MEDIA STATEMENT BY DATO SAIFUDDIN ABDULLAH CEO, GLOBAL MOVEMENT OF MODERATES FOUNDATION (GMMF) (9 OCTOBER 2014) “BURN THE BIBLE” CANNOT BE JUSTIFIED AS DEFENDING ISLAM With reference to the statement by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Hajah Nancy Shukri in Parliament on 7 October 2014, in answering a question by Bagan MP (DAP) Lim Guan Eng, on Datuk Ibrahim Ali’s threat to burn Bibles written in Malay, I wish to state that the Global Movement of Moderates Foundation (GMM) does not agree with the argumentation made by the Minister. This is because the statement made by Datuk Ibrahim, i.e., “burn the Bible” cannot be justified as defending Islam. In her statement, Hajah Nancy said that Datuk Ibrahim had no intention to create religious chaos but was only to defend the sanctity of Islam. The government should not come up with this kind of argumentation, i.e., on the way to defend Islam, because it may lead to a misconception of Islam. The fact that Article 3(1) of the Federal Constitution states that “Islam is the religion of the Federation”, does not mean that in defending Islam, one can make such statement against other religions. This is because the same article guarantees that “other religions may be practised in peace and harmony”. As Muslims, we must practise the true teachings of Islam as guided by the Quran and Prophet Muhammad. Islam is a religion of peace. It is a rahmat (mercy) to all (Quran, al-Anbiya:107). Islam upholds religious freedom, as stated in the Quran, “There shall be no compulsion in the religion” (al-Baqarah:143). In the context of the burn the Bible statement, it is clearly stated in the Quran that “And do not insult those they invoke other than Allah, lest they insult Allah in enmity without knowledge” (an-Na’am:108). Meanwhile, the Prophet in his relations with the Christians, guarantees that their Church and religious affairs would not be intruded. We should be promoting inter-religious harmony, for example, through dialogue. In the Quran, it is mentioned, “We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another” (al-Hujurat:13). The dialogue should be conducted in a good manner as proposed in the Quran, “Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction, and argue with them in a way that is best” (an-Nahl:125) I can understand some Muslims are offended or hurt by statements made by certain groups. But again, in defending Islam, Muslims shall respond accordingly as expressed in the Quran, “Be persistently firm for Allah, witness in justice, and do not let the hatred of a people prevent you from being just. Be just, that is nearer to righteousness.”(al-Maidah:8) Based on the abovementioned verses of the Quran and the tradition of the Prophet, it is clear that the Minister’s argumentation does not reflect the true teachings of Islam and cannot be used to justify such statement from Datuk Ibrahim.
Posted on: Thu, 09 Oct 2014 10:44:17 +0000
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