Malaysians are again picking up their well-worn pitchforks after a video surfaced on YouTube yesterday allegedly showing a Muslim prayer room in Johor being used by Buddhist tourists for worship.
The 85-second-long video titled “Surau dijadikan tokong???” (A surau turned into a temple?) begins with an external shot of a small building and a close-up of what appears to be a sign in Arabic script over a doorway.
The video’s maker then approaches the building to record what appears to be a prayer session by a dozen white-clad people led by a monk in red and saffron. At the front of the room, the video briefly displays a Buddhist poster below a plaque with Arabic script.
According to reports by several local dailies today, the surau (prayer room) is located within the grounds of Tanjung Sutera Resort, but the resort’s manager has clarified that the tourists were allowed to use the Muslim prayer hall as the other locations were unavailable due to over-booking.
The police have called in two PKR Youth leaders for questioning over the disturbance caused in a Bandar Baru Sentul mosque last month.
The movement's deputy head Khairul Anuar Ahmad Zainuddin (in striped shirt) and Federal Territory head Mohd Hamdi Mohd Said were questioned for over an hour at the Wangsa Maju police station in Kuala Lumpur today.
Najib got 1 Malaysia Development Berhad to contribute RM20 million for the redevelopment and upgrading of the Kampung Baru mosque.
Datuk Seri Najib Razak promised today that the Kampung Baru redevelopment would begin this year with the formation of a settlement development corporation and an upgraded mosque.
The prime minister announced a RM20 million allocation to upgrade the Kampung Baru Jamek Mosque, saying the newly-renovated mosque would be an icon to the Malay settlement in the middle of the capital city.
“In the redevelopment of Kampug Baru, I want the Kampung Baru mosque to be the turning point. This mosque will represent a developed, modern Kampung Baru,” said Najib when meeting the residents at the Kampung Baru mosque.
Teo: If they think it is okay for non-Muslims to attend, why should I close the door?
DAP’s Serdang MP Teo Nie Ching says she will not skip mosques despite renewed attacks by Umno’s Utusan Malaysia today for participating in a mosque event.
The first time parliamentarian took part in an aerobics exercise session at Masjid Taman Cheras Jaya in her constituency recently.
Teo admitted that although her act may cost her party Malay votes, she said she would continue engaging Muslim voters through community functions.
Utusan Malaysia published a front-page story today with the headline “Teo Nie Ching makes trouble again” along with a picture of her exercising with men and women in the mosque compound during a recent Maal Hijrah carnival.
The newspaper also accused her of wearing tight-fitting clothes. She is pictured wearing a white T-shirt and track pants, as were the other Muslim participants.
In August, the first-term MP was criticised by Barisan Nasional (BN) politicians and conservative Muslim groups over her controversial surau visit, after Utusan Malaysia published a front-page picture of her addressing those who were praying at the Al-Huda Surau in Kajang Sentral.
“When I get an invitation from a mosque, then I will go,” Teo told sources
The banner says it all.. Scenes outside the Shah Alam mosque today after Friday prayers where protestors gathered to make their views known
The Metro Tabernacle church in Desa Melawati, Kuala Lumpur, that
was attacked by arsonists at midnight on Jan 7, 2010, destroying
the ground floor administrative office. Tourism Minister Datuk Seri
Dr Ng Yen Yen is seen talk to reporters outside the protestant
church.
Small groups of Muslims rallied after Friday prayers today to protest against Christians using the word "Allah" for God after a spate of attacks on churches that threatened to stoke racial and religious tensions.
The groups proceeded with small protests after Friday prayers at a number of major mosques in the city amid strong police presence following the arson attacks earlier today.
In Kampung Baru, where organisers had wanted to hold a major protest against the recent High Court ruling allowing the word "Allah" to be used by a Catholic weekly in its Bahasa Malaysia section, about 200 members of Muslim NGOs held a brief demonstration.
The protesters carried banners with the words "Don't challenge Islam", "Do not test our patience" and "Allah is only for us" while some group leaders gave emotional speeches.
Zaim Shari, a leader from the Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia, in his speech, said the ruling was akin to an "invasion" by foreign forces. "Our soil has been invaded, our faith threatened, we must not let this happen," shouted Zaim in the middle of the protest which was held immediately after Friday prayers.
Later at a press conference, Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia leader Mohd Raimi Ab Rahim said the use of the world “Allah” by non-Muslims is a highly sensitive issue and many Muslims had grown uneasy.
Temperatures have soared and the country's security was tightened following the shocking arson attacks on three churches in the Klang Valley early this morning.
Leaders from both sides of the political divide have condemned the attacks, triggering a blame game with opposition leaders pointing fingers at their political rivals in Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) for nurturing the rising tension. BN leaders have vehemently denied any role in the fiasco.
Mohd Raimi and his peers from other Islamic NGOs, commenting on the attacks, said it was too early to conclude if the arson was done by Muslims.
"We do not condone the attacks but let the police do their investigation first before we come to any conclusion. We still do not know if the attacks were done by Muslims.
"There are also Christians who disagree with the usage of ‘Allah’," he said. "In the meantime, we will take the peaceful approach of engaging the Catholics to resolve this matter," he said.
Malaysian Muslims are divided over the issue, with some saying there was nothing wrong in allowing the church to use the word "Allah," as is the practice in other Muslim countries.
Even among the grassroots, Muslims are polarised in opposite groups. This was reflected at the protest in Kampung Baru when a group of Muslims had called on others to ignore the protest and blamed the group for the attacks on the churches.
"These people are fanatics and their teachings are wrong. Ignore them," said one unidentified man.
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