News from Home, World and the Vatican

State religious authorities must return to Islam's true teachings and ensure interfaith harmony is preserved in the country, the Global Movement of Moderates Foundation (GMMF) said, in light of the ongoing Bible tussle between Islamic bodies and Christians in Selangor.

GMMF chief executive officer Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah said non-Muslims should feel safe living in a country governed by Muslims, as Islam was a religion‎ of peace. Read more »

The statements of Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom, the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, border on the absurd with his bizarre interpretations of the laws and court decisions of this country.

IS this Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom, the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, for real, because he seems to have chalked up a record for contradicting what the Cabinet has decided and practised? Read more »

The Malaysian Bar supports the Attorney General’s decision not to prosecute the Bible Society of Malaysia (“BSM”) over the more than 300 copies of the Alkitab (Bahasa Malaysia bible) and Bup Kudus (Iban bible) that contained the word “Allah” and that were seized by Jabatan Agama Islam Selangor (“JAIS”) on 2 January 2014.

The Malaysian Bar views with much concern reports of the refusal by Majlis Agama Islam Selangor (“MAIS”) and JAIS to abide by the findings of the Attorney General and to comply with his request that JAIS take consequential and appropriate action in accordance with the law. Read more »

Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom had cited the wrong Federal Court ruling when he said the unilateral religious conversion of a child by either one parent is allowed by the Federal Constitution, the Malaysian Bar said.

The Minister in the Prime Minister's Department had cited the Federal Court ruling in the case of Shamala Sathiyaseelan v Dr Jeyaganesh C. Mogarajah.

Bar Council president Christopher Leong, however, said the Federal Court in that case did not make any such ruling. Read more »

The Shariah Court of Appeal has ordered an Indonesian Christian to be retried for khalwat, striking off an earlier conviction by Islamic courts here.

Counsel for the Indonesian woman said the retrial will allow him to prove to the court that his client is Christian and not subject to Islamic law. Halimah, 42, was charged and convicted for being in close proximity with a man not her husband or relative — an offence under Islamic law and enforceable exclusively on Muslims. Read more »

Once again, the great debate about whether Malaysia is a secular or an Islamic state rears its ugly head.

This debate is divisive and sterile, primarily because it is a debate that “generates lots of heat but little light” — which is to say, it raises a great deal of emotion but contributes little to greater understanding.

This article aims to shed some light while generating the minimum amount of heat, and propose alternative ways of approaching this increasingly fruitless debate. Read more »

To His Royal Highness, the Sultan of Selangor, May it please your Highness to step in to resolve this issue for the unity of the races be they Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, or Bhais (the latter two also use the word “Allah” in their prayers) as all mankind are brothers and sisters, each being a strand of rope that forms one big rope that leads to the Almighty Most High God, and more so as both the Christians and Muslims originate from Abraham the father of both. Read more »