Showing posts with label Malaysia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Malaysia. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: Malaysia's opposition leader has appeared in court to face sodomy charges for the second time in a decade and threatened to call the prime minister as a witness.
Anwar Ibrahim, who led his party to record gains in the 2008 election, said the charges were the result of "the machinations of a dirty, corrupt few".
A 25-year-old former male aide, Saiful Bukhari, accused Anwar of sodomy. He faces up to 20 years in prison if he is convicted – a ruling that would effectively end the 62-year-old's political career. Homosexuality is illegal in Malaysia. >>> Barney Henderson in Kuala Lumpur | Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: Severed pig head[s] have been left at two Malaysian mosques in a development that threatens to inflame communal tensions amidst a row over the use of the word "Allah" by Christians.
It was the most serious incident to hit Islamic places of worship following vandalism and other assaults at 11 churches, a Sikh temple, a mosque and two Muslim prayer halls across the Muslim-majority country in the past three weeks. Pigs are considered unclean by Muslims.
The attacks followed outrage among Muslims over a court verdict that allowed non-Muslims to use "Allah" as a translation for "God" in the Malay language. Many Malaysian Muslims believe the word should be exclusive to their religion, and that its use by others could confuse some Muslims and even lure them to convert.
Several men who went to a suburban mosque to perform morning prayers Wednesday were shocked to discover two bloodied wild boar heads wrapped in plastic bags in the mosque compound, said Zulkifli Mohamad, the top official at the Sri Sentosa Mosque on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's largest city.
Two similarly severed heads were also found at the Taman Dato Harun Mosque in a nearby district. Wild boar are common in Malaysia's forests.
Government leaders denounced the incidents and pledged to track down the culprits.
"We are dead serious about this," Hishammuddin told a news conference. "We will bring them to justice." >>> The Telegraph’s Foreign Staff | Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Thursday, January 14, 2010
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: The government's censorship has only compounded Malaysia's troubles.
Religious violence is rare in Malaysia, and so its people are rightly alarmed at the current spate of attacks on churches, which can conjure up memories of the 1969 race riots. The government has strongly condemned the attacks, but its policy of trying to coddle its Muslim population undermines its stated goal of an open Islam and stokes the very religious tension that it wants desperately to avoid.
The violence is the latest consequence of attempts to ban the use of the word "Allah" by Christians. In 1986, the Interior Security Ministry barred the word from non-Islamic publications on the grounds that it could confuse Muslims, but the ordinance was usually not enforced. However in December 2007, the Malaysian Chinese Muslim Association and the Islamic religious councils of seven states invoked it in a lawsuit against the Malay language weekly, the Catholic Herald. The government sided with the councils, saying that Christians' use of the term "could increase tension and create confusion among Muslims." Authorities also asked the Herald to put on its front page the word terhad, "restricted," meaning solely for distribution to Christians.
Christians and others responded that "Allah" has been used by Christians for centuries to refer to God, including in Malaysia. No other country has such a ban; even the Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) says it opposes one. "Allah," the Arabic word for God, is used by Christians in Egypt and Syria, and, of course, neighboring Indonesia. On Dec. 31, 2009, the High Court ruled that Christians had a constitutional right to use "Allah." The government called for calm, but quickly said it would appeal and, on January 6, the judge suspended her ruling pending an appeals court decision. Subsequently, nine churches have been attacked, most of them firebombed. There have also been attacks on the Catholic Herald's legal team, whose offices were vandalized yesterday.
This is not the only federal government attempt to repress anything that could be perceived as deviating from the state-sanctioned version of Islam. In 2005, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi proposed that Malay-language bibles have "Not for Muslims" on the front. In 2003, the government banned publication of a Bible in Iban, an indigenous language, although the ban was later lifted. In March 2009, customs officials seized Christian books and other materials containing "Allah," and now some 15,000 volumes have been impounded. Since Indonesian Christian books in Bahasa contain the word "Allah" they cannot be imported. The government has also rebuffed calls for a state interfaith advisory council. >>> Paul Marshall* | Thursday, January 14, 2010
*Mr. Marshall is senior fellow at the Hudson Institute's Center for Religious Freedom in Washington.
Saturday, January 09, 2010
NZZ ONLINE: In Kuala Lumpur hat es am Samstag offenbar einen weiteren Brandanschlag auf eine Kirche gegeben. Laut Angaben eines Bischofs haben zwei Brandsätze die Fenster des Gotteshauses aber verfehlt. Am Freitag sind in der Hauptstadt Malaysias Brandanschläge auf drei Kirchen verübt worden.
Inmitten wachsender Spannungen zwischen Christen und Muslimen in Malaysia ist am Samstag ein Brandanschlag auf eine vierte Kirche in der Hauptstadt Kuala Lumpur verübt worden. >>> ap | Samstag, 09. Januar 2010
Friday, January 08, 2010
THE GUARDIAN: Three churches in Kuala Lumpur attacked after court reverses ban on Christians using the word 'Allah' to mean 'God'
Three Malaysian churches were attacked with firebombs, causing extensive damage to one, as Muslims pledged today to prevent Christians from using the word "Allah", escalating religious tensions in the multiracial country.
Many Malay Muslims, who make up 60% of the population, are incensed by a recent high court decision to overturn a ban on Roman Catholics using Allah as a translation for God in the Malay-language edition of their main newspaper, the Herald.
The government had said that Allah, an Arabic word that predates Islam, was exclusive to the faith. It refused to make an exception, even though the Herald's Malay edition is read only by Christian indigenous tribes in the remote states of Sabah and Sarawak.
At Friday prayers at two main mosques in downtown Kuala Lumpur, young worshippers carried banners and vowed to defend Islam.
"We will not allow the word Allah to be inscribed in your churches," one shouted into a loudspeaker at the Kampung Bahru mosque. About 50 other people carried posters reading "Heresy arises from words wrongly used" and "Allah is only for us".
"Islam is above all. Every citizen must respect that," said Ahmad Johari, who attended prayers at the National Mosque. "I hope the court will understand the feeling of the majority Muslims of Malaysia. We can fight to the death over this issue." >>> Associated Press | Friday, January 08, 2010
LE FIGARO: Trois églises ont été détruites par des bombes vendredi, dans ce pays où la polémique enfle sur l'emploi du nom d'Allah pour désigner le dieu du christianisme.
Trois églises ont été la cible de bombes incendiaires vendredi en Malaisie, où le débat autour de l'utilisation du mot «Allah» par les non-musulmans fait rage, opposant la population malaise musulmane aux minorités d'origine chinoise et indienne, qui pratiquent notamment le christianisme.
L'affaire n'est pas récente, et puise ses racines en mai 2008, date à laquelle le haut conseil national de la fatwa avait ordonné que l'appelation «Allah» soit uniquement employée par les musulmans. Il avait en effet estimé qu'un tel usage de ce mot par des catholiques risquait de semer la confusion parmi les musulmans, présents à 60% dans le pays. >>> F.G. (lefigaro.fr) avec AFP | Jeudi 08 Janvier 2010
Monday, January 04, 2010
BBC: Fifty-two unmarried couples could face charges of sexual misconduct and jail terms after being caught in hotel rooms by Malaysia's Islamic morality police.
Scores of officers conducted raids on budget hotels on New Year's Day in the western state of Selangor.
Those detained in the early hours of New Year's Day were mainly students and young factory workers.
The Muslim couples are expected to be charged with the offence of close proximity, or Khalwat. >>> Jennifer Pak, BBC News, Kuala Lumpur | Monday, January 04, 2010
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
MAIL ONLINE: An engaged Muslim couple who tried to have sex in a car have been sentenced to be caned by a Sharia court in Malaysia.
Islamic religious police caught Mohamad Shahrin Abdul Majid, 29, and Nadiah Najat Hussin, 24, wearing only their underwear in a car at an office parking area in May.
They pleaded guilty to trying to have sex out of wedlock and were sentenced to six strokes of the cane. They were also fined £1,000 each.
The couple, who plan to marry soon, are appealing against the caning but they have paid the fines.
The maximum sentence for the offence under Islamic law is three years in jail. >>> | Friday, September 18, 2009
Thursday, September 17, 2009
REUTERS: KOTA BHARU, Malaysia - The end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan this weekend could see Islamic authorities in Malaysia carry out the country's first caning sentence on a woman, a punishment that is fast gaining support.
Although the penalty has been condemned by rights groups and is being reviewed by an Islamic appeal court, it is endorsed by conservative Muslims whose influence is on the rise in this multi-racial, Southeast Asian country of 27 million people.
Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, 32, was caught drinking beer in a hotel and faces six strokes of the cane.
There are concerns the caning could damage Malaysia's image at a time when it is liberalizing its economy to attract more foreign investment. But for many people in Kelantan, a poor rural state, it is more important to see justice done.
"Her punishment is not severe, it will educate people. It will be a good lesson especially after Ramadan," said Runaidah Abdul Hamid, a housewife, as she bought vegetables to prepare for the breaking of the fast during Ramadan.
"Kartika will become more Muslim," said Rahayu Nizam Nawi, a vegetable seller in northern Kelantan's capital, Khota Bharu.
Kartika said she accepts the six strokes of the cane and has called for the sentence despite moves by the government, including Prime Minister Najib Razak, to review the punishment.
Malaysia practices a dual-track legal system, with Islamic criminal and family laws applicable only to Muslims, running alongside civil laws. If Kartika is caned, she will be fully clothed. "CITY OF ISLAM" >>> Niluksi Koswanage and Razak Ahmad, Editing by David Chance and Jonathon Burch | Thursday, September 17, 2009
Friday, August 21, 2009
THE TELEGRAPH: A Muslim model has asked human rights group Amnesty International to stop asking the Malaysian authorities not to cane her, saying she is ready to face the penalty for drinking beer.
Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, a 32-year-old mother of two, insisted she is willing to be lashed six times with a rattan cane next week for breaching the country's Shariah law, which forbids Muslims to consume alcohol.
"I want to respect the law," Kartika said from her northern home state of Perak. "Who am I to question the Islamic authorities' laws? That is beyond me.
"I never cried when I was sentenced by the judge. I told myself, alright then, let's get on with it."
Kartika is to become the first Malaysian woman to be caned in prison after she was arrested in a raid for drinking beer at a hotel lounge last year and sentenced by a Shariah court in July in what was considered a warning to other Muslims to abide by religious laws.
Amnesty International earlier urged authorities to "immediately revoke the sentence to cane her and abolish the practice of caning altogether."
"Caning is a form of cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and is prohibited under international human rights law," it said in a statement.
Government lawyer Saiful Idham Sahimi said earlier this week the penalty was appropriate because drinking was a serious offence for Muslims.
Islamic authorities insist that the purpose of the caning is to educate rather than punish. They say the rattan cane to be used on Kartika will be smaller and lighter than the one used for men and that she will remain clothed. The prison official who canes her is also supposed to use very little force.
Men convicted of civil crimes such as rape and bribery in Malaysia are caned on their bare buttocks, breaking the skin and leaving permanent scars. >>> | Friday, August 21, 2009
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
THE TELEGRAPH: Muslim model Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno has become the first woman in Malaysia to be sentenced to a caning after being caught drinking beer in a beach resort.
The 32-year-old will receive six lashes at a woman's prison next week in what is being viewed as an example of the growing influence of Islamic hardliners on the country.
The mother-of-two who lives in Singapore with her husband, paid a fine of £860, but declined to lodge an appeal so she could get the punishment over with and put the episode behind her.
The harsh sentence has provoked anger among women's rights groups who fear it is another sign of the creeping influence of conservative Islam on Malaysian society.
In the northern backwater state of Kalentan ruled by the hardline Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, authorities have decreed that supermarkets must have separate checkout queues for men and women and beaches be segregated.
Young couples caught sitting too close together on park benches in the state capital, Kota Baru, are hunted down by the city's moral enforcers and fined up to £285 in Sharia courts.
The Islamic alcohol prohibition laws in Malaysia's eastern Pahang state date back more than two decades. But Malaysian-born Kartika, who now has Singaporean citizenship, is the first woman to fall foul of them.
She was arrested in July last year in a hotel nightclub in the beach resort of Cherating during a raid by the state's religious department and admitted drinking beer.
An Islamic court fined her and ordered her to be caned at Kajang women's prison next week, but spared her a jail term of up to three years.
She received word of the sentence from her father and said she would be returning to Malaysia from Singapore.
"I accept the punishment," she said. "I am not afraid because I was ready to be punished from day one. [The authorities] hope to use my case as a way to educate Muslims. So go ahead. I want to move on with my life." >>> Ian MacKinnon in Bangkok | Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
BALTIMORE SUN BLOG: A 32-year-old Muslim woman, a model, was sentenced this week to six strokes with a rattan cane for drinking a beer in a nightclub.
Word of this event, reported by the Associated Press in Australia and picked up The Huffington Post, comes from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Consuming alcohol is a religious offense in Malaysia only for Muslims, who make up nearly two-thirds of the population, reports say. Offenders are prosecuted in Shariah courts, which handle cases mainly related to family and moral issues for Muslim.
Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno was sentenced Monday to six lashes and a fine of 5,000 ringgit ($1,400) for consuming alcohol.
Earlier news sources reported the woman would appeal the sentence. But yesterday the blog Nuraiana A. Samad's 3540 Jalan Sudin said the woman had decided not to appeal. There seemed to confusion, however, over who would strike the blows. Technically, she has to be in prison to be caned. She is not in prison.
The caning inflicts more shame than corporal punishment, a Malaysian official claims. Easy for him to say. [Source: Batimore Sun Blog] | Rob Kaspar | Comment here
Thursday, June 11, 2009
BNP: The Islamification of Britain continues unimpeded by voter objections to the colonisation of our country, with the latest development being the launch of an Islamic finance programme in Cardiff to help prepare “finance professionals” for the system.
The new programme, called the Islamic Banking Finance Centre UK (IBFC-UK), has been established in partnership with Islamic Banking & Finance Institute in Malaysia (IBFIM) and Cardiff University’s Business School and Centre of Islam.
Akmal Hanuk, chief executive of IBFC-UK was quoted in the media as saying that “The Islamic finance sector is expanding at an exponential rate and is now estimated to be worth $1.2 trillion globally and growing faster than any of the conventional banks, between 15-20 percent.
”We are very pleased to be one of the first organisations in Europe to address the growing demand of trained professionals in the Islamic banking and finance sector, as we want to make sure that the UK is at the forefront as this sector develops and that it stays there.
“We are also pleased that this initiative is coming out of Wales, which will enhance its reputation as one of the leading centres of training, skills and development.”
Leader of the fake Welsh nationalist party, Plaid Cymru, Ieuan Wyn Jones, who is also Welsh Assembly minister for the economy and transport, described the announcement as particularly significant for Wales.
“Despite the current global financial crisis, Islamic finance continues its growth as an increasingly viable alternative banking system.”
Plaid Cymru has an established record of promoting the Islamification of Wales, which is in marked contrast to its obviously false claim of protecting Welsh culture. For example, at a meeting during Plaid Cymru’s Spring Conference, ‘Muslims for Plaid’ launched a new website established by ‘Muslim members of Plaid Cymru’ since their campaigning group was established on 21st September 2006. The Islamification of Wales: Shariah Financial Services Programme Launched in Cardiff >>> BNP News | Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
A Catholic church in Malaysia which prays to Allah has prompted a court case over who can use the word.
Muslim leaders say Islam should be the only faith to use it, saying its use in other faiths could lead to confusion and conversions.
Robin Brant reports from Kuala Lumpur.
Friday, October 17, 2008
ASSOCIATED PRESS: KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — An influential council of Malaysia's state rulers has warned people not to question the supremacy of Islam or the special privileges enjoyed by the country's ethnic Malay majority.
Racial and religious tensions have increased in the past year as minorities have become more vocal in their complaints about an affirmative action program that they say unfairly favors Malays. They also complain that their religious rights are being ignored.
In an unprecedented comment on current affairs, the sultans of nine states did not directly accuse the Chinese and Indian minorities of stoking anti-Malay feelings, but said recent statements and forums "held by certain quarters" had "caused provocation and uneasiness among the people."
Questioning the special position of Malays "can lead to disunity and racial strife that can undermine the peace and harmony," the state rulers said in a statement. >>> By Vijay Joshi | October 17, 2008
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Friday, September 26, 2008
NST ONLINE: NEW YORK: Malaysia has proposed that an international convention sponsored by the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) be held next year to tackle anti-Muslim movements in several developed nations.
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said on Thursday the OIC had asked Malaysia to play a major role in rectifying the misconception about Islam, especially in the West.
He said Islamaphobia [sic] was so serious that some Western countries hated Muslim nations, as shown by the protests against the construction of a mosque in Cologne, Germany, recently.
Rais said OIC's request was conveyed to him by its secretary-general, Prof Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, on the sidelines of the 63rd session of the United Nations General Assembly.
He told Malaysian journalists that the OIC was confident that Malaysia would be able to counter the misconception.
Rais hoped that the convention would be attended by influential people like national leaders, intellectuals and representatives of non-governmental organisations supporting religious tolerance.
"Malaysia hopes that another window can be opened for a more universal understanding of Islam to help in civilisation-building," he said. Malaysia to Combat Anti-Islam Perception >>> September 26, 2008
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Wednesday, September 24, 2008
NEW ZEALAND HERALD: Malaysia's leading blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin has been ordered to spend two years in detention under internal security laws after being accused of insulting Islam.
His wife, Lee Abdulah, said the founder of the controversial Malaysia Today website had been sent to the Kamunting detention centre in northern Perak state under a detention order signed by the Home Minister.
Abdulah said police had told her "he will remain there for two years with no trial". [Source: NZ HERALD] September 24, 2008
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Saturday, September 06, 2008
ABS-CBN News Online: With peace talks between the Philippine government and Muslim rebels in tatters, analysts are warning violence will escalate and could spill over into neighboring countries.
President Arroyo this week scrapped the government panel handling the negotiations, a move analysts say ended any hopes of settling the four-decades-old Muslim insurgency before she leaves office in 2010.
They fear the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which had been negotiating for a Muslim homeland on the revolt-hit southern Mindanao island, may now splinter into smaller and more radical groups.
The government has said any future peace talks will have to be more representative of the people of Mindanao rather than just the MILF, which will have to disarm if it is to enter any future negotiations.
"No respected revolutionary movement will even think of handing over their guns," said Rommel Banlaoi, executive director of the Philippine Institute for Political Violence and Terrorism Research, a think tank.
He said the dissolution of the peace panel would lead the MILF rebel forces to resume their armed struggle on a larger scale, and warned the conflict could "spill over to neighboring countries like Indonesia, Malaysia or Brunei." Muslim Unrest in RP May Spread to Neighbors: Analysts >>> Agence France-Presse | September 5, 2008
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The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback – Australia) >>>
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
CNN/Asia: Authorities in a northern Malaysian city have forbidden Muslim women from wearing bright lipstick and noisy high-heeled shoes, saying the directive is intended to prevent sexual assaults and "illicit sex."
The national news agency, Bernama, said the directive was issued by the municipal council of Kota Baru and is aimed toward Muslim women working in restaurants and other businesses in the city. It said the ban will safeguard the morals and dignity of the women as well as thwart rape.
"It states that Muslim women are forbidden to wear thick make-up, like bright colored lipstick and high-heeled shoes that gave a tapping sound," the news agency said.
"For those who insist on wearing high heel shoes, they can do so but with rubber heels." Malaysian City Bans Lipstick for Muslim Women >>> | June 24, 2008
THE GUARDIAN:
Malaysian City Tells Women to Drop Lipstick and High Heels >>> By Ian MacKinnon, south east Asia correspondent | June 24, 2008
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The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback, direct from the publishers
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