Resort operator allowed a group of
Buddhists to hold meditation in his surau
Nation - Published:
Tuesday August 13, 2013 MYT 12:00:00 AM Updated: Tuesday August 13,
2013 MYT 6:55:56 AM
KOTA TINGGI: Police arrested the operator
of a resort in Tanjung Sedili Besar who had allowed a group of
Buddhists to meditate in a surau.
The 45-year-old, known as Ahmad and a
Singaporean with Malaysian PR status, was arrested yesterday
afternoon at the Tanjung Sutera Resort, 40km from
here.
Police said the incident is being
investigated under Section 295 of the Penal Code for injuring or
defiling a place of worship with intent to insult the religion of
any class.
Police took action after a video clip
depicting a group of Buddhists led by a monk chanting inside a
surau went viral.
Titled “Surau dijadikan tokong Buddha
di Johor (Surau converted to Buddhist temple in Johor)”, the
video showed the group sitting on mats while facing a picture of a
Buddhist religious figure, which was placed on a table underneath
Quranic verses that were hung on one of the
walls.
According to Johor Mufti Datuk Tahrir
Shamsuddin, the act was insulting to Islam.
“A surau is a place to worship Allah and it
should not have been used otherwise,” he said.
Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed
Khaled Nordin said the incident should not have happened in the
first place and all those involved were
“insensitive”.
“Action should be taken against the resort
to set a precedence.”
Several NGO’s are also calling for stern
action to be taken, with the Malaysian Muslim People’s Coalition
(IRIMM) calling on the authorities to penalise the resort’s
owner.
IRIMM president Amir Amsaa Alla Pitchay
said the act was disrespectful to Islam.
However, the Malaysian Consultative Council
of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism said in
this particular instance, it should not be seen as an insult to
Islam.
Its president Jagir Singh said while places
of worship were deemed sensitive, people should study the
circumstances surrounding this incident.
It was reported that the resort manager had
said that the group had wanted to use a hall to meditate, but none
was available, causing the management to allow them to use the
surau.
Jagir urged Malaysians to view the incident
in perspective, and what the Buddhists did was merely to pray, and
no offence against Islam was even intended.
He pointed out that the Malaysian Catholic
church had also reacted calmly in 2009 when several Muslim
reporters wrote that they had spat out the elements of the Holy
Communion after partaking of them, all in the name of
“investigative reporting”.
Jagir also exhorted all to look at
uplifting happenings, such as the one in India last August when
Muslim residents of Joshimath performed Aidilfitri prayers in a
Sikh temple after being invited there by its head
priest.
The Sikh’s made the offer – one that was
graciously accepted – after seeing that the normal Muslim prayer
ground was soggy after days of heavy rain.