A Malaysian tabloid newspaper published a feature earlier this week stating that Christians in the country, which has Islam as its state religion, are advocating prostitution in an effort to “destroy Muslims.”
The allegations were contained in the second part of a column on what the newspaper, Sinar Harian, has termed the ‘apostasy movement.’
Titled Matlamat gerakan Kristian (Objectives of the Christian movement), the piece lists four ways in which Christians are said to be operating:
1. Social movement: encouraging free mingling between the sexes;
2. Moral degradation: damaging moral values with wild activities;
3. Permitting prostitution as a service occupation; and
4. Films and music: inserting negative or extreme elements and excessive music that leads to heedlessness and negligence.
Public figures also spoke up on the perceived threat.
Zainuddin Maidin, the country’s former information minister, exhorted the Malay rulers’ council to turn its attention to the increase in proselytising by Christian groups.
He said: “Their objective is to erase the image of 'Malaysian Malays - One Religion' and they want Malaysia to become Indonesia, where 'one race is not one religion'.”
Christians have hit out at the inaccurate reports of Christian activity in Malaysia.
Bishop Dr Paul Tan, President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Malaysia, highlighted the comments made in the paper as indicative of widespread ignorance about the teachings of Christianity.
He said the "nonsense about Christianity that it encourages free sex and permits prostitution" was "symptomatic of the existing gulf in understanding between nominal Muslims and other religions in Malaysia."
He went on to correct the misunderstandings:
"Anyone who thinks that Christianity encourages free sex and permits prostitution must have emerged from a Robinson Crusoe-like isolation on some island.
"Christianity views free sex as a grave distortion of the God-given gift of sexuality and considers prostitution sinful degradation of women and of men.
"The governing authorities should prevent the ignorant from spreading lies about the beliefs of other religions."
He also suggested that had the comments been made about Islam, reaction would have been much stronger.
"But just imagine what would happen if some publication had featured a comparably contorted view of Islam?"
"The Home Ministry would be down on that publication in a flash and the latter would have to give an explanation for its maledictions on pain of termination of its licence and maybe even prosecution of its staff."
The CEO of Sinar Harian, Hussamuddin Yaacub, issued an apology via a tweet message yesterday and the paper was due to publish a correction in its print edition today.
Commenting on the news, Andrea Williams, CEO of Christian Concern, said:
“Sinar Harian has engaged in peddling misinformation about Christianity in order to oppress the Christian minority in Malaysia.
“Even a cursory look at the Bible’s teaching shows that it condemns prostitution and that the only proper place for sex is within marriage.
“We as the Church in the West must speak up about what is happening in Malaysia; this is only one of a number of recent stories to come out of that part of the world about persecution of Christians.”
Sources