KAF and SIS under fire
Husna Yusop
KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 17, 2006): Sisters in Islam (SIS) and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAF) have come under fire from a Penang delegate who accused them of undermining the position of Islam via their programmes and action. Shahbudin Yahya of Tasek Gelugor said the two, together with another non-governmental organisation Komas and a project called the Penang Global Ethics, are the "mastermind" of the Inter-faith Council (IFC). "I am not saying this without any basis; I have all my proof. Theyproduced books on liberalism and pluralism in religion, with the support of KAF. They produced videos," he said, while waving a CD containing a video clip.
"It is written here 'a production of Komas with support of KAF.' It is the same with other materials. The threat to the stability of Islam in Malaysia is not only from within but is also done very systematically and well-planned from outside, using the people inside, the Malays, the Muslims themselves.
"SIS concentrates on how to weaken the Syariah court judiciary system. They created issues, not to improve it (the Syariah court), but to create doubts so that people will reject the court. They focus on one or two cases to try to belittle the Syariah court.
"If they are really sincere to help us, why don't they look into other problems of the Muslims such as drugs? (Because) they do not have interest in that. That is not their focus. I challenge them, if they are really sincere to bring development to Islam, let us all work towards solving the issues on economy and social ills of the Muslims. "On the other hand, the IFC discusses the position and privileges of Islam in the constitution. It questioned the articles 11(4), 12(2), 74(2), 121(A) and others. These are its focus.
"The IFC is a combination of different religious bodies, demanding the same right as Islam in Malaysia. At the same time, they want Islam to be treated the same as other religions, including Bahai. "Bahai is a philosophical religion which combines a collection of several principles taken from other religions including Islam. Are they trying to treat it (Bahai) the same with other religions? This is definitely a no.
"But they are working towards weakening the position of Islam in the constitution. SIS wants to weaken the Syariah court institution. "And the Penang Global Ethics. I brought this especially to you because it has yet to spread to other states. But this is the threat. This project tries to get society to treat all religions the same. But in the end, when they feel they cannot work together, they will say, we must drop religion and hold on to this so-called global ethics. "The KAF has been in Malaysia for more than 30 years. It is the political foundation of the German Christian Democratic Party and promotes peace, freedom and justice.
SIS is a Muslim NGO which is seen as promoting a progressive interpretation of Islam.
Shahbudin also read out an article written by "a Jew from Germany named Hans Kung" whom he claimed is the propagator of global ethics which was also founded in Germany.
He said Hans Kung has come up with a philosophy:
"No peace among nations without peace among the religions.
No peace among the religions without dialogue between the religions
No dialogue between the religions without global ethical standards
And no survival of our globe without global ethics."
Shahbudin then explained why Muslims should not treat Islam as equal to other religions.
"Umno's fight is to continue to defend and protect Islam. This is the basis of our struggle. Prophet Muhammad said Islam is great and greater than other religions.
"They (the NGOs) conducted free activities for schoolchildren. They brought them to visit the church, Chinese temple, Hindu temple and the mosque.
They then said all these (institutions) can sit harmoniously together but cannot unite. So, we must hold on to this global ethics. That is to accept each other regardless of their differences. Treat each other as how they like it. There is no religious binding here.
"The government must give special attention to these NGOs so they would not take advantage of our soft approach to destroy our religion and race. The government must beware because our government agencies are also involved in programmes like this.
"Heads of departments must also beware, including a university which is also involved. Universiti Sains Malaysia. I suggest the government check the status of the KAF. Please look at what it is doing.
"This CD is a recording of short dramas which questioned the rights and privileges of Malays - the issue of quota, the right of non-Malays to get education, to get scholarship - without basis on facts.
"This created doubts among the university students. The government must identify who the culprits are and stop whatever they are doing."
To tackle this problem, Shahbudin called on Umno Youth chief Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein who is also Education Minister to work harder to strengthen Islamic education in national schools.
"Hishammuddin, please look into this. Please have more of the JQAF (Jawi, Quran, Arabic and Fardhu Ain) classes in school. "The Malays love entertainment very much. Just look at the (Indonesian teledrama) Bawang Putih Bawang Merah. It has 3.8 million viewers in Malaysia. While Umno only has 3.288 million members.
"There are more people watching Bawang Putih Bawang Merah than Umno members although it is such a ridiculous show. How can we strengthen the mind of Malays to first-class level? Malays must change their attitude.
Do not let their mind to be influenced with this kind of television show."
He also urged the Islamic Development Department (Jakim) to wake up and be more active in carrying out its tasks and responsibility. "Jakim, please wake up. Come and stand with us. Be more active. We love Jakim, but please do more to help Islam. Don't be complacent because today Umno has been helping it to take care of Islam.
"When something happened, Umno will rise to defend the religion, to explain the right thing to the people, but where is Jakim? Please wake up, look far ahead and be more open."
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