Give up on ‘Allah’ and turn the other cheek, Ridhuan Tee tells Christians

Controversial lecturer Dr Ridhuan Tee Abdullah continued his tirade against Christians over the Allah issue today, saying that they are supposed to "turn the other cheek" when attacked, not fight back.

He said Christians, who are known to be gentle, should not be rough when threatened by others.

"Don't the Christians keep claiming that when someone slaps you on the left cheek, do not retaliate but offer your right cheek. So, give up," he wrote in his column in Sinar Harian today, titled ""Tanpa Allah, Kristian tidak rugi" (Without Allah, Christians don't lose).

Ridhuan (pic), who teaches at the National Defence University, said Christians do not lose anything for not being able to use "Allah", adding that giving up their fight would help national unity.

"With Christians conceding, won't the Muslims' prejudices against them be less? This situation is good for national unity."

Reminding Christians to follow the recent Federal Court ruling which upheld the ban on the use of "Allah" in Christian weekly Herald, Ridhuan said there were many other words in place of the Arabic word.

"Will the Christians become less a Christian if they do not use the word Allah? The answer is no.

"There are many other names that they have used all this while such as God, Lord and others. Use another names, no one will stop you," he said.

Putrajaya has said that Malaysian Christians can still use the word "Allah" in church as the Federal Court ruling only applied only to Herald.

"The government remains committed to the 10-point solution. Malaysia is a multi-faith country and it is important that differences are managed peacefully in accordance with the rule of law and through dialogue, mutual respect and compromise," it said in a statement.

The Federal Court had dismissed the church's leave application to appeal the ban by the Court of Appeal on the use of "Allah" in Herald.

Four of the seven-member bench dismissed the church's application for leave to appeal, saying that the Court of Appeal was right in its decision.

The Catholic Church, however, expressed disappointment with the ruling, with Herald editor Father Laurence Andrew saying that the church is now considering filing for a review of the decision.

Ridhuan said today that Christians adamant on fighting to use the word "Allah" were from Peninsular Malaysia who have a hidden agenda.

He said Christians in Sabah and Sarawak were not insistent over the right to use the word "Allah" despite having long used the word in their worship.

"Strangely, the ones who insist on using the word are those from the peninsula. This 'ultra kiasu' determination is a slick plan to destroy the Muslim faith which is already shaken today," he said, repeating a phrase he has often used on the Chinese community.

"I am sure their target is the Muslims who are liberal and whose faith is weak. These people are easy to approach and easily influenced. That is why they are so adamant about using the word Allah," he added.

Ridhuan, a Chinese Muslim convert, urged Christians to understand the sensitivities of the Malays, with a warning that the Malays had been tolerant enough to receive non-Malays as citizens in the country.

"Just understand the Malays. The Malays that I know are very understanding of others. That is why, others can live in comfort here.

"But if we keep challenging the Malays and their sensitivities, I would be worried. Malays will rise up fiercely. That is what is going on a rampage is like," he said.

- TMI