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Islam is not under attack: Umno MP
by Pauline Puah (the sun,11sept)

KUALA LUMPUR: The use of power and compulsion will not help to resolve controversial religious issues, outspoken Umno parliamentarian Datuk Zaid Ibrahim has said.
"Power, force and compulsion solve nothing ... You can put them (apostates) in jail. But (as to) the matter of faith and belief, how do you change them?" he asked at a forum organised by the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) in conjunction with Malaysian Human Rights Day on Saturday.
The Kota Baru member of Parliament, who was a speaker at the Article 11 forum on constitutional rights disrupted by a group of 500 protesters in May, started by voicing his concerns over recent developments on religious issues in the country.
In his speech entitled "Freedom of Religion and the Federal Constitution", he took a swipe at certain quarters, including several Muslim lawyers, who claimed that Islam is under attack.
"Islam is not under attack. It is your warped minds under attack," he said to a round of applause.
Citing two high-profile court cases - that of Lina Joy and S. Shamala - Zaid, a lawyer himself, said these cases should be treated merely as legal situations.
"We can't talk about it because God will punish her (Lina Joy)? What's the problem? She's not a Muslim anymore, so God will punish her surely?
"But do we play God's role now? How do you know God won't forgive her? How do you know?" he asked the silent floor.
"I thought she just wanted to get her ID (identity card) changed. So let the courts decide it. There is no need to say Islam is under attack," Zaid said, thumping the rostrum.
Lina Joy, a Muslim who "converted" to Christianity, had appealed to remove the word "Islam" from her identity card, sparking wide debate on religious freedom in the country.
Lawyer Malik Imtiaz Sarwar who held a watching brief for the Bar Council in her case, recently received death threats for voicing his legal opinions on the issue.
Shamala, a Hindu mother, is asking the court to declare that her two sons' conversion to Islam by her estranged Muslim convert husband Dr M. Jeyaganesh, is invalid. The case was adjourned in the Court of Appeal in July, pending the Federal Court's decision in the Lina Joy case.
Zaid said that under Islamic teaching, if one is seen as having strayed from the true path, greater mercy and understanding should be accorded to him.
"I thought we should show more mercy in cases like these? ... We should understand why they want to do that.
"(But) no, you can't do that because you have power ... What's the problem in these so-called issues confronting ummah?" he asked.
Zaid said Muslims should have more confidence in a religion which is heavily supported by the state.
"We should be confident enough. There should be no fear. For God's sake, the civil court is not our enemy. Our judicial system has upheld the rule of law."
He described his fellow parliamentarians as showing "stupidity" by arguing that the absence of rules on apostasy would open the floodgates to Muslims becoming apostates.
"That's stupidity. Do we not give our religion more respect and recognition? Do we not shame ourselves by making such statements, and show that we have no confidence in the intrinsic worth of our religion?"
Zaid said the government should explain religious issues to ordinary people to avoid misunderstanding and unnecessary tension.
He also attributed the tensions that have arisen to politicians who use the religious card to gain political mileage.
"No one (politicians) wants to explain religious issues because there's a political risk there ... It is easy to get instant recognition and support when you raise religious and racial issues."
Zaid urged the government to maintain the integrity and purity of Islam by allowing discussion.
Another speaker at the forum chaired by Suhakam commissioner Datuk Michael Yeoh was renowned Afghan-born scholar, Mohamad Hashim Kamali, a professor at the International Islamic University.
Answering a question from the floor, Mohd Hashim said that if the purpose is to advocate good, non-Muslims should be allowed to discuss and question Islam.
Noting that Islam has a long history of recognising other religions and that interfaith dialogue was thus Islamic in itself, he said Muslims should not monopolise and isolate the religion.
Earlier in his speech on "Human Rights from an Islamic Perspective", Mohd Hashim said human rights elements are enshrined in Islamic holy texts, particularly the Quran.

liyana>tak ke pelik dan sangat- sangat PELIK?? ... pelik sungguh..sungguh pelik.. pandai nyer dorg manipulate d issue.. perang pemikiran.. ohh sungguh hairan..