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Dr Tariq Ramadan: Malaysian Muslims Should Acknowledge Discrimination Against Minorities In Country

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysian Muslims complaining of discrimination by the West should first acknowledge the injustices against minorities in their own country, a renowned Muslim academic said critically today.

Speaking in defence pluralism, Swiss academic Dr Tariq Ramadan recounted anecdotes from non-Muslims here that they are being treated as “second class citizens”, which he said contradicted principles of Islam.

“I’m sorry but some of your fellow citizens in this country who are not Muslims are facing this discrimination, they are facing injustices,” Ramadan said in a question-and-answers session after a talk on “jihad”, or holy struggle.

“If you want to be good Muslims, instead of preventing people from believing, you become better believers. Don’t be scared of people who are not Muslim. Be scared, be afraid, be worried about our own lack of consistency.”

Ramadan said that just as the West, the Muslim world is equally guilty of having double standards, discrepancies and inconsistencies when it comes to criticism and practice of values.

Earlier in his talk, the ethnic Egyptian academic also urged Malaysian Muslims to speak out against parts of Malaysian culture that are un-Islamic, which included stigmatisation of the minorities and censorship of ideas.

“Malaysian Muslims should struggle against anything in Malaysian culture which does not protect dignity and equality of human being,” said Ramadan.

Last year, Selangor has declared a fatwa, or religious decree, against “liberalism and religious pluralism”, calling those involved with the ideologies as “deviants”.

Source: www.themalaymailonline.com

February 4, 2015
President Mahmoud Abbas Orders Investigation Into Official Palestinian Newspaper Cartoon Depicting Prophet Muhammad

RAMALLAH, West Bank – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has ordered an investigation into a cartoon apparently depicting the Prophet Mohammad in an official Palestinian newspaper.

The move came less than a month after Abbas joined world leaders in a march for free speech in Paris following a deadly attack by Islamist gunmen on the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, which had caricatured Mohammad.

A drawing in the West Bank-based newspaper al-Hayat al-Jadidah on Sunday showed a robed man standing astride Earth and reaching into a heart-shaped pouch to sow seeds of love around the world. The caption reads: “Our Prophet Mohammad”.

Artist Mohammed Sabanneh, a Muslim, said he meant no harm. The figure was not Mohammad but “a symbol of humanity enlightened by what the Prophet Muhammad brought,” he wrote on Facebook.

Islam frowns on any depictions of its most revered prophet. Strict interpretations of Islamic scripture ban drawing any sentient beings, although court artists in past centuries drew Mohammad in illuminated manuscripts.

In a report late on Monday, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA said Abbas had ordered “an immediate investigation.”

It quoted him citing “the need to take deterrent action against those responsible for this terrible mistake, out of respect for sacred religious symbols and foremost among them the prophets”.

Sabaaneh, one of the most prominent Palestinian cartoonists in a society that has long prized them as incisive critics of Israel, has faced free speech controversy before.

Imprisoned by Israel for five months and fined last year for “being in contact with hostile parties”, Sabaaneh and his backers said Israel sought to silence his mordant cartoons.

No public threats have been made against Sabaaneh, who thanked his supporters online. “Despite facing a committee of inquiry, I love this country,” he wrote on Tuesday.

Source: www.todayonline.com

February 4, 2015
Accident On PIE Left Car In Upright Position

Stompers Hakim and Ong came across this unusual sight on the PIE near the Tampines Avenue 5 exit at around 11am.

Based on the photos sent in by the Stompers, a grey coloured car was left hood-first in a vertically upright position on a grass patch between two lanes.

A white cloth resembling an air bag can also be seen near the driver’s seat.

Stomper Ong mentioned that recovery works are still ongoing as at 11.50am.

The SCDF were alerted to the accident at 10.40am and dispatched one ambulance.

The passengers, one man and one woman, were then conveyed to Changi General Hospital.

The man is in his 60s and the woman is in her 50s.

Source: http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg

February 3, 2015
Make Thaipusam A Public Holiday In Singapore Again!

I got this message yesterday. Anyone knows what the dish is?

Angelina who is a local Singaporean born Hindu who converted to Christianity will be filing an application this afternoon to challenge the banning of the drums during Thaipusam by the Law Minister Shanmugam. She will also be challenging the removal of Thaipusam as a public holiday by Lee Kuan Yew with its purported replacement Vesak Day.

Further, Angelina will tomorrow be carrying a kavadi at Sri Perumal Temple, Desker Road and she invites all members of the public to turn up to show solidarity with her. Her legal team from M Ravi’s practice will also be there to witness her religious observances.

Source: Ng Yi-Sheng

February 3, 2015
Tan Kin Lian Issues Apology For Offensive Post

Mr Tan Kin Lian has posted an apology regarding an insensitive comment he had earlier made on his Facebook account.

In his latest Facebook post, he said: “To my local Indian friends who feel offended about my posting on the SMRT bus 857, I extend my sincere apologies.”

He added that he was “actually surprised to see the entire bus full of one nationality. This was the first time that (he) encountered this situation.”

Mr Tan also said: “I intended my post to be a humour but it was badly taken by some quarters. Sorry, if it was in bad taste. I do not mean any disrespect to that nationality.”

A check of his Facebook account on Monday afternoon showed that he has removed the offending post originally published on Feb 1.

[email protected]

Netizens offended by Tan Kin Lian’s Facebook post by Stomp published on Feb 2

Netizens are outraged by ex-presidential elect Tan Kin Lian’s Facebook post.

In the post he wrote:

“I boarded SMRT 857 and found that I was in Mumbai. Hahaha”.

Stomp contributor JJ saw the post and alerted Stomp to it.

“The caption is appalling”, said the Stomp contributor, considering whom it was made by.

In the past, other people, some of them prominent figures, had found themselves in hot soup over posting they made on social media.

In 2012, NTUC assistant director, Amy Cheong was sacked after she made racist comments on Facebook.

She had complained about a Malay wedding that was being held at a void deck near her home.

In the post, she asked how society could “allow people to get married for $50 bucks and also wrote “void decks weddings should be banned. If you cant afford a proper wedding then you shouldn’t be getting married.”

Last year, a British expatriate, Anton Casey also came under fire for the offensive comments he made online.

On his Facebook profile he wrote:

“Daddy where is your car and who are all these poor people.”

Source: http://news.asiaone.com

February 3, 2015