Use peaceful means, not protest, to resolve issues, say non-Muslim groups

Muslims carry a banner during a protest over the use of the word ‘Allah’ by Catholic churches in Malaysia, in Kuala Langat, yesterday. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Najjua Zulkefli, January 4, 2014.Non-Muslim religious groups have welcomed the eleventh hour decision by Selangor Umno to drop a planned protest outside churches in the state tomorrow.

They said as a matter of principle, religious groups should never demonstrate at another’s place of worship.

Differences over religion should always be resolved through peaceful means, said Jagir Singh, president of the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism.

"Any protest that is aggressive and intends to intimidate others will only aggravate the situation in a multiracial and multi-religious country like Malaysia," said Jagir, who is also member of the newly established National Unity Consultative Council.

He also said religion should be used as a tool to unite the people.

"This will be good for nation-building and to foster better understanding among the people,"  he said in response to Selangor Umno liaison chief Datuk Seri Noh Omar's announcement to call off the demonstrations tomorrow.

Noh said the protest was shelved to avoid a "religious war".

However, he rapped Catholic weekly Herald editor Lawrence Andrew for being "rude" and "big-headed".

Andrew had been adamant that Christians can continue to use the word Allah in their worship.

Council of Churches Malaysia general-secretary Reverend Dr Herman Shastri, meanwhile, was glad that Noh's announcement had defused the situation.

"Our position is this: In Malaysia, it has never been the practice to demonstrate in front of any religious venues, and disrupt the worship of other faith," he told the Malaysian Insider.

Shastri said that any difference involving faith should be solved through proper peaceful channels like dialogue.

"Any person, regardless of his religious belief should not subject himself to be put in fear by other religious communities," he said, adding that all should work towards maintaining the Malaysian way of life, of mutual respect for each other's faith.

A coalition of Malay-Muslim groups had planned to march to the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes in Klang on Sunday morning to protest Christians' insistence on using Allah and deliver a memorandum to express their dissatisfaction.

The group has called on Andrew to retract his statement and apologise for allegedly challenging the Sultan of Selangor's decree on prohibiting the usage of Allah by non-Muslims in the state.