Jeswan Kaur is one person in Malaysia who objects to tyrannical theocratic meddling.
The country’s administration is in a mess and still, the ruling government continues to rejoice in demonising other faiths and uphold the superiority of Islam, which the Federal Constitution safeguards as the official religion.
From the threats to non-Malays to back off from using the word ‘Allah’ to the seizure of more than 300 bibles in Iban and Malay languages to the uncalled for Jan 2 raid of the Bible Society of Malaysia premises in Damansara Kim to condemning Valentine Day’s as the ‘root of all evil’, the Barisan Nasional government continues to display its pre-occupation with the persecution of the non-Malays.
See why secularism is better? Including for religious people? It means the state leaves people’s religion alone as much as possible.
The latest show of prejudice and discrimination against the non-Malays comes in the wake of the death of DAP’s former national chairman Karpal Singh on April 17. The MP for Bukit Gelugor died in an accident near Gua Tempurung on the North-South Expressway.
Karpal, who would have turned 74 on June 28, was travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Penang to attend a court hearing in the morning. The country’s best criminal and constitution lawyer’s demise not only shocked the nation but the grief shown by the rakyat left the BN government red-faced.
What’s the problem? People were saying “RIP” to mourners. Uh oh, that’s Christian.
this touching farewell to a defender of the truth rankled the National Fatwa Council.
It promptly reminded Muslims that they are not encouraged to use the phrase to a non-Muslim because of its Christian connotations. In a statement on its website, the council said Muslims could express their condolences but it had a bone to pick with ‘RIP’, claiming that it was a form of prayer used by Christians during the 18th century and regularly engraved on tombstones.
“Condolences can be expressed to a non-Muslim families as long as there are no religious implications,” it said.
Justifying its ruling, the council said RIP was an assumption that the non-Muslim person would receive God’s blessings.
“It is similar to the Latin prayer of ‘May his soul and the souls of all the departed faithful by God’s mercy rest in peace’. From an Islamic point of view, a person who has died in blasphemy will not receive God’s forgiveness and blessings,” said the council.
Ahhhhh that’s a pretty thought. “From an Islamic point of view” lots of dead people are now miserable because they were not Muslim when they were alive. No peace, no forgiveness, no anything good for people who chose a different religion or no religion. Cherish that grudge.
[T]he council never shies away from pushing the envelope when it comes to the Malay agenda, even if it means trampling on the people’s fundamental rights.
Two months ago, the council demanded the government take action against the pro-human rights movement, Coalition of Malaysian Non-governmental Organisations (Comango) which it claimed was trying to destroy Islam in the country. There seems to be no stopping the council and its bigotry – little wonder then why Malaysia and her children continue to suffer from an ‘identity crisis’.
And from a plague of bossy vindictive purity-enforcers.
It’s odd that Malays look down on non-Malays viewing them as inferior even as those same non-Malays consistently outperform them in just about every field.
Quick! Call in the Mormon Baptism Brigade to posthumously baptize all those dead infidels! PROBLEM SOLVED!!!
“See why secularism is better? Including for religious people? ”
Study: People of the same religion as a national religion are happier there than those who are not members of their religion, but EVERYBODY is equally happy – AND happier – in secular countries: http://www.livescience.com/18117-religion-happiness-countries.html
The effect can succinctly be explained in terms of in-group vs. out-group reaction. Those who feel they are in the majority tend to feel happier than those who feel they are not in the majority. BOOM
“Those who feel they are in the majority tend to feel happier than those who feel they are not in the majority.”
To continue that thought, this is why, in the US, Christians often try to imply that they have a monopoly on patriotism. Notice how every church flies a US flag, and there’s usually at least one inside as well. Christianity has always identified itself as the core of the US and thus, patriotism is an expression of Christian belief. See?
My father, who has a degree from seminary and whose parents were yet another generation of genocide artists (missionaries in foreign countries) and who was sent to a boarding school for missionaries’ kids because his parents were far more interested in preachin’ than in parentin’, who is a staunch Calvinist Christian and has studied the bible throughout his adult life (including reading the koine Greek version), told me a few years ago that “Rest in peace” is entirely non-Biblical.
So there – it’s back on the table.