DARE MALAYS ANSWER THIS QUESTION: Is Christianisation a threat? What is your honest opinion?

This week, two news stories about Muslims and Christians caught my attention.

The first was about a seminar at UiTM in Melaka. It was for Muslims only. It was titled “Threat of Christianisation movement.”

One speaker was a special branch officer from Bukit Aman, Kuala Lumpur. He is said to have spoken about the threat of the Islamic State; Syiah Muslims; and Christianisation.

The seminar’s purpose was “to strengthen the faith of Muslim students.” Attendance was compulsory for Muslim students. The second story was about Catholic priests visiting a mosque in Penang. The host was a Muslim missionary group sponsored by Malaysia’s “Islamic” political party, PAS.

The visit’s purpose was to promote goodwill between the two communities. The Muslims said they wanted to clear misunderstandings about Islam. They said they wanted to show that Islam doesn’t promote
racism, and Muslims aren’t terrorists.

An opinion piece on Muslims and terrorism by Dr James Chin also caught my attention. Chin serves as Director of the Asia Institute, Tasmania.

His title was “Malaysia: Clear and present danger from the Islamic State.”

Chin said Jakim, Malaysia’s Federal Islamic Development Department, and its state-level counterparts are pushing for a Malay-Islamic state. He said another institution “promoting ethno-religious hate and intolerance” is Biro Tata Negara (National Civics Bureau or BTN).

Chin pointed out that both Jakim and BTN come under the Prime Minister’s Department.

We cannot talk about threats today without talking about the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).

Thousands of Malaysians support ISIS. That’s official. Transport Minister, Liow Tiong Lai said so. He said about 50,000 Malaysians support ISIS. He said it last week at a conference on national
security.

Chin noted a similarity between the ISIS and the Malaysian Government. The similarity is the use of differentiating “us” from “them” as the basis for state policies. For ISIS, “us” are those who bow to Baghdadi’s Caliphate. For Jakim and BTN, “us” are Malay-Muslims.

Chin’s analysis was published by the Brookings Institute on Dec 16. He must have submitted it before the Umno general assembly which began on Dec 10.

That must be the reason he didn’t mention the third news story which caught my attention. It’s the story of the falsification and glorification of red shirts.

The “red shirts” were the hire-a-mob crowd bussed into Kuala Lumpur on Sept 16 to create fear of “a Malay uprising.”
The government condoned the rally and promised it would be peaceful.

It was not. The police had to use water cannon to disperse an unruly mob who otherwise would have gone on rampage in Chinatown.

At the assembly, a photo-book titled “Kebangkitan Baju Merah” was distributed to all delegates. The title translates to “The rise of the red shirts.”

The book was funded by the Department of Special Affairs (JASA) which is also under the purview of the Prime Minister’s Department. Like the Melaka UiTM event, the red-shirts book was made off-limits to those who are not Malay-Muslims. According to reports:

• The book sets the red-shirts rally against Bersih rally on Aug 30-31 which drew half a million to KL. It says nothing about the funding of the rallies (tens of thousands of Malaysians funded the Bersih rally); it says nothing about the half a million people who are estimated to have turned out.

• The book doesn’t include Bersih’s goal of ending endemic corruption through institutional and structural changes made by Bersih.
• The book alleges the Bersih rally was violent, while the red shirts rally was peaceful. (No police action was taken during the Bersih rally.)

It’s clear the book is part of the government’s strategy of demonizing “the other.”

What does the above have to do with the UiTM “Threat of Christianization” seminar?

The threat of terrorism in the name of Islam is real. It is supported by data. Liow has said there are 50,000 ISIS supporters in Malaysia. The police have said in a (leaked) confidential memo that there are “at least 10 potential suicide bombers in Kuala Lumpur and eight elsewhere in the country.” The “threats” self-identify as Muslims.
Is the claim of “Christianisation” real?

If “Christianisation” means the movement of persons out of Islam, it’s not real. Why? Because on 14 March 2014, Jamil Khir Baharom, Minister in the PM’s Department, told Parliament that in the 10 years past, no
Malay-Muslims left Islam.

If Christianisation means worldview, the key difference between Jakim/BTN/ISIS/Umno leaders and Christians is acceptance of others.

Catholics and Protestants don’t vilify each other like Sunni vilify Syiah in Malaysia. Christians neither promote nor condone abuse of persons who have Gender Identity Differences. Mature Christians abhor
demonisation.

Who’s the greater threat? “Christianisers” or those who claim Christianisation is a threat?

An engineer by training, Rama Ramanathan was Quality Leader (Asia Pacific) in two US-based multinationals over the last two decades. Tired of travel, he now mostly stays put in KL and focuses on being a thoughtful neighbour and citizen. - http://theantdaily.com/