PAS' Parit Buntar MP Mujahid Yusof Rawa took on head on Muslim fears about being converted, describing notions that they will somehow become Christians if they step into a church or get hit by holy water as "rubbish".
"There is no such thing as going to church and suddenly becoming a Christian. That is rubbish.
"Some say the Christians give you holy water - once you drink it, you are gone (habis).
"We laugh at it, but how many people out there actually believe it?" he told a multi-racial audience of some 150 people who broke into laughter at the suggestion at a forum in Kuala Lumpur last night.
The forum entitled, "The polemic of 'Allah' and Bible seizure: Between law and religious sensitivity" was organised by the Lembah Pantai PAS Youth.
Mujahid (above, far right in photo), who is PAS national unity bureau chief, noted that similar fears exists with regards to Christian use of the word 'Allah'.
Insulting the religion
"The word 'Allah' has nothing to do with the (Christian) missionary movement and it is a matter of rights.
"Some Muslims easily accept the argument that if non-Muslims use the word Allah, Muslims will murtad (become apostates), that kind of talk insults my religion.
"Where is the strength of your faith?", asked Mujahid, who over the years has engaged in dialogue with church leaders.
He also hit out at "certain quarters" who, he charged, are manipulating the matter for political gains and in the process threatening the county with destruction.
"Our knowledge has been hijacked by stupid people who make decisions for us."Everything has its limit, but stupidity does not have limits," he said.
Also present at the forum was National Evangelical Christian Fellowship Malaysia (NECF) Eugene Yapp who stressed that the Christian community's use of the word 'Allah' was not to offend other communities, including Muslims.
"For the bumiputera Christians in Malaysia especially the Kadazan and Ibans, they have been using the word 'Allah' in their liturgy, worship and church services for many years... more than 150 years ago.
"If you look at the traditional Anglican Churches in Sarawak, they use of the word 'Allah' even in the liturgy, hymn books and service books dating back to the 19th century," he said.
Came down through generations
He said using 'Allah' to refer to God had been inherited from generation to generation and suddenly preventing them from using the word was akin to chopping off a limb.
Yapp added it was not the intention of the Christian publication The Herald to be in confrontation with the federal government by appealing to the courts on the 'Allah' ban on non-muslims but its repeated appeals to the Home Ministry had fallen on deaf ears.
The Court of Appeal last year overturned a High Court ruling that the Home Ministry's ban was unconstitutional. The Catholic Church has taken the case to the Federal Court.
The Court of Appeal upheld the ban, citing public order and ruled that the word 'Allah' was not integral to the Christian faith.
"We (Christians) have been using it ('Allah') for centuries, then one day a Muslim judge at the courts says whatever we have been using is not essential and integral to my faith.
"The bumiputera Christian community is at a loss on what to think," said Yapp.
Asked why the English-language Bible did not need to use the word 'Allah' but the Malay-language Bible insist on using 'Allah', Yapp said this was due to historical translation.
He said when Christianity arrived in the region through the Portugese colonialists, they had translated the Bible based on what the Arabic Christians in Malacca then used, which was 'Allah'.
In contrast, the English-language Bible that already exists was translated from Hebrew.
Also present at the forum was constitutional expert Abdul Aziz Bari who is now attached to Universiti Selangor (Unisel).
"There is no such thing as going to church and suddenly becoming a Christian. That is rubbish.
"Some say the Christians give you holy water - once you drink it, you are gone (habis).
"We laugh at it, but how many people out there actually believe it?" he told a multi-racial audience of some 150 people who broke into laughter at the suggestion at a forum in Kuala Lumpur last night.The forum entitled, "The polemic of 'Allah' and Bible seizure: Between law and religious sensitivity" was organised by the Lembah Pantai PAS Youth.
Mujahid (above, far right in photo), who is PAS national unity bureau chief, noted that similar fears exists with regards to Christian use of the word 'Allah'.
Insulting the religion
"The word 'Allah' has nothing to do with the (Christian) missionary movement and it is a matter of rights.
"Some Muslims easily accept the argument that if non-Muslims use the word Allah, Muslims will murtad (become apostates), that kind of talk insults my religion.
"Where is the strength of your faith?", asked Mujahid, who over the years has engaged in dialogue with church leaders.He also hit out at "certain quarters" who, he charged, are manipulating the matter for political gains and in the process threatening the county with destruction.
"Our knowledge has been hijacked by stupid people who make decisions for us."Everything has its limit, but stupidity does not have limits," he said.
Also present at the forum was National Evangelical Christian Fellowship Malaysia (NECF) Eugene Yapp who stressed that the Christian community's use of the word 'Allah' was not to offend other communities, including Muslims.
"For the bumiputera Christians in Malaysia especially the Kadazan and Ibans, they have been using the word 'Allah' in their liturgy, worship and church services for many years... more than 150 years ago.
"If you look at the traditional Anglican Churches in Sarawak, they use of the word 'Allah' even in the liturgy, hymn books and service books dating back to the 19th century," he said.
Came down through generations
He said using 'Allah' to refer to God had been inherited from generation to generation and suddenly preventing them from using the word was akin to chopping off a limb.
Yapp added it was not the intention of the Christian publication The Herald to be in confrontation with the federal government by appealing to the courts on the 'Allah' ban on non-muslims but its repeated appeals to the Home Ministry had fallen on deaf ears.The Court of Appeal last year overturned a High Court ruling that the Home Ministry's ban was unconstitutional. The Catholic Church has taken the case to the Federal Court.
The Court of Appeal upheld the ban, citing public order and ruled that the word 'Allah' was not integral to the Christian faith.
"We (Christians) have been using it ('Allah') for centuries, then one day a Muslim judge at the courts says whatever we have been using is not essential and integral to my faith.
"The bumiputera Christian community is at a loss on what to think," said Yapp.
Asked why the English-language Bible did not need to use the word 'Allah' but the Malay-language Bible insist on using 'Allah', Yapp said this was due to historical translation.
He said when Christianity arrived in the region through the Portugese colonialists, they had translated the Bible based on what the Arabic Christians in Malacca then used, which was 'Allah'.
In contrast, the English-language Bible that already exists was translated from Hebrew.
Also present at the forum was constitutional expert Abdul Aziz Bari who is now attached to Universiti Selangor (Unisel).
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