A widely viewed and shared video on social media of a hardline Muslim woman spewing hatred and threats against Malaysian Christians is now under police investigation.
The woman identified as Puteri Mujahidah Wan Asshima Kamaruddin posted on Facebook her 12-minute hate-filled rant over the Malaysian court's decision allowing non-Muslims to use "Allah," the Arabic equivalent of "God" in reference to the world's Maker. The video was disconcerting because of its language inciting violence against Christians in the country.
"We don't want to share the word 'Allah' with people from other religions," said Kamaruddin in her video rant last week which had gathered 650,000 views and 8,000 shares per UCA News report.
Her rationale, along with other hardline Islam adherents, is that they as Muslims would "lose their sole right to the term" because "heathens" were "allowed to use the word 'Allah' in their own utterances." She said that this "would make her feel 'threatened.'"
Huzir Mohamad, an official at the Federal Criminal Investigation Department, agreed that several elements in Kamaruddin's video "incite racial and religious hatred" which is a violation to Malaysian's law on religious tolerance. Her statement "please don't make me come and destroy the Christian community" is among the said elements.
Such a statement is dangerous because it's reflective of the deep-seated hate in the hearts of radical Islamists that puts the 13% Christian population in Malaysia at greater risk of persecution.
Brief Background of the Conflict
On March 10, Malaysia's High Court ruled that non-Muslim Malaysians can use "Allah" to pertain to God. This drew the ire of many radical Muslims.
According to the International Christian Concern, "Christian communities in Malaysia have long argued that the word 'Allah,' which entered the Malay language from Arabic, has been widely used to refer to God for centuries and that the previous ban violates their rights."
The Malaysian government itself appealed the High Court's ruling on Monday. It ended with the court's decision acknowledging Christians' claim as legitimate.
Politicians Attack Christianity
Seen and taught as "a corrupted religion" by radical Islamists, Christianity has been targeted by several Muslim politicians who used their government positions as platforms.
According to UCA News' additional sources, a politician named Nik Muhammad Zawawi Salleh devoted his time in a parliamentary session last year to malign Christians' integrity in their efforts to propagate Jesus's teachings. He argued that the New Testament texts "had been corrupted by Christians over the centuries and therefore no longer reflected the true teachings of Jesus."
The news outlet added that in 2016, Abdul Hadi Awang, president of the Malaysian Islamic Party, reportedly "used the platform of the party's official mouthpiece to accuse Christian missionaries of exploiting the gullibility of poor and uneducated people in their bid to convert them to Christianity."
"They [Christian missionaries] have spread their religion not by using knowledge and reasoned argument but by baiting their targets with money and other forms of aid. This is transgression in the name of religion. It is a danger that must be fought," said Hadi.
