OUTSPOKEN: When Muslim clerics claim that Muslims are being converted in churches throughout Selangor and Perak, all hell breaks loose. When Muslims are accused of converting people of other faiths against their will, nothing happens.
On Oct 10, Sarawak DAP vice-chairman Leon Jimat Donald said that some parents had complained that their children had been enticed into converting to Islam, in their schools, in Betong. Children were allegedly prevented from bringing their Bibles to the MRSM boarding schools and boys had been forced to wear the “songkok”.
The parents’ fears were heightened after reading reports that a group had been visiting longhouses in Belaga, to convert the communities. It was alleged that the group had misused the “goodwill and welfare” programme, to entice them to become Muslims, with an offer of RM6,000 per person.
Earlier this May, another peninsular-based NGO, Himpunan Lepas Institusi Pendidikan Malaysia (Haluan) was alleged to have set up “religious camps”, under the programme called “Anak Angkat”, in schools in Kuching.
Following feedback from their children, parents had voiced their concerns to the Balai Ringin assemblyman, Snowdan Lawan. They met Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) president, Tan Sri Dr James Masing to tell him about the alleged conversions. They said that some of the speakers from Haluan were religious teachers (ustaz), who lectured the children on things like how to differentiate between holy water and “Air ZamZam.” The programme was subsequently suspended prior to re-evaluation.
Of the 1.3 million Dayaks in Sarawak, 80% are Christian, but the indigenous people of Sarawak are not the only people who are the targets of religious conversion. Another vulnerable group of people is the Orang Asli (OA) community.
In 2006, it was reported that in an effort to propagate the spread of Islam, Kelantan offered Muslim preachers RM10,000 to marry OA women. Other incentives included free accommodation, a four-wheel drive vehicle and a fixed monthly allowance of RM1,000.
For the interior people of Sarawak, most of whom do not have a fixed income, RM50 is considered a blessing, RM300 a king’s ransom, and RM6,000 as heaven sent. The financial incentive to the Muslim preachers of Kelantan is morally wrong. These acts are objectionable and deceitful.
These underhand tactics, to convert non-Muslims, give Islam a bad name. A person who wishes to convert should only do so if there is a sincere desire to follow and adhere to the teachings of that particular faith.
He should not do it because of financial reward, a house, a 4WD or because he is to be married to one. We need only look at another part of the world, where the minority Kurdish Yazidis, are prepared to face death, when members of the extremist cult Islamic State (IS) warn them, that they will be executed unless they convert to Islam.
In the Kelantan case, did the state stop to consider that the financial reward would encourage bogus preachers? The idea of a marriage of convenience, because of material rewards is abhorrent.
What if the marriage breaks down and the OA woman wishes to return to her community and culture? She will find it an impossibility. Any children from the union will be subject to the same torture which is faced by Perakian Indira Gandhi, who after her divorce, found that her husband had converted to Islam, and forced all his children to convert. Despite a High Court order to return the youngest daughter to her mother, the husband has refused to comply and remains a fugitive. A very inept IGP has been unable to apprehend him.
In Malaysia, it is apparent that some Muslim NGOs and the Islamic state departments have the backing of the Umno-Baru government to play politics with religion. All of them give Islam a bad name. They forget that being a Muslim is not about scoring points or a numbers game.
Hasan Ali a Selangor politician, Harussani Zakaria, the Perak Mufti and other infamous Muslim politicians have used apostasy as a scaremongering tactic amongst Muslims, presumably to divide the Malays. Hasan said that a solar powered talking bible was used to convert Muslims. To date, not one solar powered bible has been produced.
Harussani said that a church in Ipoh, was used to convert Muslims. His irresponsible lies, nearly caused a riot. A church in Kuala Lumpur was said to be the seat of Malay conversions and two reporters infiltrated Sunday mass and desecrated the Holy Communion service. A dinner in the Methodist Church in Petaling Jaya was raided, because of reports of Muslims being proselytised.
In each of these cases, no Muslim has been produced, as evidence of their conversion to Christianity. The perpetrators have not been prosecuted for spreading seditious rumours. No apology has been forthcoming.
Muslim preachers and politicians should leave the non-Muslims alone. Enough damage has been done to their communities. They threaten to burn their holy books. The authorities take years to approve the building of a church or temple. They grab the OA or indigenous peoples’ lands and deny them their rightful place in society. Their social and political dues are withheld, their identities removed, their culture and language downgraded, and when they die, their bodies are confiscated.
The actions of these religious zealots, makes one ashamed to be Muslim.
Mariam Mokhtar is "a Malaysian who dares to speak the truth.”
- See more at: http://www.theantdaily.com/Main/Religious-conversion-rears-its-ugly-head-again#sthash.5Z0PQKox.dpuf
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