Pig heads were found thrown into the compound of 2 mosque ini Jalan Klang Lama yesterday. The pig heads were found in the proximity of Masjid Jumhuriyah, Taman Datuk Harun at Petaling Jaya and Masjid Al-Imam Al-Tirmizi, Taman Seri Sentosa, Jalan Klang Lama, Selangor.

It is no secret that pigs and dogs are considered very unclean in Islam. Mosque on the other hand is undoubtly the most holy a place can be for a Muslim. But what happened when the most unholy is purposely placed to desecrate what is most holy? An epitome of insult that wil hurt all creed of Muslims? One can only assumes a dire consequence will follow suit.

Idiots and morons engulfed with such hatred towards Islam will find this act as most effective that will most definitely guarantee success to stir religious tension.

Muslims must remain with cool head, to retaliate would only escalate the already serious matter. All Malaysian must stay united, collectively protest without causing further tension and must follow how Prophet Muhammad S.A.W. reacted on similar situation.

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When the Prophet migrated to Medina he built the first mosque known as Masjid al-Nabi (Mosque of the Prophet), considered to be the second most sacred mosque in Islam.

One day the Prophet was sitting in the mosque along with his companions. A Bedouin entered the mosque and started urinating. The Companions rushed to catch him and give him a good beating. But the Prophet did not allow them to do so. After the Bedouin had urinated, he asked his companions to bring a bucket of water and wash the place. Afterwards the Prophet called the man and with gentleness and affection explained to him that this was a place of worship and that it should be kept clean. It is told that after seeing such kindness, the said Bedouin had eventually embraced Islam.

RELATED WORLD AND LOCAL EVENTS HOW PIG HEADS ARE USED TO STIR TENSION INTO MUSLIM POPULATION

Imam Nuh Iman, right, with Hussein Ahmed, showed where a pig head rolled into his mosque in Lewiston, Maine, USA, 3 July 2006. The culprit, Brent Matthews, 34, later committed suicide after been arrested and charged with desecrating a place of worship.

A four-year-old girl found a severed pig's head bearing a slur against Muslims on the front steps of her family's home in Ottawa, Canada

34-year-old Shimon Ben-Chaim, and his 31-year-old wife Victoria Shteinman, a Tel Aviv couple, were arrested and charged with desecrating a holy site, incitement, mutiny, insulting religious feelings, planning to commit a crime and illegal assembly after they threw a pigs head into the Hassan Bek mosque in Jaffa August 2005.

Pig head in University Malaya's surau January 2009

Slightly unrelated, but no less offending. Do recently unfolded events interrelated with each others thus justifying the call for Royal Commission?

Technorati Tags: Islam, Klang Lama, Malaysia, Malaysia News, mosque, Muslim, PAS, Petaling Jaya, pig heads, PKR, Prophet Muhammad SAW, Selangor, Shah Alam, UMNO

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Police Forensics Investigating the Black Paint Incident in Malacca

A primarily East Malaysian Sidang Injil Borneo (SIB) Church in Seremban was attacked today with a firebomb, leaving scorch marks on its front doors. The attack did not affect the church interior and was believed to have occurred early this morning. This incident marks the eight attack on Malaysian churches.

Yesterday in Taiping, Perak 2 cases of church attack were reported. The All Saints’ Church at Jalan Taming Sari and the SMK Convent along Jalan Convent became targets of arson attempts. Both suffered no damage. In Miri, Sarawak it was reported that the Good Shepherd Church had its glass windows shattered after being thrown with bricks, while the Malacca Baptist Church in Durian Daun was with splashed black paint.

“So far the attacks have involved stone throwing and arson attempts. There is no serious damage,” said the Home Minister, referring to the latest report on the surveillance on places of worship. He further added, ““Situation is under control and not as exaggerated by the foreign media, SMSes and the Internet,”

The government reiterates that all incidents were isolated and not coordinated. No casualties or injuries were reported.

Scorch marks on SIB Church, Seremban

All of the 8 victimized churches suffered only minor scorch marks or no damage, excluding the Metro Tabernacle Church in Desa Melawati, that left the whole ground in charred. Latest updates shows that the RM500,000 fund from the government to the Metro Tabernacle Church is actually for building a new RM1.5 million church in Batu Caves. Yesterday, Datuk Nazir Tun Razak, the younger brother of Malaysia premier cum the CEO for CIMB Group announced a RM100,000 donation to the same church.

“What happened was only caused by a small segment of the people. It was great to see people of all communities, faiths and social levels reaching out to help. It really reflects what Malaysians are about,” said Metro Tabernacle church senior pastor, Rev Ong Sek Leang.

Six Muslim NGOs — Muslim Consumers Association of Malaysia (PPIM), Malaysian Chinese Muslim Association, Badan Amal Tarbiah Sejagat Malaysia, Pewaris, Islamic Information and Services Foundation, Perkasa — yesterday offered their assistance and support to their “Christian brothers and sisters”.

PPIM executive secretary Datuk Nadzim Johan said the NGOs, which have 60 volunteers, and Rela are prepared to give a hand to their Christian counterparts should they need assistance.

Naked-Malaysian: The cowardly acts of vandalism towards the Malaysian churches did not discriminate whether the concerned churches were from Roman Catholic division or not, showing a high level of ignorance towards Christian faith and church bodies in Malaysia. Although all forms of attack to places of worship should be condemned, it was obvious these vandals are barking at the wrong tree.

Technorati Tags: Allah, Christian, Church, Islam, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Malaysia News, Malaysian, Miri, Negeri Sembilan, Perak, Roman Chatolic, Sarawak, Seremban, Taiping

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In Malaysia, religions are not supposed to communicate with each other or all hell will break loose. Another religion or belief that has crossed into the Malay belief  in Malaysia is those practiced by the Chinese.

Wearing a Kopiah (head cap) and sarong and holding Keris in its right hand, this idol clearly depict a Malay

A majority of the Chinese in Malaysia claim to be Buddhist or Taoist, though the lines between them are often blurred and, typically, a syncretic Chinese religion incorporating elements of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism and traditional ancestor-worship is practised, with the fact that each individual follows it in varying degrees. About 9.6% are Christian (Mainstream Protestants, Catholics and other denominations including a fast-growing number of Evangelicals and Charismatics) and a small number (0.7-1.0%) profess Islam as their faith.

To put it simply, other Asian religions is based on local belief and the nature to worship. Datoks could be remnants of pre-Islamic era in Malaysia. Before the Islamic religious authorities started to clearly define what Islam is and is not, the worship of Datoks and Keramats were widespread among Malay and Indian Muslims. By that time, Na Toks worshipping have taken root in the local Chinese spiritual beliefs. In Malay pagan spirits are usually called jin kafir while guardian spirits are called penunggu. Penunggu usually means watchman, guard or attendant. The worship of Datoks among Malays and Indian Muslims have declined steadily after the authorities clamped down on such activities and nowadays are secluded.

Datoks and Keramats were seen as an alternative power to help in spiritual healing and grant protection. Mediums (Bomoh) were engaged to enable communication between worshippers with the Datoks and Keramats. The Datoks and Keramats include spirits residing in trees, stones and even the spirits of well known local Muslim religious teachers (worshipped at their graves).

It is not clear why the Chinese, having their own earth deity can easily accept the Datoks into their religious pantheon. May be they need a local deity to gain more spiritual protection. Datoks are known to grant winning TOTO or lottery numbers to worshippers. That could be one reason Datoks were absorbed into the Malaysian Chinese religious pantheon.

Malaysian Chinese’s definition

To most Malaysian Chinese, the Na Tok Kong / Na Tuk Kong (Hokkien : Da Tok Kong) is a local guardian spirit that resides in trees, ant hills, caves, riversides and in strange stone formations. A Na Tok Kong worship usually begin after a person is granted vision of the Na Tok’s spiritual form. Some common forms are a white tiger and the form of an old man dressed in white. A Na Tok Kong can also be ‘invited’ to reside outside (never indoors) a family home for spiritual protection and luck. Some people build small shrines by the road for this deity.

Strictly Local and Halal offering for a Muslim Deity

Dato Haji Keramat

The local Malay word ‘Datok Keramat’ means deity of the shrine, translated to Chinese as Na Tok Kong (Datok; Chinese pronunciation Na Tok and Kong is a call of respect). Datok Haji Keramat is believed to be a very powerful local earth deity that help many people who sincerely pray for him and known to hate any form of liquor.

There are various Na Tok Kongs. Datok Panglima Hitam is associated as a fierce guardian of villages. A Datok that resides in trees is called Datok Hijau. Some Datok even have their own personal names, which are revealed to worshippers during trance session. Their identity can be ascertained by looking at the banner at the shrine. Usually, the Datoks’ name and the shrine’s date of establishment would be stated there. Among other known Malay Na Tok Kongs in Malaysia are Datok Ali and Datok Samsuri.

Worship

The Na Tok can be worshipped on any day. The basic offerings are a pair of white candles, 3 joss sticks and burning gum benjamin (kemenyan). Na Tok worshippers prepare special offerings for the Na Tok on Thursday evenings. A set of betel nut leaves complete with lime (kapur), sliced betel nut (pinang), Javanese tobacco (tembakau Jawa) and palm cigarette leaves (rokok daun) are offered together with fruits and the basic offerings.

Every Na Tok has different individual feast days. In the Northern States (Perlis, Kedah & Penang), worshippers usually slaughter chickens, and sometimes goats to honour the Na Tok on the feast day. The chickens and goats MUST be slaughtered by a Muslim so as to make the offering allowable for the Na Tok. The meat is later cooked in curry and offered to the Na Tok together with turmeric rice (nasi kunyit). This offering is also done when worshippers get their wishes granted (e.g. winning lucky numbers requested from the Na Tok previously).

Offerings

Worshippers can place offerings of shredded tobacco, areca nut flakes, betel leaves with lime paste and fruits. Strictly no pork, beer, wine and alcoholic products (due to the Islamic nature of the Datoks, although Datoks has been incorporated into the local Chinese belief system, which has nothing to do with the Islamic religion whatsoever).

Naked-Malaysian: This post’s title itself is in contradiction to everything’s that is Islamic. In Islam even the great prophet Muhammad PBUH is only regarded as a messenger and not to be worship. To look at this at from a Chinese political angle would equal to blasphemy at the highest order since the Chinese are known to be anti Ketuanan Melayu (Malay superiority), as to worship the Malay deities would equal upholding Ketuhanan Melayu (Malay Godship). To be in Malaysia is to be in the most ironic country in the world.

Technorati Tags: Bomoh, chinese, Islam, Kedah, Keramat, Ketuanan Melayu, Malay, Malaysia, Malaysian, Na Tok Kong, Na Tuk Kong, Penang, Perlis

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Allah is the standard Arabic word for God. While the term is best known in the West for its use by Muslims as a reference to God, it is used by Arabic-speakers of all Abrahamic faiths, including Christians and Jews, in reference to “God”. The term was also used by pagan Meccans as a reference to the creator-god, possibly the supreme deity in pre-Islamic Arabia.

The concepts associated with the term Allah (as a deity) differ among the traditions. In pre-Islamic Arabia amongst pagan Arabs, Allah was not considered the sole divinity, having associates and companions, sons and daughters – a concept which Islam thoroughly and resolutely abrogated. In Islam, the name Allah is the supreme and all comprehensive divine name. All other divine names are believed to refer back to Allah. Allah is unique, the only Deity, creator of the universe and omnipotent. Arab Christians today use terms such as Allah al-’Ab (“God the Father”) to distinguish their usage from Muslim usage. There are both similarities and differences between the concept of God as portrayed in the Qur’an and the Hebrew Bible.

It is true the name Allah predates Islam? The popular view is that Islam is exclusively associated with the revelation of Prophet Muhammad SAW roughly 1431 years ago. Among the core teaching of Prophet Muhammad PBUH however involved believing Islam as the continuation to the religion of Isa PBUH (Jesus), Musa PBUH (Moses), Ibrahim PBUH (Abraham), and going all the way back to Adam PBUH, the first human on earth. As Islam views it, to say something predates Islam would literally means to predate all humanity.

In relation to the usage of the word Allah in Malaysia Roman Catholic publication, it is very important to get the facts straight.

1. Regionally, Christianity had only flourished in Borneo long after Islam has established itself, with Christian missionaries actively converting pagan tribes in Sabah and Sarawak during the Rajah Brooke era.

2. The calling of god as Allah in local Christian teachings got nothing to do with Arabia pagan god, the Christian term for god was purposely localized to imitate the name of existing native god, the god of the majority, which is the god of Muslims. Furthermore not one Orthodox Coptic Arab Christian Missionary ever laid foot on Malaysia soil to justify calling god as Allah. All missionaries were from England and other European countries.

To be technical one can says the name Allah predates Prophet Muhammad PBUH, but at the same time, the same name was also non existence in any Roman Catholic Bibles produced in the country(s) where all the Christian missionaries had came from. The local Muslims reservation on this issue is not entirely baseless.

It is important to know exactly where both side stand on this matter. Its common for Muslims to back the Islam side, and Christians backing the Roman Catholic side. However, to have another large group of Muslim unopposing the Christian view on this matter is something worth sinking our mind into.

According to Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, the spiritual leader for Parti Islam Malaysia (PAS) cum Chief Minister to the state of Kelantan, a key figure in the opposition coalition, Islam is a blessing to the universe, that translates into Islam is for all (Arabic; “Rahmatan Lil-Aalamin”). The one god in Islam is also the universal god of all religions. Other religion should be welcomed to call their god by Islam name.

Technorati Tags: Borneo, Christian, Islam, Kelantan, Kuala Lumpur, Malay, Malaysia, Malaysia Insider, Malaysian, Muslim, Roman Catholic, Sabah, Sarawak

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Ruling on a lawsuit filed by a Malaysian Roman Catholic church publication, the Kuala Lumpur High Court said on Thursday that the home ministry’s ban on the use of the word “Allah” was “illegal, null and void”.

Judge Lau Bee Lan said the term was not exclusive to Islam, adding that all Malaysians had the right to use the word under the constitution which guarantees freedom of expression and religion.

The Herald had filed for a judicial review after it was temporarily ordered to stop publishing in 2007 for using the word “Allah”.

The government had argued that the word was exclusive to Islam and that its use by other religions could mislead Muslims and harm national security.

The church disputed this and argued that the word predates Islam as a term for God and is used in many places in a non-Muslim context.

It added that in Malaysia, the term is widely used among indigenous Christian tribes in Sabah and Sarawak.

No threat to security

The church also argued that the ban goes against the principle of freedom of religion and religious practice enshrined in the federal constitution.

Lau ruled on Thursday that the home ministry had failed to show how the Herald’s use of “Allah” could threaten national security.

Lawrence Andrew, the editor of the Catholic weekly, said outside the courtroom that he was “very happy” with the decision.

“We called out for justice and we got it,” he said, adding: “It is a victory for all Malaysians.”

Thursday’s ruling could open the door for other non-Muslim publications to use the word “Allah” as a translation for the word God in Malay language publications.

Hishammuddin Hussein, the home minister, said the government would appeal against the decision.

Source: AlJazeera

Technorati Tags: Allah, Islam, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Malaysia News, Malaysian, Roman Catholic, Weird

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