Showing Disrespect

What would happen if somebody in an officially Muslim ocuntry, say Malaysia, were to turn up to a mosque and do something really horrible, say spit on the Koran?

From au.christiantoday.com

Two Malaysian Muslim Journalists Spark Anger With Church Article
By: Derick Ho
Christian Post Asia Correspondent


Malaysian authorities said Tuesday they are investigating complaints against an Islamic magazine that reported two Muslim journalists pretended to be Catholic and took Holy Communion during Mass to do research for an article.

Churchgoers, Joachim Xavier and Sudhagaran Stanley, filed a police report last week accusing the monthly ‘Al Islam’ magazine of desecrating the Christian practice of Holy Communion in an article written by two journalists who described how they tasted the wafer, representing the body of Jesus, and spat it out to take a photo of it, Al Arabiya New Channel reported.

The two journalists went undercover and pretended to be Christians to infiltrate a church they claimed was converting Muslims into Christians.

However, they wrote in their published article “Al Islam's investigation in church: Finding the truth behind youths' apostasy" that they found no proof of the church offering money to Muslim youths to convert to Christianity.

But the journalist duo who took the ‘Holy communion’ had criticized parts of the ceremony and wrote Christians strayed from the right path.

"Entering these premises with the intention to spy, and worse, to violate the sanctity of the worship only serves to incite anger and hatred that could lead to potentially dangerous consequences that would tear this country apart," Xavier and Stanley said in a statement.

Rev. Lawrence Andrew, the editor of the Herald, the Catholic Church’s main publication in Malaysia, said the men had "insulted the Christians" through their actions.

"For us, this is a very holy matter," Andrew told The Associated Press (AP). "They have shown disregard, disrespect. ... So we are very upset about this."

Norshamsinor Baharin, the assistant editor of Al-Islam, said the magazine did not want to make any statement for now. Al-Islam writes about Islamic teachings and news.

Church officials would not forbid non-Christians from attending Mass, but they cannot take Communion, Andrew told AP, adding that Catholics were also unhappy that the men had entered the church under false pretenses.

The magazine article indicated the men had spat out the Communion wafer because they took a photograph of it partially bitten.

Police federal crime investigations head Mohamad Bakri Zinin told Associated Press that the officials were investigating whether the two men had caused religious disharmony - a crime that carries a prison sentence of up to five years.

Christian, Buddhist and Hindu minorities - who comprise about one-third of Malaysia's population - often say their constitutional right to practice religion freely has come under threat from Muslim-dominated authorities. The government denies any discrimination.

Religious disputes include a court battle between the Catholic church and the government over a 2007 order banning non-Muslims from translating God as "Allah" in their literature. The government says its use would confuse Muslims, but Christians say the ban is unconstitutional. Christians have been fighting in the highest court of the country since 2007 to revert the case.

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