Al Jazeera – Khalid Samad flays Yusri of ABIM, says nothing can stand in the place of knowledge

Khalid Samad takes a bold stance on the Allah issue on Al Jazeera. He said “There is no substitute to knowledge. You have to understand your own religion. You cannot use it as an excuse to prevent other religions from practicing their beliefs.” Bravo to Khalid for his enlightened views on Islam, tolerance , reason [...]

Pakatan Rakyat must showcase its abilities at being a ruling party through the states it now governs.

January 15, 2010 At DAP Meet, Guan Eng to sketch out Pakatan’s Putrajaya Goal by Leslie Lau Consultant Editor DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng  is likely to use his party’s national convention this Sunday to issue a stern warning to Pakatan Rakyat (PR) that it must quickly bring concrete and tangible changes to the states [...]

Art Harun on the Allah Issue

January 14, 2010 Art Harun’s Take on the Allah Issue and its Aftermath The controversy surrounding the usage of “Allah” by non-Muslims, particularly the Christians, in Malaysia continues to rage even as at the time of writing this article. The Malaysian Insider just reported that a ninth church — this time in Kota Tinggi, Johore [...]

Money leaves Malaysia

posted by din merican–January 14, 2010 Asia Sentinel (January 11, 2010) Money leaves the country on an unprecedented scale Churches are not the only thing to have been going up in flames in Malaysia. Take a look at the nation’s foreign exchange reserves. They fell by close to 25 percent during 2009 according to investment [...]

Scholar Tariq Ramadan: “We have to revive the Questioning Mind”

January 14, 2010 www.sun2surf.com Tariq Ramadan:  On Respect, Thinking and Dialogue Professor Tariq Ramadan is a European Muslim who advocates reform in Islam and promotes interfaith dialogue. Born in Switzerland and the grandson of the Muslim Brotherhood founder, Hassan Al Banna, the European academic has been named by Time magazine as one of the 100 [...]

The Trouble with Islamo-Tribalism

January 13, 2010 Mustafa Ayol: The Trouble with Islamo-Tribalism Nasty things are happening in Malaysia. Eight Christian churches have been vandalised or burnt just over the last weekend. Thank God, nobody has been hurt, yet, but the terror unleashed is terrifying enough for the Christian minority of this overwhelmingly Muslim nation. Also thank God that [...]

Kerismuddin: Stop picking on Anwar Ibrahim

January 13, 2010 Stop picking on Anwar Ibrahim by S Pathmawathy & Nigel Aw Pakatan Rakyat leaders have told Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein to stop fingering Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim in order to divert attention from the recent vandalism and violence against churches. They were referring to the minister’s warning to all politicians – but [...]

No Quick Fix for Allah Issue

January 13, 2010 No Quick Fix for Allah Issue by Terence Netto Amid the hubbub over the ‘Allah’ issue, Pakatan Rakyat’s Zaid Ibrahim feels a sense of déjà vu. Talking to Malaysiakini about the church bombings over the past week, Zaid (left), who helped sculpt the consensus-building Common Policy Framework for the opposition coalition, said [...]

The Goal: Freedom of Conscience

January 13, 2010 http://www.thestar.com.my When religion becomes subservient to political agendas, it often becomes a tool for politicians who misconstrue the religion’s basic principles. The goal must be living together harmoniously. The goal is freedom of conscience. Seeking Harmony in Malaysia by Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf IF a Muslim proselytised outside St Peter’s Basilica in [...]

MP Zulkifli Noordin must toe PKR Line

January 12, 2010 MP Zulkifli Noordin must toe the Parti KeADILan Rakyat Line by Terence Netto* (January 11, 2010) Anwar Ibrahim’s unequivocal statements condemning acts of insensate destruction against churches and those responsible for the climate of opinion that led to such outrages have made him the surpassing Malaysian leader in this time of national [...]

Speedy Vindication for Rosli Dahlan remains uncertain despite moral victory

January 11, 2010 Another Moral Victory for Rosli Dahlan yet vindication remains uncertain By Din Merican I was in Court on December 23, 2009 (Day 3 of Lawyer Rosli Dahlan’s trial) when the Sessions Court ruled that Rosli’s counsel can pursue the line of questions that would disclose whether DPP Kevin Anthony Morais had acted [...]

It Happened Under Your Watch, Najib

January 11, 2010 It Happened Under Your Watch, Najib! by Dr. M. Bakri Musa Morgan-Hill, California “Don’t point the fingers at UMNO or anyone else,” so declared an angry Najib Razak, responding to a question on last Friday’s bombing of a church.  It was pathetic to see him react thus, a body language that bespoke [...]

Anwar Ibrahim take Royal Malaysian Police to task

January 10, 2010 Anwar takes ‘reluctant’ Police to take task by Andrew Ong Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim has criticised the police for their ‘reluctance’ to guarantee the safety of churches. “The Caliph Umar, who visited the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in 638 AD, was careful to ensure that Muslims respect the sanctity of Christian [...]

Church Burning: UMNO’s Spin and Juara Rakyat Campaign

January 10, 2009 UMNO’s Utusan Malaysia (Mingguan Malaysia) Spin On Church Burning Incidents :Finger Pointing at the Political Opposition Comment: Awang Selamat suffers from a serious lapse of memory, bordering on a mild case of Alzhelmer’s Disease. As paid apologist who is beholden to UMNO ( his paper’s owner and sponsor), he conveniently forgets that [...]

Malaysia and Malaysians will NOT bow to Acts of Violence

January 10, 2010 Malaysia will not bow to acts of violence Joint Statement of Civil Society on 9th January 2010 http://bangmalaysia.wordpress.com We the undersigned Malaysian civil society groups from different spiritual, cultural and ideological backgrounds condemn unconditionally in the strongest possible terms the arson against at least three churches following the controversy over the use of [...]

Church Bombings: Economy and Malaysia’s Image Harmed

January 9, 2010 Malaysiakini reports: Church Bombings will be harmful to the Malaysian Economy and damaging to Malaysia’s image abroad From Singapore and Hong Kong in Asia, to Ghana in Africa to the cities of Western Europe and the US like Rome, London, New York and Washington, Malaysia popped up on news websites around the [...]

Remembering Gus Dur: The Voice of Moderate Islam,Religious and Ethnic Tolerance and Understanding

January 9, 2009 A.R.Wahid (Gus Dur) Indonesia’s First Democratic President and Voice of Moderate Islam, Religious and Ethnic Tolerance and Understanding By Paul Wolfowitz (Wall Street Journal, January 6, 2o10) http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704842604574642353284811682.html Abdurrahman Wahid, who died last week at the age of 69, was the first democratically elected president of Indonesia, the world’s fourth largest country [...]