SHAH ALAM, 15 Nov: The Malaysian Muslim Youth Movement (ABIM) fully supports the decision of the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (JAIS) which officially returned the Malay version Bibles to the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM).
Its President, Amidi Abdul Manan, said that the views and amicable initiatives of the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, in solving this issue are very wise, and the advice and restrictions to ensure that the Bibles are not distributed in Selangor is the right decision.
“ABIM hopes that all parties respect this decision because we believe that the role of the palace is important in protecting the sanctity of Islam and the Malay race, including ensuring proper justice to other religions and races in Selangor.
“From before, the palace has proven its role in prioritising the well-being of the people compared to religious extremists who are filled with the fire of hatred,” he said when contacted by Selangor Kini today.
In January, JAIS seized over 300 Bibles in Malay and Iban language from the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM) office in Damansara.
This move was done according to the Non-Islamic Religious Enactment 1988 (Control of Propagation Among Muslims) by preventing non-Muslims in Selangor to use the ‘Allah’ word.
However, all the Bibles were returned to the Association of Churches Sarawak (ACS) during a courtesy call from the Chairman of the ACS, Most Revered Archbishop Datuk Bolly Lapok.
The ceremony which was held at the Alam Shah Palace in Klang was witnessed by the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, and the Chief Minister, Mohamed Azmin Ali.
Mohamed Azmin, in his reaction yesterday, said that the state government will assure that the administration is based on teachings of Islam because it is a religion of mercy for all, in addition to being an example in supporting temperance and justice.
He said that although religious freedom is enshrined in the Federal Constitution, extremism, racial provocation and religious bigotry will not become a part of the Selangor administration.
“This administration will seek ways to improve and promote understanding between the races and religions in Selangor. As one of the key elements in this motion, I vow to return the Bibles to the Christians as it is theirs.
“Now, thanks to the wisdom and foresight of His Royal Highness the Sultan of Selangor, it has become a reality,” he said.
Commenting further, Amidi commended Mohamed Azmin’s approach in placing Islam as a religion of mercy and said that it is in the same breath with the ‘good governance’ approach used by the Prophet in Madinah, which was clearly uniting all religions and races.
He also believes that issues between races and religions can be resolved amicably without intervention from extremist groups.
“The Muslim and Christian extremist groups see this issue from the view point of sentiment and it must be opposed. Instead, such issues should be seen through the eyes of unity among races and religions like the Selangor Government’s approach.
“In this issue, the palace also rejected the voices of extremist groups that clearly bring about more harm than good,” he said.
NS
