Ustazah: Don’t emulate ‘sinful’ Christians

A religious teacher has asked Muslims not to celebrate Valentine's Day, advising them not to emulate such Christian vices.

PETALING JAYA: An ustazah has asked Muslims to refrain from celebrating Valentine’s Day, urging them not to emulate the vices of Christians.
The ustazah, Siti Nor Bahyah Mahmood, 47, had made the remark during an Islamic educational programme aired on TV9, which is owned by the Umno-linked media conglomerate Media Prima.
A video-clip of the programme, posted on YouTube, had sparked off a raging debate. [watch video below]
Although the programme was posted about a year ago, it is only now the video clip is being widely circulated and posted in numerous blogs.
In the clip, Siti claimed that it was the Christians who normally indulged in vice, such as frequenting discos and dating.
“Selalunya buat maksiat, pergi disko… couple, couple, bersunyi-sunyian, ini adalah tradisi bagi masyarakat yang beragama Kristian bukan agama Islam…,” she had said.
The video, which had been viewed more than 80,000 times, also had the ustazah warning Muslims that celebrating Valentine’s Day would mean “supporting Christianity and the English”.
Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) president Thomas Philips said no religion should be belittled due to a lack of understanding.
“We should not belittle any religion just because we don’t understand it. Her comments were not in context as she wrongly understood that Valentine’s Day was a Christian festival,” he said.
“I believe we as a society are all matured and we know what’s wrong and what’s right. Christians know what’s right and wrong too.
“Valentine’s Day is a day where people express their love, I don’t see what’s wrong with letting people have that freedom. It’s all individual choices and we should be above all this,” he said.
‘This amounts to sedition’
Meanwhile, Human Rights Party pro-tem secretary-general P Uthayakumar said that Siti’s comments were uncalled for and insensitive.
“It borders on religious extremism and is borne out of a narrow minded view,” he said.
Uthayakumar also claimed that since it was aired on national TV, it meant that Siti’s comments were state sanctioned.
“We should not have a government that interferes with the rights of Malaysians to practice their own religion, we should not restrict Muslims from their private affairs.
“In Indonesia, where 90% of the 230 million population are Muslims, a girl can convert from Islam to marry a non-Muslim; but why are we different,” he asked.
Uthayakumar said that Article 5 and Article 11 of the Federal Constitution, which guarantee liberty of person and freedom of religion should be respected.
He added that if the Malaysian standard was applied on Siti, her comments amount to sedition.
“This does not augur well for the 1Malaysia policy that our prime minister is promulgating,” he added.