Critical Thoughts

I am not surprised that there would be these so-called “know-alls” who would label yesterday’s success of closing down a blatantly anti-Islamic forum as the result of “mob rule”. These people think they can speak for Islam, but the protesters who attended yesterday’s protest were indeed voicing the feelings of the Muslims on the ground about the forum. I have seen the video of the protest and some of the leaders who organised the protest were sane and rational individuals, although the same cannot be said for one or two individuals who attended and tried to pick a fight with another protester.

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Alhamdulillah, the anti-Islamic forum which was supposed to be run throughout the morning today has been stopped.

About 300 protesters have gathered outside Bar Council headquarters demanding that the lawyers group halt its controversial forum on ‘Conversion to Islam’ this morning. The Bar Council today, adhereing to the advice of the police - and an angry mob at its doorstep - wrapped up its half-day forum on ‘Conversion to Islam’ at 10am, an hour after it had started.

Earlier about 300 protesters have gathered outside Bar Council headquarters demanding that the lawyers group halt its controversial forum on ‘Conversion to Islam’. A leader of the protesters - PKR Kulim-Bandar Baharu parliamentarian Zulkifli Noordin - declared the abrupt end of the forum as a victory for them. By 10.40am, most of the protesters have dispersed.

The open forum on the sensitive religious issue kicked off at 9am but angry protestors have given organisers half an hour to cancel the event.

The forum is nothing more than an Article 11/IFC clone and I am glad that a stop was put to it. Issues of this nature are not qualified to be discussed by those who have no authority about it, most especially the non-Muslim lawyers infesting the Bar Council. It has nothing whatsoever to do with promoting and understanding between religions, but an underlying attempt to diffuse and destroy the Islamic character of Malaysia, God forbid! And this is something I will oppose to until my last, dying breath.

Different players, same purpose:

Islamist party PAS jumped on the bandwagon of Islamic groups against the Bar Council’s forum entitled “Conversion to Islam: Article 121 (1A) of the Federal Constitution, Subashini and Sharmala Revisited” today…Among the issues to be discussed at the forum include conversions to Islam without spouses’ knowledge, conversions of children without dual parents’ consent and other inheritance issues.

It may have different players but this reminds me smack in the face of the Article 11/IFC initiative not very long ago. Just as I have opposed it in 2006, I will do so once again. These people never do give up in trying to undermine the status of Islam in the country, do they?