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hopefully it's just a rumour.., anyway, if it's true i think it doesnt
really matter much..bcs actually Jesus born in our heart and that's the
place that no one could ever banned or forbid of.., liked Jesus said in the
bible..help ur neighbor and love those who hates and persecutes you..,
perhaps to christian ppl in malaysia is time to actualize it into action..
"Ambon"
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12/23/2004 07:05 Subject: [ppiindia] No invite
for Jesus to Malaysian
AM Christmas
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http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/FL23Ae01.html
No invite for Jesus to Malaysian Christmas
By Ioannis Gatsiounis
KUALA LUMPUR - In multi-ethnic Malaysia, where Muslims make up a slim
majority and control the government but where there are also sizeable
Christian, Hindu and Buddhist minorities, news that the government would
ban any reference to Jesus in hymns and Christian symbols like the nativity
scene from its Christmas Day open house, was destined to ruffle some
feathers.
According to reports, the request to ban the mention of Jesus at the public
Christmas celebration at Petaling Jaya on December 25 - held in the
presence of King Syed Sirajuddin and Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi - was
made in order to "protect Muslim sensibilities".
At first the state-neutered press ignored the story; it generally considers
race and religion too sensitive to discuss. But with a swelling number of
postings to websites, blogs and e-mail chat groups questioning the logic of
the decision - and by way, the substance of Malaysia's brand of "tolerance
and diversity" - it wasn't long before the mainstream media weighed in.
"In the end," declared an editorial in a ruling-party paper on Monday, "it
turned out to be a case of much ado about nothing." Mere "rumors", the
paper added.
Evidence points to the contrary. But this response, along with church
officials' concurrence with it - despite the fact that the same church
leaders charged the government with usurping Christmas in the first place -
are a window into the tendency to truncate discussion on racial and
religious differences; they provide a closer look at how this inclination
has worked to both preserve and undermine national unity here.
Neighboring Singapore's former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew once said he
felt relieved not to have had to govern Malaysia, with all the challenges
involved in keeping its various groups contented. It was an indirect
compliment to Malaysian leadership; Malaysia hasn't undergone large-scale
racial violence since 1969. And it was no doubt toward preserving this
trend that government representatives, according to church leaders close to
the discussions, requested that Jesus' name and representative symbols be
banned from the official Christmas ceremony.
The request is nothing new. According to a church insider speaking on the
condition of anonymity, the government has been urging similar restraints
from the church for each of the last three years. Each year the church has
acquiesced. "The difference is," he said, "this year someone decided to
speak up."
If someone had not, it's hardly likely Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister
Dr Rais Yatim would have declared, "There is no ban, officially or
unofficially" or participated in a soft-pitch interview that accompanied
the editorial on Monday. In it he was asked, "Will Christmas hymns be
allowed?" He replied, "Why not? ... why should we say no to Christmas
carols? Yes, some quarters have tried to say that the government is
imposing restrictions and prohibitions. To this, I say: 'Attend the
Christmas party ... Then talk.'"
Not everyone is satisfied with this reply. They point out that there is a
difference between hymns and carols; that the use of Jesus' name, the
central point of contention, was never mentioned during the interview; and
that saying there was no ban obfuscates the government's intentions - a
strongly worded request by the government is as good as a ban.
Some Christian leaders said the request is understandable, given the nature
of the event. "The government doesn't want the celebration to turn into a
religious issue, they want to bring Malaysians together, not to ostracize
them," said Reverend Dr Herman Shastri of the Council of Churches in Kuala
Lumpur. Shastri attended the handful of meetings between the government and
church officials in preparation for the event. "We have agreed to use more
neutral symbols like stars and Christmas trees [instead of ones
representing Jesus]. It is a social event and not a religious event.
Celebrating the joy of being together as Malaysians is what it's about.
Religion is not primary."
Others feel that banning Jesus from the party is more divisive than
inviting him, even if Muslims see Jesus as the second-to-last prophet and
Christians worship him as the son of God.
"What is so sensitive about celebrating in public the birth of Jesus?"
asked a letter writer to a local news website. "If [the government] is
sincere in joining in the festivity, it should accept Christianity for what
it is and not try to manipulate the meaning of Christmas by banning the use
of the word 'Jesus'. This is not only an insult to Christians but an insult
to Islam as well."
Many non-Muslims here quietly resent the ruling party's promotion of Islam,
unrestrained as they see it. Indeed much of the architecture of a new
multi-billion dollar administrative capital is Islamic-themed. A "floating"
mosque there towers beside a lake, but churches or Indian and Chinese
temples have gone missing. At many public functions the doa, a request to
Allah, is spoken aloud, while non-Muslims are requested to silently make
their own allegiances or requests.
Non-Muslims are ever more concerned with the Islamic revival that took root
here in the late 1970s. The revival has gained steam in recent years,
partly due to globalization and the foreign policy of some developed
nations, which many Muslims here equate with a war against Islam. Another
factor contributing to the revival is the struggle between the opposition
conservative Islamic party, Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS), and the ruling
United Malays National Organization (UMNO).
Each party has made a show of its Islamic credentials to secure Muslim
votes. The concern with this development, not only among non-Muslims, is
that the parties are using Islam for their own political gain.
In March, however, the ruling coalition, thought to be more moderate than
PAS, won parliamentary elections decisively. And some supporters of the
Islamic revival point out that revivalism and fundamentalism should not be
equated with intolerance and insensitivity. Indeed, the tendency here among
most Muslims has been to find a way to coexist peacefully with non-Muslims.
Thus far it has worked. But pockets of the Islamic community have become
more assertive as the changing global landscape has made them more
sensitive to perceived slights. This can be dangerous, said Hatta Ramli, a
central committee member of PAS.
The government needs to think a little bit harder about the true meaning of
tolerance, Ramli said. "Why should there be restrictions for Christians on
Christmas? Let [Christians] organize [the event] how they wish, and if
[non-Christians] want to visit, it's up to them."
Added Rashid Moten, professor of political science at the International
Islamic University here: "The Islamic state offers freedom of religion to
others." The Malaysian constitution lists Islam as the official religion
but recognizes the right to embrace and practice other faiths. Rights,
though, have been known to be curbed. For instance, Christians are barred
from printing and disseminating the Bible in the national language, Bahasa
Melayu.
Moten said slighting other religions to protect Muslims could have societal
repercussions; if groups are sheltered from being exposed to the ideas and
practices of other faiths, then they are less likely to tolerate them when,
inevitably, they do come in contact with them.
Shastri said in the era of globalization, Muslims have ample exposure to
non-Muslim practices, from Hollywood movies to news media to fashion.
Furthermore, he said, Muslim suspicion of some Christian practices is
warranted, given the history of proselytizing among some Christian sects
here.
In the end, he said, he was happy to meet the government's requests. "We
don't want to overdo it because [the event] will bring together people of
different cultures and religions." Besides, he added, "there is no shortage
of promotion of what Christmas is about."
But among the mid- and lower levels of church leadership, disquiet lingers
over the government's request. These voices say that the government's
demand is the tip of the iceberg - that the government has been passively
aggressively slighting minority religions for some time now, and is getting
bolder. Recently, for instance, Muslims were barred from watching the film
The Passion of the Christ. Only a handful of theaters were allowed to show
the film.
The church insider mentioned above said that while church leadership and
the government regret that the disagreement was made public and are trying
hard to put and end to the controversy, that it was exposed is a victory
for non-Muslims, and in turn for Malaysia.
In Malaysia, he said, the government deems many of the issues dearest to
the rakyat's (citizen's) hearts - from race to religion to human rights -
too sensitive to discuss. "So no one takes the bull by horns for fear of
being accused of inciting unrest. But the more people keep quiet, [the]
more their rights are going to be eroded."
Shastri said he has full confidence that the Christmas day celebration will
be held in the true spirit of Malaysia. Christmas hymns as well as Malay
and Chinese songs will be sung, he said.
If past official Christmas ceremonies here are an indication, all
caroling with any Christian connotation will cease upon the entry of the
Muslim agong (king).
But when interviewed on Wednesday, minister Yatim said he didn't know if
this would be the case. "I have not seen the program. Organizers will do
what is proper for the agong to see."
Ioannis Gatsiounis, a New York native, has worked as a freelance foreign
correspondent and previously co-hosted a weekly political/cultural radio
call-in show in the US. He has been living in Malaysia since late 2002.
(Copyright 2004 Asia Times Online Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact
us for information on sales, syndication and republishing.)
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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