LEST we forget, the source of the Allah controversy that resulted in churches, and a Catholic school, being torched and threatened did not begin on the streets. It did not begin with narrow-minded and ignorant Muslim pressure groups threatening to spill blood to assert their sole right to use “Allah”. Lest we forget, it began […]
Muslims
Protests can’t be stopped?
By Ding Jo-Ann“We cannot stop them if they want to congregate in mosques.” PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, saying the government could not stop people from protesting the 31 Dec 2009 High Court decision that lifted the ban on Catholic paper Herald from using “Allah” to refer to God. (Source: Najib: We can’t stop people from […]
Stay or go?
By Deborah Loh(Pic by dljt / sxc.hu)THERE seems little to look forward to, having just come out of 2009, which ended with religious tension that’s spilling over into the New Year. All over what to call God. The dispute over “Allah” dates back to the 1980s. But last year, it was just one event in a string […]
“Qur’an: Muslims and Christians worship same God”
By Ding Jo-Ann(Pic by Lorna / Dreamstime) PETALING JAYA, 6 Jan 2010: An American-based Islamic society has commended the 31 Dec 2009 High Court judgement that lifted the ban on the use of “Allah” by Catholic paper Herald. The Islamic Society of North America (Isna) said the Qur’an was explicit that Muslims worshipped the same God as […]
Learning about “hak istimewa orang Melayu”
By Shanon ShahDR Harvin Kaur, 25, attended the Biro Tata Negara (BTN) pre-employment induction course in October 2008. A recent medical graduate who started her house officer year in Malaysia, Harvin has since resigned to follow her husband to Australia. With the ongoing controversy regarding the government-run BTN, Harvin agreed to an exclusive e-mail interview, from India […]
Syariah law galore
By Shanon ShahKartika WHEN the Kuantan Syariah High Court sentenced Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno to six lashes of the cane and a fine of RM5,000 for drinking alcohol, some Malaysians were shocked. But many others were not, simply because Malaysians know that there is a separate law for Muslims in Malaysia — syariah law. The syariah legal […]
Battle for Bagan Pinang begins
By Shanon Shah
THE Bagan Pinang state seat by-election could not have come at a more interesting time, in the fortunes of both the Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Rakyat (PR). Each has its fair share of problems, providing plenty of ammunition for its rival. Although Prime Minister and BN chairperson Datuk Seri Najib Razak keeps making attempts […]
The non-Muslim Muslims
By Shanon Shah
Corrected at 4:30pm, 30 Sept 2009 IN April 2009, the Selangor Islamic Affairs Council (MAIS) officially forbade the Ahmadiyah community in the state from performing their own Friday prayers. This news, however, did not make headlines — after all, there are at most only 2,000 Ahmadiyah in all of Malaysia, and at most only 600 […]
No Islamic prohibition against temple
By Ding Jo-AnnPARTICIPANTS of the 28 Aug 2009 cow-head protest claim that a Hindu temple cannot be built in a Muslim-majority area as this would affect the way they function as Muslims. Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim was even labelled a “traitor to the Malay race and Islam” because of the state government’s proposal to […]
Do secular laws benefit Muslims?
By Shanon Shah“IN order for me to embrace, fully and publicly, my African-American, feminist lesbian identity, I didn’t believe I could simultaneously embrace, fully and publicly, my Muslim identity,” Aishah Shahidah Simmons tells The Nut Graph. “But given all the repression I’ve faced as an African-American, feminist lesbian, I have so many privileges in the world as […]
