The colour of law

In 2015, a group of Muslim residents in Taman Medan, Petaling Jaya had intimidated Christians who were attending their regular Sunday service and forced the pastor to bring down the cross affixed to the façade of the church building.

Some of them claimed that the sight of the cross in a Muslim majority area could influence younger minds while others felt that the existence of a church in a Muslim area challenged Islam.

The authorities who arrived at the scene later acted as intermediaries between the protesters and church leaders. A few hours later, the cross was taken down by church leaders for safety and security reasons.

Imagine if the protesters were non-Muslim residents who were angered by the existence of mosques and the constant calls for prayers in a none-Muslim majority area.

Do you think the authorities would have advised the mosque committee to turn off the speakers for safety and security reasons? Do you think the authorities would have even allowed the non-Muslim protesters to assemble outside the mosque?

I don’t think so.

Most likely the protesters would be reminded of whom the Malaysian soil belongs to and given friendly advice to leave the country if they felt it was unfair. Also, maybe, action would be taken against them for illegal assembly.

In 2016, a 19-year-old Christian girl converted to Islam after attending a ceramah by Zakir Naik. After a series of questioning and answering at the event, Zakir Naik invited the girl to recite the syahadah (proclamation of faith).

The girl stood in silence, witnessed by some 40,000-strong audience, before agreeing. She was later embraced by other female audience members. None of her family members was present at the event.

Imagine if the 19-year-old girl was a Muslim, attending a non-Muslim ceramah by a non-Muslim preacher. Do you think the authorities would have allowed her conversion? Do you think the authorities would have ignored the non-Muslim preacher’s successful attempt to convert an individual below 21 years of age?

I don’t think so.

Most likely, the preacher would have gone "missing" while the girl would have been forced to undergo a series of counselling sessions at one of our many Islamic departments to "cleanse her soul".

Last year, a pro-Muslim product movement escalated into calls to boycott non-Muslim products. Some politicians supported the “Muslim first” campaign, claiming that it encourages Muslims to buy Muslim-made products and should be seen in a positive light.

Some condemned both campaigns, saying such actions would be counter-productive as it could harm national unity apart from causing consumers to lose out by boycotting products which are superior in price and quality.

While everyone took turns to state their opinions, no action was taken against those who started the campaigns. Imagine if the campaign was organised by non-Muslims to boycott Muslim products.

Imagine giant wholesale stores which are owned by non-Muslims deciding to support the campaign, hence boycotting all Muslim products. Imagine the big chain convenience stores which are owned by non-Muslims, deciding to support the campaign, hence refusing to carry any Muslim products on their shelves.

Imagine all favourite family fast-food restaurants which are owned by non-Muslims deciding to support the campaign, hence placing big signboards on their premises stating clearly, “Non-Muslims First.”

Do you think the authorities would be sitting calmly while politicians and members of the public take turns sharing their opinions regarding the matter?

I don’t think so.

Most likely, all those who support such campaigns would be penalised.

Indira Ghandi

And recently, the Malaysian inspector-general of police finally revealed that he knew the whereabouts of Indira Gandhi’s ex-husband who has abducted their daughter for more than a decade. The ex-husband took the child away when she was only 11 months old, shortly after he converted to Islam.

Despite having a warrant of arrest for the father from the Federal Court four years ago which ordered the police to locate and return the girl after Indira was granted full custody, the authorities claimed to have failed in their attempts to track down Indira’s daughter.

The IGP now miraculously claims to know the whereabouts of Indira’s ex-husband – but instead of fulfilling the court order, he insists on pujuk-ing the ex-husband to come out of hiding and find a win-win solution.

Imagine if it was Indira who had converted to Islam and not the ex-husband. Do you think the authorities would have taken this long to reunite the mother and daughter? Do you think the IGP would even be bothered to request the ex-husband to come out of hiding?

I don’t think so.

Most likely, in order for the child not to be raised by a non-Muslim parent, the authorities would have looked high and low for her ex-husband and returned the child to the Indira in a heartbeat.

Most likely the father who had abducted the child would not only be behind bars but most probably would be demonised as well. After all, how dare a non-Muslim abduct his child from his Muslim convert ex-spouse, right?

Well, too bad for Indira. As a non-Muslim fighting against a Muslim convert ex-husband, her never-ending pleas to be reunited with her child turned out to be nothing but annoying noises to the ears of our pro-Islam authorities.

Because in Malaysia, if you want justice, you should be a Muslim.

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FA ABDUL is a passionate storyteller, a media trainer, an aspiring playwright, a director, a struggling producer, a photographer, an expert Facebooker, a lazy blogger, a part-time queen and a full-time vainpot. - Mkini