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 places of worship.
“What then of our own police’s hesitation to offer an assurance of safety and security for Malaysian churches?” he said.
He was responding to Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan’s statement yesterday that churches must beef up their own security because the police had insufficient manpower.
Anwar said this while reading from a prepared text to reporters prior to a dialogue with Christian leaders at the Luther Centre in Petaling Jaya this afternoon.
The dialogue was initiated by Anwar and hosted by Bishop Phillip Lock of the Luther Centre.
According to PKR information chief Latheefa Koya, the dialogue was part of Pakatan Rakyat’s pledge to hold inter-faith dialogues, which was expedited due to recent events.
Other PKR leaders accompanying Anwar were vice-president Azmin Ali, Jeffrey Kitingan, Zaid Ibrahim, Chua Jui Ming, Dr Xavier Jeyakumar and Hee Loy Sean.
Christian leaders present included Bishop Ng Moon Hing (Anglican), Father Phillip Muthu (Catholic) and Rev Eu Hong Seng (Evangelical).
The dialogue, attended by about 100 people, was held behind closed doors.
Exploiting race and religion for politics
Anwar said it cannot be disputed that Arabic speaking Muslims, Christians and Jews have collectively prayed to God as Allah throughout the last 14 centuries.
However, Anwar said there are now those who are exploiting race and religion to incite hatred for political gain.
“While sensitivities over its usage (the word Allah) have arisen in Malaysia, the way to resolve these conflicts is not by burning churches and staging incendiary protests but by reasoned engagement and interreligious dialogue,” he said.
On the contrary, he said the Umno-owned daily Utusan Malaysia is spreading racist propaganda and inflammatory rhetoric.
“Such wanton acts of provocation and indeed criminal, demonstrate the duplicity of the 1Malaysia campaign,” he said.
MK
10/01/10
“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 places of worship.
“What then of our own police’s hesitation to offer an assurance of safety and security for Malaysian churches?” he said.
He was responding to Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan’s statement yesterday that churches must beef up their own security because the police had insufficient manpower.
Anwar said this while reading from a prepared text to reporters prior to a dialogue with Christian leaders at the Luther Centre in Petaling Jaya this afternoon.
The dialogue was initiated by Anwar and hosted by Bishop Phillip Lock of the Luther Centre.
According to PKR information chief Latheefa Koya, the dialogue was part of Pakatan Rakyat’s pledge to hold inter-faith dialogues, which was expedited due to recent events.
Other PKR leaders accompanying Anwar were vice-president Azmin Ali, Jeffrey Kitingan, Zaid Ibrahim, Chua Jui Ming, Dr Xavier Jeyakumar and Hee Loy Sean.
Christian leaders present included Bishop Ng Moon Hing (Anglican), Father Phillip Muthu (Catholic) and Rev Eu Hong Seng (Evangelical).
The dialogue, attended by about 100 people, was held behind closed doors.
Exploiting race and religion for politics
Anwar said it cannot be disputed that Arabic speaking Muslims, Christians and Jews have collectively prayed to God as Allah throughout the last 14 centuries.
However, Anwar said there are now those who are exploiting race and religion to incite hatred for political gain.
“While sensitivities over its usage (the word Allah) have arisen in Malaysia, the way to resolve these conflicts is not by burning churches and staging incendiary protests but by reasoned engagement and interreligious dialogue,” he said.
On the contrary, he said the Umno-owned daily Utusan Malaysia is spreading racist propaganda and inflammatory rhetoric.
“Such wanton acts of provocation and indeed criminal, demonstrate the duplicity of the 1Malaysia campaign,” he said.
MK
10/01/10
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