KUCHING: Whoever says that Valentine’s Day is a Christian festival is completely wrong.
An apostolic church pastor said in the first place Valentine’s Day is unbiblical and therefore should never be linked with Christianity.
“Before I go further let me share what the word Christian really means because many people know but there are also many who don’t. The origin of the word comes from the name Christ.
“Before the birth of Jesus Christ more than 2,000 years ago there were no Christians. Christians are those who follow and abide by his teachings. By right it is incorrect for anyone to call himself a Christian if he does not believe in Christ and lead the life of a Christian,” he said.
The pastor who spoke on condition of anonymity told The Borneo Post that in the Bible there was no such thing as Valentine’s Day celebration or festival or anything of such nature.
As such, he said, anything that was not in the Bible could not in any way be linked with the actual Christian way of life.
“For a true Christian, he should be guided only by the Bible and nothing else. If a person believes in other things apart from the Bible, then he or she cannot claim to be a Christian,” he added.
He said this when asked to comment on the erroneous assumption that Valentine’s Day is a Christian festival.
“We have to remember that we are living in flesh and blood and are exposed to temptation where anything can happen when couples are to be alone in private, especially when their intention for the meeting in the first place is to express their feelings towards each other,” he added.
Meanwhile, state Mufti Ustaz Kipli Yassin said Muslims were forbidden from observing Valentine’s Day.
“We have the prohibition under our Syariah law and ordinance which forbids Muslims from doing something that is clearly against the teaching of Islam. It does not specifically state Valentine’s Day but it comes under the clause which says that it is an offence for Muslims to do something connected with other religions, apart from Islam,” he said.
However, he said, it was impossible for any authority to completely control couples from engaging in close proximity.
“It does not only happen on Valentine’s Day but also on other days. For us, what we can do is just to give advice to our fellow Muslims that they should always adhere to the teachings of Islam.
“Of course, we can prosecute whoever commits offences under the Syariah ordinance but then again it depends on the strength and effectiveness of our enforcement,” he said.
However, he said, it was always better for people not to let the law deal with them before complying with laws and regulations.