KUALA LUMPUR Aug 2 — Islamic officials should kick out any person promoting other religions outside their prayer halls, said an interfaith organisation that denounced a group recorded offering “free Bible courses” outside a surau in Melaka.
According to Free Malaysia Today, Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) vice president Tan Hoe Chieow said the action was wholly unacceptable in Malaysia.
“You do not do things like what you see here,” he was quoted as saying in the report.
Tan suggested that the people recorded doing so in a video circulating online could be from a “deviant” sect of Christianity, before asking Christians to help identify the group.
The interfaith group leader said he did not believe them to be part of any official church in Malaysia as none would condone such action.
Tan added that while freedom of religion was enshrined in the Federal Constitution, proselytisation towards Muslims was prohibited here.
“I don’t think they are from any church (in Malaysia) because no church as far as we know will do such things.”
The officials from the surau involved should also lodge a police report in order to those involved to be investigated and charged if they were to repeat their promotion, Tan said.
In the clip about 16 seconds’ long, several people are seen setting up a standee with pamphlets seemingly promoting a “free bible course”.
However, the video was not defined enough to be able to discern if the pamphlets were of any specific Christian denomination.
Christianity is not monolithic and there exist both major denominations that are officially recognised, as well as various informal sects and offshoots.
