FEB 11 — The recent spotlight on Siti Nor Bahyah Mahamood’s comments, which linked vices with Christianity, is another insult in a long list that Christians in Malaysia have had to endure over the past two or so years.
Being raised in a Christian family, it was never a tradition of ours to go on dates to remote places, discos or be party to sinful fornication, which is expressly forbidden in the seventh commandment.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Matthew 5:27-28
So Ustazah Siti, could you even remotely point out where Christianity adopts vice as a part of its traditional practice when we espouse having but one partner till death?
As Christmas and Easter was exploited by the retail magnates for economic reasons, so has the celebration of St Valentine’s Day. The familiar Santa Claus, Easter Bunny and Easter eggs cannot be found in either the Bible nor in the church’s catechism.
What about the flawed history lessons, which linked St Valentine with the celebration to commemorate the fall of Islamic administration in medieval Spain? Perhaps such ambiguous historical “facts” would form the bulk of the new compulsory-to-pass History curriculum in the education systems?
Last year, the prime minister spoke of the need to change conceptions of Islam. He even used the term “Islamophobia” in his speech, which was broadcasted worldwide. So, it this a case of “Christianophobia”?
Placing the blame for supposedly decadent behaviour on another religion is irresponsible. All the more so if you’re seen as a figure of religious authority, an ustazah that was awarded an honour by the state, no less.
I can’t help but wonder if she’d squirm if Islam was associated with terrorism and the butchering innocents in the name of religion, which is the perception that Islamophobia perpetuates.
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