 Christian children's books were confiscated by the Malaysian authorities, claiming the illustrations of prophets such as Abraham, and Moses violate Islamic Shariah law.
The Internal Security Ministry confiscated the literature from bookstores in two cities, which was report by the independent news agency Malaysakini. The Malaysian Embassy would not comment on this issue.
General secretary of the Malaysian Council of Churches Rev. Hermen Shastri, confirmed the report and accused the government of persecuting Christians. Mr. Shastri stated The officials have offended the sensitivities of Christians because their publications and depictions of their Biblical personalities have now become targets of unscrupulous Muslim officials bent on curtailing religious freedom in the country. Mr. Shastri went on to say Immediate steps should be taken to amend administrative rules and regulations, especially in the Internal Security Ministry, that give a free hand to enforcement officials to act on their whim and fancies. In Malaysia other religious groups say they are being targeted as the nation slowly surrenders jurisdiction to Shariah courts. It is estimated by The U.S. State Department that 60 percent of Malaysians are Muslim, The others remaining are Buddhist, Hindus, Christians, and other religions. Books were confiscated from Johor Bahru, Senawang and Ipoh, by the officials from the Publications and Koran Texts Control Department, a division of the Internal Security Ministry headed by Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi. They said it offended the Muslims, because Islam forbids the depiction of prophets. Images of the prophet Muhammad are forbidden, Other images are accepted of early Muslim leaders such as Ali and Hussein. Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, stated the West should acknowledge there are civilizations today that continue to uphold religious values in the public sphere, even if many Western governments and societies do not. The Malaysian government banned the use of the name "Allah" in any religion other than Islam. Allah is used by both Christians and Muslims throughout the Arab world. Allah, the Arabic word for "God, In Malaysia Christian and Sikh religious literature often uses the word Allah to refer to God. Complaints have been filed by the church leader in civil courts arguing that the Allah rule infringes on religious freedom. Religious conversion cases has been criticized for granting special privileges to Muslims in the multiethnic and secular nation. Federal Constitution Article 3 states the official religion of Malaysia is Islam, but Article 11 protects the right to religious freedom. The Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled Friday that the wife of a Christian Malaysian could be buried by her husband. The ruling overturned a decision by the Federal Islamic Territorial Council, which claimed the woman converted to Islam only six days before she died. The High Court hearing marked a departure from civil court precedents in which Islamic matters are sometimes given to Shariah courts. "The civil courts are saying they aren't competent to decide whether someone is a Muslim where Islamic interests are invoked," Ms. Wu said. Only the Shariah courts can decide whether you are a Muslim — and the Shariah courts will not hear the testimony of non-Muslims."
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