Religious tension mars merriment for Malaysian Christians

By Julia Yeow Dec 21, 2011, 2:06 GMT

Kuala Lumpur - In every mall and along every main street in Malaysia's capital, elaborate decorations and loud, blaring carols bring about festive reminders of the season to be jolly.

But beneath the blinking lights and merry making, many Christians will be celebrating Christmas with an undeniable sense of unease due to rising tensions with Muslim authorities.

Malaysia is a secular state as defined in its constitution, but Islam is the official religion and is embraced by 60 per cent of the population. Minority Christians make up about 10 per cent, followed by Buddhists, Hindus and people of other faiths.

Religious violence is rare in the multicultural society, but minority religious groups have complained that their right to practice freely is increasingly threatened by a Muslim-dominated government.

Christians have always had to be 'cautious' in dealing with the government, said Sam Ang, secretary general of the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship, the country's largest evangelical group.

'I think there is definitely a sense of Christians feeling threatened much more now, although not so much physically.'

He said authorities often misinterpret the law according to their own convenience.

'There is always a risk. That is why churches would be wise to always exercise caution,' he said.

But one major church apparently threw caution to the wind on August 3 when it allowed an organization with Muslim members to use its premises for a celebration.

Islamic religious officers raided the church during the dinner, and later claimed efforts were being made to convert the Muslims who were present.

The Damansara Utama Methodist Church denied the allegations and called the raid illegal. It said accusations of conversion attempts were false and malicious.

Christian leaders condemned the raid, saying the authorities showed no proof or warrant to enter the church premises.

The incident also sparked outrage among Muslim groups that demonstarted against what they claimed were aggressive conversion efforts by Christians. They called on Muslims to 'take all necessary actions' to protect the sanctity of Islam.

In response, the Christian community was placed on alert for fears of a repeat of violent attacks on at least eight churches last year, including one that was gutted by a firebomb.

'Religion is such an emotional thing, that I find it hard to be at ease during this season,' said Vivienne Pal, a 33-year-old Christian. 'I'm constantly aware that things can get out of hand in a blink of an eye.'

Following the August incident, many major churches around the central state of Selangor and Kuala Lumpur re-evaluated their activities, for fear of drawing 'unwanted attention.'

'We've had to be very careful about whom we help, and how we go about doing it because authorities are paying more attention to church activities,' said a pastor who requested anonymity due to his work among the poor and homeless of Kuala Lumpur.

'It's sad because we don't care about a person's race or religion when we offer help, but now we need to be wise and cautious, so that our work doesn't bring about unwanted attention and negative repercussions to the entire church,' he said.

'Our situation in Malaysia is not new, and Christians have been facing this although over the past three years, it's become worse,' evangelical leader Ang said.

In spite of the increasing tension between the church and state, there are many who believe the maturity of believers from both religions will be able to mend the rift.

Mazran Nordin, an ethnic Malay Muslim, said he often visited churches in Europe and had no problem attending weddings in churches.

'I think a lot of it has to do with the maturity of a Muslim believer. If you are confident in your beliefs, why would you be afraid of being converted?' Mazran said.

'Everywhere you go, you can see normal Malaysians of all religions celebrating Christmas together,' said Thomas Philips, president of Malaysia's Council of Churches.

'I don't believe there is a distrust, and a feeling of any one religion being threatened. Those are just games the politicians and media play.

'From what we have seen, there is still much hope for people of all religions to live peacefully here,' he said.