Isma: Islam under threat

The position of Islam and Muslims must be protected from any threat, says Isma's president.

PETALING JAYA: The multitude of threats which can jeopardise the country’s identity and that of Muslims is the reason why the Malaysian Muslim Solidarity (Isma) has been vocal thus far.

Isma president Abdullah Zaik Abdul Rahman defended the organisation when asked why they have been exceptionally vocal in the past year.

“We realise there have been such threats and such threats would have bad implications on the country’s Muslims and the country’s identity.

“These threats seem to deny the position of Islam and the Malays in the country. Therefore, we cannot take this lightly,” he said.

Commenting on the various ‘provocations’ such as those by former sex bloggers ‘Alvivi’ during the fasting month, Abdullah said such instances were an insult to Islam’s dignity and noted how the provocations were ‘done on purpose’.

Alvin Tan and Vivian Lee posted a Ramadan greeting on their Facebook page last year which showed them eating ‘bak kut teh’ and describing it as “wangi, enak, menyelerakan”.

Abdullah then added how Malays would lose their land with globalisation, the influence of liberalism, and Christianisation activities.

“The Chinese have mainland China and the Indians have India. Tanah Melayu is the sovereign region of the Malays. If we let these threats continue, we will cease to have Tanah Melayu,” he said.

Christianisation a grave concern

On the supposed Christianisation activities, Abdullah took Indonesia as an example.

“Look at Indonesia, Christian preachers proudly said they have successfully Christianised some of the Muslims there.

“And look at singer Jaclyn Victor who sang the song Harapan Bangsa in churches. The song hopes for a Christian nation,” he said.

He stressed that the Christianisation claims were not mere assumptions.

“We have many evidences, the claims were not just assumptions. Christianisation activities are happening, and we are following them closely,” he said.

On the Allah issue, he pointed out that the ruckus was actually part of a bigger master-plan.

“Through the issue, they will bit by bit normalise the Christianisation project and people will accept it slowly.

“The coloniser’s plan will affect our sovereignty and independence and this will change the country’s identity,” he said.

On allegations that Isma is an extremist organisation, he said they were only defending Muslims’ rights, in line with the teachings of the Quran.

“I think it is them who are extremists; those who bring liberalism agendas into the country without taking into account local values,” he said.

He stressed that change must must be based on history and the local values.

“The liberals’ ideals are the encounter between the west and the Church. It has nothing to do with us.

“Our background is Islam. Islam came and formed a civilisation. We are only defending Islam but we are accused as extremists. Actually, they are the ones who have betrayed the country.

“They are the ones insulting us, and when we hit back, they say we are extremists,” he said.

Muslims have been tolerant

On former Catholic church leader Archbishop Murphy Pakiam’s call for religious leaders to accept other religions’ differences, Abdullah said they have never questioned others’ faiths.

“We do not force other religions even though they insult Islam. Do you see any Muslims burning the Bible or insulting Christianity?

“The Muslims do not do it. We have 70,000 Hindu temples and the Muslims do not question it,” he said.

He added that the non-Muslims in the country must accept Malaysia as an Islamic country, adding that they must also accept that Allah is not in the core teachings of Christianity.

“What we can see now is extreme tolerance by the Muslims and the extreme provocation by the non-Muslims,” he said.