A brochure showing the names of the speakers at the seminar. Doubts have been cast over the background of three of them who had claimed to be experts. – May 25, 2014.The Selangor religious authorities which co-organised Universiti Teknologi Mara’s (UiTM) controversial Christian-bashing seminar earlier this month have opted to remain silent and passed the buck to the university, saying they had no hand in either the theme or the speakers invited for the event.
A source in the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais) told The Malaysian Insider that although the seminar was supposedly a cooperation between UiTM and Mais, everything was decided by the university.
"The university authorities decided on the event, invitations and the panel of speakers," the source said.
Mais has decided to remain silent and not issue any statements relating to the event, the source added.
A statement posted on Mais’s website said the seminar on the use of the word Allah and Christology had been organised to increase awareness among Muslims on the "Allah" issue.
The source also said that the "Exposing the Christian Agenda" book which was distributed to seminar participants had been published some time ago.
"It is only distributed to the Islamic community," the source said, despite reports that it was also distributed to Christian participants at the seminar.
It was also revealed that the university authorities had asked Mais to distribute the book to seminar participants.
Following the outcry over the seminar and the denial by Indonesian church authorities that two of the speakers were former Catholic clergy, sponsors of the event, meanwhile, have distanced themselves from it, saying they were under the impression that it was an academic programme and had no idea it was a Christian-bashing session.
Kumpulan Karangkraf Sdn Bhd founder Datuk Hussamuddin Yaacub said the company had only sponsored publicity for the May 6 event and had no clue of the exact details of the seminar.
He said Karangkraf, as the "media partner" did not hesitate when approached for sponsorship as they were confident that any event organised by UiTM or any other educational institution was an academic programme.
"A lecturer (from UiTM) came to see us, asking us to help promote the event and cover it. We thought it was an academic programme, and we support anything that is academic."
"Karangkraf was not involved in organising the programme but we were just a sponsorship partner. We thought the event was a safe one as it was organised by the university," he told The Malaysian Insider.
Hussamuddin said Karangkraf had previously supported and sponsored other programmes organised by the university.
"What happens in the seminar is out of our control," he added.
According to the souvenir programme, the seminar was organised by UiTM's Contemporary Islamic Studies Academy (Acis), Mais and Warisan Ibnu Aaby with the support of Utusan Malaysia, TV Al-Hijrah, Zikay Group, Pantai Bharu Group of Companies and Karangkraf.
Meanwhile, corporate company Zikay Group, when contacted, refused to divulge details of its involvement in the seminar.
"Yes, we did sponsor the programme but we cannot reveal what kind of sponsorship it was and the details," said its public relations officer.
Pantai Bharu Group of Companies chief executive officer Datuk Shamsudin Nor said in a text message that he could not comment as he was overseas and would return at the end of the month.
The controversial seminar has turned out to be a hot potato for many groups associated with UiTM.
On Thursday, the university’s alumni said they were unaware of the seminar. UiTM has since declined comment as the seminar was now a police case with several reports lodged in Selangor and Sarawak against the institution. The other organiser could not be contacted.
The seminar sparked an outcry among Christians and religious leaders after it was revealed that the speakers, including three Indonesian "experts on Christology", had warned Muslims against the threat of Christianisation and belittled the Bible as containing “tales”.
They also cautioned Muslims of undercover Christian priests who were sent to Malaysia under different guises to proselytise and convert Muslims.
Organisers distributed copies of Mais’s book on the threat of Christianisation and alleged evangelism among Muslims in Malaysia to more than 1,000 students who attended the event.
The book contains warnings to Muslims to watch out for "tricks" by Christians to sway Muslims from their faith.
It also claims that the main reason there is apostasy among Muslims is because of Christianisation.
The other book, “Obligation to preserve the sanctity of the name Allah” explained why non-Muslims, particularly Christians, should not be allowed to use the word Allah.
This was in light of the tussle over the Arabic word, which means God, between the Catholic Church and the federal government.
The Bishops Conference of Indonesia executive secretary Father Edy Purwanto later revealed that he had no information or data on Insan L.S. Mokoginta, a speaker at the seminar who had claimed he was a Catholic priest before converting to Islam in 1976.
Mokoginta had spoken on "The Threat of Christianisation" at the seminar and further said that "every follower of Jesus should convert to Islam otherwise it would be a betrayal to Him".
Checks on another speaker, Irena Handono, who claimed she was a former Catholic nun, also showed that it was not true as she did not complete her "education".
Purwanto said checks by the Indonesian church revealed that Irena was only briefly with the Congregation of the Ursuline Sisters as a novice.
Another "suspect" speaker at the seminar was Prof Dr Menehim Ali, who was listed as "Pakar Kristologi Universitas Bandung" in UiTM's souvenir programme.
A google search found no such university.
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