Malaysian Muslims are bullied in Malaysia?

Malaysiakini - Perlis mufti questions preacher's arrest for allegedly insulting Hinduism (extracts)

Perlis mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin (left) defends his close associate Muhammad Zamri Vinoth Kalimuthu

FMT photo

Perlis mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin has questioned the arrest of independent preacher Muhammad Zamri Vinoth Kalimuthu for allegedly insulting Hinduism in a sermon, which was uploaded on the internet.

"This is the reality we are seeing today. All kinds of statements are made by individuals in the government that insult Muslims and cause racial tension but are only called up to give their statement.

"Many cases where the Prophet Muhammad was insulted and Islam belittled also only saw perpetrators summoned to have their statement recorded.

"But a preacher who shared his personal experience in converting to Islam in a mosque in Kelantan which was only intended for Muslims ended up with an arrest," he said in a Facebook posting.

Firstly, let me get a wee bit of trivial curiosity out of the way before I discuss the post's topic, by way of the following 2 questions:

Q1: If arrested preacher Muhammad Zamri Vinoth Kalimuthu is a convert, and presumbly a Malaysian, why hasn't he been named with a 'bin Abdullah' (as our famous Ridhuan Tee has been)?

Q2: Has this 'special' dispensation been granted because the bloke is a student and acolyte of the controversial Dr Zakir Naik?

For more on the mandatory 'bin Abdullah' moniker, see my earlier posts:

(1) Origin of bin and binte.

(2) 4 days - the difference between a legitimate and an illegitimate born child.

Zamri Vinoth Kalimuthu with Dr Zakir Naik on right

OK, back on issue, wakakaka. 

Dr Asri has been mad because his mate preacher Zamri Vinoth, as mentioned, a convert to Islam and a devotee of Dr Zakir Naik, has been arrested following some 800 plus police reports made against him for allegedly insulting Hinduism.

In contrast to the above, he reckoned the authority, now under the Pakatan Harapan government, has been (too bloody) 'soft' on Hindus as allegedly in the Seafield temple tragedy where a Muslim fireman was fatally injured in a riotous situation but no culprit was arrested.

l to r: Shiva the Destroyer, Vishnu the Preserver, Brahma the Creator
obviously an icon of Vaishnavism tradition (denomination) of Hinduism as Vishnu is given prominence in the centre

if the icon is from Shaivism tradition, Shiva would of course be standing in the middle as in icon below

and please don't ask me why there is no tradition honouring Brahma 

Dr Asri lamented: “I don’t blame the police, but this is happening due to a political reality that allows Muslims to be bullied.”

Muslims being bullied? In Malaysia? And in Peninsula Malaysia?

Obviously Dr Asri has gone grossly overboard with his accusation, but we expected him to do that as he has a traditional problem with Hindus, Hinduism and I suspect, also Dr Ramasamy, head of the Penang Hindu Endowment Board.

Hey mateys, Dr Asri has even composed a poem, said (allegedly) to be against Hinduism, but which he subsequently denied. He is also a good matey of Dr Zakir Naik who is notorious for whacking Hinduism and its beliefs. 

But still, I have to admit that his allegations of 'Malaysians Muslims being bullied in Malaysia' may be too hard to swallow.

Yes, given the Mahathir's 1-year old government has repetitively u-turned from its commitments to ratify ICERD, the Rome Statute and abolish capital punishment, etc etc etc, I wonder how Dr Asri could have the questionable 'sagacity' to ever-even say that.

Initially (mind, that was years ago, wakakaka) I liked and respected Dr Asri for what I then read of his views-advice as coming from a very balanced and fair mufti. 

Later he surprised and disappointed me with what I reckoned to be a 'hardening' changing attitude towards non-Muslims. I still respected him although I no longer liked him.

Eventually, with his overt hostility towards Hinduism in particular and sometimes Dr Ramasamy, I could no longer like nor respect him.

But that's just me, wakakaka.

Mind, Dr Asri could be imitating former IGP Hanif Omar, who in sometime in September 2018 said Malays were afraid to defend their rights.

He cited as example the recent controversy sparked by Lim Guan Eng over the use of Mandarin in statements by the Ministry of Finance, saying there should have been a stronger reaction.

Hanif Omar accused the DAP of wanting to split Peninsular Malaysia into the East Coast for Malays and the West Coast for Chinesefor this, Hanif Omar's fairy tale, wakakaka, I've renamed him as Hans Christian Andersen, wakakaka

Ibrahim Ali 

That poo-stiring remark made Ibrahim Ali, head of Malay rights group Perkasa, mad. He then told off Hanif Omar, saying Perkasa’s existence as a champion of Malay rights was proof that the former IGP was tokking-kok.

Ibrahim Ali said: “So when I read Hanif’s statement, I began to question myself. Am I a coward? This is why I am disappointed.”

Ibrahim Ali said Malays never questioned the rights of non-Malays because they were raised to respect other communities, saying:

“You don’t see Malays questioning how non-Muslims practise their faith. In fact, when Hindus celebrate Thaipusam, we respect them and even stop by the roadside to see the celebration”.

Not entirely true when we remember Dr Asri, who has a hate-hate relationship with Hindus and their religion.

Oh, one final question: Why have the Muslim preachers most hostile to Hinduism and its beliefs (and even its kavadi-carrying followers and coconut breaking devotees) been mostly Indian Muslims?

Related:

(1) An Indian could be cause for Dr Asri's dislike of Indians.

(2) Bad blood between Dr Asri and Hindus?.