I was stunned by a newspaper headline a few days ago. It read, ‘Bibles freed’. Bibles? Freed? As it turned out, this was in conjunction with the 30,000 copies of the Bibles being confiscated at Kuching Port on January 12. When I read further I was equally disturbed when the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) said that the release was in line with the 1982 gazette under the Internal Security Act (ISA). I have always assumed that the ISA is a legislation that deals with matters considered dangerous to the nation. So since when is the Good Book a danger to our national security? I can understand it if this is a situation in an atheist communist country during the height of the Cold War, (what with “religion being the opiate of the masses) and all that but here, in multi-racial, multi-cultural and multi-religious democratic Malaysia?
When I mentioned to my friend Andy what I intended to write, he said, “Are you sure? I thought one should steer away from topics like race and religion.” I suppose he could have added ‘sex:’ as the other taboo topic. That got me thinking. The more I think the more I realise that I am not writing about ‘religion’. Yes, it is something else — nothing to do with words of the Supreme Being by whatever name you chose to call Him.
The Home Minister said that the Bibles were impounded because the pending court case over the use of the word ‘Allah’ by non-Muslims. So it is really a copyright issue where one cannot use a particular word or term without the expressed agreement by the copyright holder.
However, it was declared that, “After a thorough review, the Attorney-General has confirmed that the release of the Bibles does not prejudice the ongoing court case of the Kalimah Allah issue.”
Hurray! And we must congratulate the AG office for doing such sterling job in so short a time – I think is must be just a matter of days. However, I just wonder why it takes the court so long to decide on the actual case itself. Considering it is such an important issue affecting the rights of so many citizens?
Let’s go back to the triumphant announcement by the CEO of Pemandu of the freeing of the Holy Book. Apparently he is a devout Christian though he carries a Muslim sounding name. He said that the Government was committed to resolving inter-faith issues amicably through dialogues and discussions.
“This is a reasonable compromise in managing the polarities of views between Christians and Muslims in the country.”
The thing that puzzles me is the term ‘polarities between Christians and Muslims’. When I checked the dictionary, it states polarity as ‘the presence or manifestation of two opposite or contrasting principles or tendencies’. How can it be? Christians and Muslims are people of the Book. We are all of the Abrahamic traditions. We should be brothers and sisters. Our experience in Sarawak is a manifestation of that. As Peter Kallang, a Christian and Miri branch chairman of the Orang Ulu National Association said, “Sarawakians do not only tolerate each other’s religion and race but respect them. Forcing one’s ideologies or faith on others is also something foreign in Sarawak.”
Well whatever it is, the announcement of the freeing of the Bibles it elicited a sigh of relief from many Christians and some even lauded ‘the positive response from the authorities’. One politician declared that, “it goes to show that the Government is always prepared to listen to the views of the people . . .”
At this point I am reminded the 1975 movie, ‘Jaws’ and its famous line “just when you think it is safe to go into the water . . . (sound effect) da dum, da dum, da dum”
While leaders, religious or otherwise, were rejoicing at the ‘wise and amicable’solution to the situation a new bother appeared. It transpired that the Bibles can only be released on two conditions — that each copy should carry a serial number and should be stamped ‘For Christians Only’. As Catholic bishop Paul Tan Chee Ing put it “(these are) crass forms of censorship redolent of the communist era”.
I wonder what happened to the ‘unity in diversity’ and 1Malaysia thing. Perhaps there are forces within our land which are against the former and that their idea of 1Malaysia really means the assimilation and subservience of all others to the just one race who share the same religion.
They must be people who feel very insecure and of low esteem. They have such a dim view of their fellow worshippers that they take them to be both fools and knaves. They would have us believe that if a Muslim were to chance upon a Christian book which used the term ‘Allah’ the poor man might be so confused that he might mistake it for a Muslim literature.
As someone wrote: “Ye of little faith, do you believe that our religion is resting on something as flimsy as a house of cards that one whiff of challenge and it will come toppling down? As a Muslim I find this attitude so insulting.”
I recall when I was studying in a Catholic school in Mukah there was a sizeable number of Muslim students. All of them were totally comfortable studying in a school which had crosses and statues of saints in many places. One endearing memory is that of one Muslim boy who took a liking to ringing the church bell, a task which he performed with gusto. I met up with him again years later in life. I am pleased to say, nay I am proud to say, that his faith and devotion to Islam have remained undimmed.
The fact that the word ‘Allah’ predates Islam, and has been used for centuries by Muslims and non-Muslims alike, is totally lost on these who go frothy in the mouth when they hear other people using the same name as them to describe the Supreme Being. Neither it appears that they can comprehend that the word is just one of man’s feeble attempts to describe and thus limit the limitless that is God. Maybe they are not interested to understand at all. Maybe what they really want is to use their religion as a cudgel to beat other people and to obtain for themselves absolute domination over all others. So really, it is not about religion after all.
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