regulate prices of goods and essentials. Better still, Najib and his administration should use their office hours for other important issues which could have done justice to public funds, you know, like stepping down.

* Fuad Hafis reads The Malaysian Insider.