Study & understand religions in modern times

With the advance of many fields of social-scientific knowledge on the human conditions since the late 19th century, religions can in fact be studied, understood and /or discoursed more dispassionately through modern intellectual disciplines, like History Of Religion, Sociology Of Religion or Comparative Religion. If used with discretion and a sense of social responsibility, information and communication technology or ICT can contribute to the self-improvement of knowledge in religions. Meanwhile, it is also important to bear in minds that there are always atheists, agnostics and theists without religious affiliations who have never molested boys and girls, womanise, gamble, consume liquor, or incited any form of cowardly violence, in their honestly 'ungodly' lives.

Recognise also right to freedom from religion

65th anniversary of Indonesian republicanism

This year also marks the 65 th anniversary of the Proclamation of the Republic of Indonesia, an ex-colony of Holland, which is now the most populous Muslims-majority country on earth and the land of ancestral origin as well as a source of cultural inspiration of Malays in Malaysia. Other Muslims- majority republics include Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Egypt, Khazakhstan, Uzbekistan and also Turkmenistan.

Chinese nation to mark republican centenary

Chinese nation to mark republican centenary

Next year, all of us will also witness the centenary commemoration in both mainland China and Taiwan of the great republican uprising that occurred in October 1911, which not only overthrew the Qing Dynasty, but also ended the imperial system that lasted for some 3, 000 years. Aisin Gioro @ 'Henry' Pu Yi, the last ruler, died at 61 in China in 1967.

India commemorates victory of republicanism

India commemorates victory of republicanism

Today, India celebrates its annual Republic Day which commemorates the end of hereditary feudal powers and the triumph of republicanism in 1950. India, an ex-colony of the British Empire, gained its national independence in 1947. India celebrates its National Day on 15 August. On 28 May, 2008 (Wed), the last Hindu monarchy was ended in Nepal.

Greetings for Thaipusam from James & family

James and family would like to say Happy Thaipusam to our relatives, neighbours, old friends and acquaintances who celebrate the festival.

Recognise also right to freedom from religion

Despite the broad picture given by the recent Allah word rows, not all Malaysians are religionists. Some of them are traditional atheists and agnostics, while others, theists without religious affiliation. I have to admit or confess that I have met agnostics and also atheists who lead more upright, purposeful and meaningful lives than many religionists. Moreover, many of these people keep and manage their families with very great sense of parental responsibility as well as ethical integrity. An inclusive society for all its people should, therefore, recognize not only the basic right to freedom of religion but also that from religion. Atheists, agnostics and theists without religious affiliation should be welcome to participate more openly and actively in public discussions to share their perspectives on public policies which they have stakes. Religionists who are self-confident in their respective belief-systems would never deny the democratic right to freedom of expression and speech of atheists, agnostics and theists without religious affiliation.

Invite Karen Armstrong to M'sia for talk again

Malay language serves to enlarge social circle

Although I seldom write in Malay nowadays, I still read and speak the language frequently enough to maintain a socially acceptable level of proficiency. Reading the many autobiographies of pakcik-pakcik and makcik in southern Thailand has revived my interest in the language. My kedai-kopi philosophy of life is that the more languages we know, the more friends we can make, and we become even more informed. Above all, the more informed we are, the broader our minds become. In this age of speedy proliferation of websites, blogs, facebooks and twitters, bersembang - sembang with real human beings around us is still important to calibrate a balance between knowledge and wisdom. If information and communication technology is used with discretion, it could facilitate the opening -up as well as broadening of the minds.

Enrichment of Malay language in 21st century

Condemn cowardly attacks on surau's in Muar

Clare Street condemns in no uncertain terms the cowardly attacks on two surau's in Muar. Clare Street's condemnation against all forms of vandalism or violence on places of worship of all religions is standing.

Enrichment of Malay language in 21st century

It is quite obvious now that there is a fairly real and pressing need to translate more great books and world- historic ideas from all over the planet, including literature and also philosophy, into Malay in order to further enrich and enhance the national language in the 21st century. The Malay language must serve to free, and not to shackle the minds of those who are not privileged enough to receive tertiary educations at universities in Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and the US. Also, for Malay to be the psychologically common or national language for all the people, it has to be 'de-communalised' and 'de-religionised'. Many ancient languages have declined in popular usage or completely vanished because they could not meet the demand of societies for an increasingly wider range of useful knowledge and human experiences. Languages that continue to thrive despite many changes on earth are marked by their willinness and capability to incorporate scientific and technological progress as well as to include the diversity of the users' social, political and economic interaction and experience with others.

Invite Karen Armstrong to M'sia for talk again

Invite Karen Armstrong to M'sia for talk again

I think it is time to invite Karen Armstrong ( above ) to visit Malaysia again and to share her deep thoughts on the Allah word row. She was here in June 2007 to talk on The Role of Religion in the 21st Century. There is, in my own opinion, also a pressing need for her books to be translated into the Malay language to facilitate inter-faith multilogue and to enrich the Malay- language discourse with more rational ideas about other faiths, like Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism or Sikhism. Although trained as a Catholic nun, Armstrong is fairly knowledgeable about other religions and her views on Islam is relatively enlightened. I am now reading her book titled Buddha ( New York, Penguin, 2001 ).

Sikhs & 3 Muslim positions on 'Allah' word use

Sikhs & 3 Muslim positions on 'Allah' word use

There are now three Muslim positions on the Allah word row: (1) it is exclusively reserved for Muslims, (2 ) it is generally restricted for the use by Muslims but Christians in Sabah and Sarawak can share it, and (3) Muslims should share it with ALL Christians, who are Ahl al-Kitāb. The Sikhs face a true dilemma in that they are not considered as The People of The Book in the Arahamic tradition but the word Allah does appear in their sacred books that can' t be edited by anyone on earth.

Observations on 'Allah' word dispute in M' sia

Observations on 'Allah' word dispute in M' sia

The latest decision to permit Christians in Sabah and Sarawak to use the Arabic word Allah to refer to God shows ironically that Muslims in East Malaysia are more inclusive. In Peninsula, Muslims who identify with PAS, PKR and some NGO's have also been accomodative. At the same time, many mainstream Muslims in Indonesia and also Arabic -speaking countries continue to share the Arabic word with Christians. Moreover, no English- speaking and Christian-majority nations in the world on earth has ever attempted to legalise the state-ownership of the word 'God' and prohibited or restricted the use of it by Muslims in their sovereign territories or areas under their effective jurisdiction. It is indeed not difficult to draw conclusions from these observations.

Twists & turns of 'Allah' word row in Malaysia

Twists & turns of 'Allah' word row in Malaysia

Christians from Sabah and Sarawak are now allowed to use the Arabic word Allah to refer to ' God '. What about the Sikhs who really cannot change the word in their scriptures which have been in existence and used by all followers of Guru Nanak all over the world for a long time ?

Question of "confusion" of religious identities

Question of "confusion" of religious identities

Historically, many peoples of different cultures and faiths in Malaysia and Singapore received their primary and also secondary education at Christian missionary schools like those set up and managed by the La Sallean Brothers. Many left the schools to pursue tertiary education in English-speaking and also Christian- majority countries like Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and US, and returned with the faiths of their parents and grandparents kept intact - without any " confusion". Some did change, but there is nothing wrong as long as the change is not for cari makan or naik pangkat to the detriments of other people.

Dilemma of Sikh community in Selangor State

Dilemma of Sikh community in Selangor State

Selangor's Sultan Sharafuddin has declared that the Arabic word Allah is exclusively for 'Islam'. The Sikh scriptures also use the Arabic word Allah to conceptualise the Supreme Being. It is therefore self-evident that there is a contradiction, and the Sikh community in Selangor are certainly being confronted head-on with a very fundamental dilemma. Sultan Sharafuddin received his education at the St. John's Institution in Kuala Lumpur and went for tertiary studies in Australia and Britain.

Muhyiddin's "Christian feedback" not credible

Muhyiddin's "Christian feedback" not credible

According to a Bernama report, DPM Muhyiddin Yassin said in Oxford that " he had been receiving quite a number of messages from non -Muslim friends in Sabah and Sarawak who said there were Christians who felt that things would not have happened in the first place 'if we, the Christians, would just not use the word Allah ". So, it means that he only indirectly received his "Christian feedback" through his "non-Muslim friends", and all of them are nameless or anonymous thus far. My own Muslim friend Abdul Hadi b. Awang, a graduate of the Islamic University of Medina in Saudi Arabia as well as Al-Azhar University in Egypt, has told the country and the world openly that the Arabic word Allah can be used by Christians and even Jews to refer to the 'God' in the Abrahamic family of faiths, viz . Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It is also a verifiable fact that Tok Guru is highly proficient in Arabic.

Malaysian Sikhs to continue using 'Allah' word

Malaysian Sikhs to continue using 'Allah' word

The London-based Times Online has reported a Sikh temple authority as reaffirming that the believers of the teachings of Guru Nanak "are not going to stop using (the) Allah (word) " as their scriptures cannot be changed. While almost all the Sikhs are of Punjabi ancestry, there are Punjabis who accept Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam.

America & Holy See view M'sia with concerns

America & Holy See view M'sia with concerns

Both the United States and Holy See view the 'Allah' word row and the firebombings of Christian churches in Malaysia with serious concerns. On 11 Jan (Monday), 96 ambassadors, high commissioners and other official representatives of foreign governments in Kuala Lumpur met Malaysia' s Home Ministry officials over the globally reported dispute.

Malaysian Christians stand firm on 'Allah' row

Malaysian Christians stand firm on 'Allah' row

The UK Press Association ( UKPA ) has reported Daniel Raut, a senior leader of the Borneo Evangelical Church which has the largest Malay -speaking congregation in the country, as stating very clear that East Malaysian Christians reject demands that they drop their claim to the use of the word 'Allah'. Father Lawrence Andrew in West Malaysia, is also quoted by AFP as making a 'resolute' statement of similar effect. Sikhs also uses the Arabic word Allah to refer to their Supreme Deity.

Indonesian perspective on 'Allah' row in M'sia

Indonesian perspective on 'Allah' row in M'sia

It is now a fairly widely known fact that Christians use the word Allah not only in the Arabic-speaking and English-language worlds, but also in Indonesia which is the most populous Muslims-majority country on earth and also the land of ancestral origin of many Malay Malaysians, including a former Menteri Besar of Selangor, Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo.

DPM Muhyiddin's Oxford talk on Islam in M'sia

DPM Muhyiddin's Oxford talk on Islam in M'sia

I have not yet found any report on DPM Muhyiddin's seminar on Islam and Critical Issues in Multiracial Malaysia at the Oxford University' s Centre for Islamic Studies (OXCIS). I would be particularly interested in the Q-&-A session where the audience can pose questions liberally. Malaysia's Home Ministry held a meeting with 96 Ambassadors, High Commissioners as well as other official representatives from foreign governments yesterday in Kuala Lumpur on the 'Allah' word rows and recent spate of firebombings of some Christian churches in Malaysia.

Utusan M' sia & responsibility for social peace

Utusan M' sia & responsibility for social peace

Having highlighted and exaggerated many (non-) issues that serve to strengthen the Siege Mentality of the Malay-speaking population, it is now time for the Utusan Malaysia to come to its senses, and to make sincere efforts to preserve and promote social peace in tanahair kita. Clare Street also earnestly hopes public messages in condemnation of extremism and/or in solidarity with Christians and churches would be expressed in stoic, dignified as well as socially responsible languages.

Condemn cowardly violence against churches

Condemn cowardly violence against churches

Clare Street would like to join all the right -thinking as well as peace-loving Malaysians in the condemnations against the cowardly violence committed against Christian churches in this beloved country of ours.

Communal & nationalist deity not One True X

Communal & nationalist deity not One True X

As I have pointed out in a preceding comment, the One True X known to Ahl al-Kitāb everywhere for many centuries before there was even UMNO is always united and universal. It follows that a communal and nationalistic ' deity ' was not, is not and will never be the One True X.

Ironical message of demonstrations for 'Allah'

Ironical message of demonstrations for 'Allah'

On 1 March 2009 (Sun), I reasoned, on a monotheist foundation, that the existence of governmental offices as well as regulations claiming to serve the causes of defending the One True X and / or his/her/its messages is ironically a clear sign that there is a very serious lack of faith in the One True X. Now, I must add that holding demonstrations to protect what is asserted to be the One True X is another such sign. Does the omnipotent One True X need the ' protection ' of his/her/its not-so-omnipotent 'faithfuls' on earth ? Welcome to my Theology 101.

Pas affirms unity & universality of One True X

Pas affirms unity & universality of One True X

PAS has certainly upheld the unity and universality of the One True X of The People of The Book or Ahl al -Kitāb against a nationalist deity. That the One True X is united as well as universal had been known to Ahl al - Kitāb everywhere for many centuries before there was UMNO.

Encyclopedia Britannica clear on 'Allah' word

New Year gift from my dear American friends

Glad to have received the National Parks 2010 calender, which makes me very nostalgic of those wonderful scouting days in the 1970s when Red River Valley and also Shenandoah were sung aound campfire with many other boys and girls of all races from different schools in Perak. Indeed, many of the great folksongs from America are so memorable.

Merry Christmas greetings from James' family

AG says US jet engines last traced to Uruguay

Well, the Attorney-General has now reportedly concluded that the two "missing" jet engines of RMAF have been "last traced to Uruguay" and not "a US-sanctioned Middle Eastern country" (i.e. Iran) or Argentina. Meanwhile, it is not clear yet whether the AG's Chamber would charge the New Straits Times and the police for "spreading false news" under the Printing Presses and Publications Act. Observers, researchers and analysts of international security are certain to follow up the issue of which versions the White House (especially the Pentagon) and the US Congress would choose to believe in their decision-making processes, although the Malaysian ambassador to the United States, Jarmaluddin Jarjis is expected to promote the Uruguay edition in Washington D.C.

Gov't promises to explain missing jet engines

Encyclopedia Britannica clear on 'Allah' word

Encyclopedia Britannica, the most well-known, authoritative and also respected source of general knowledge in the English-speaking world, is fairly clear: " Allāh is the standard Arabic word for 'God' and is also used by Arab Christians as well as by Muslims". The KL High Court is, therefore, correct in the judgement delivered by Justice Lau Bee Lan. As the entire English-speaking world is well-informed on the legal and political case in Malaysia in this era of Google News, as well as other forms of mass communication, it is also observing the Appeal closely. ( No major English- speaking and Christian- majority countries in the world on earth has ever attempted to legalise the state-ownership of the word ' God' and prohibited or restricted the use of it by Muslims ). The Arabic-speaking universe is most probably quietly amazed by the obscurant passion or zeal of some saudara-saudari baru at the fringe.

At official launch of Tan Kai Hee' s biography

Yesterday, Dr. Toh Kin Woon ( center ) launched the biography of Tan Kai Hee ( second from right ), a former Secretary-General of the now deregistered Labour Party of Malaya (LPM). Scholar Dr. Chia Oai Peng (second from left) and I were invited to present independent reviews of the book. Tan Kim Hong ( left ), a retired local academic who have published the history of the once-powerful multi-ethnic constitutional opposition, was also present. Some 2,000 still-well-disciplined former leaders and members of LPM attended the book launch. All of us later went for a 200 -table dinner hosted by Mr. Tan and his dear wife who has gone through many downs and ups with the ex - ISA detainee and now successful businessman. P.G. Lim, another former LPM member as well as an ex - ambassador of Malaysia, was also invited as a VVIP. Mr. Tan is an old friend of poet Usman Awang and writer Said Zahari.

Let's thank police for peaceful New Year eve

I think we must give credit where credit is due and say THANK YOU to the police for ensuring a largely peaceful New Year eve for everybody.

Disorderly party not reflective of X'mas spirit