YOURSAY ‘Who paid for the 24,000 mosques and surau nationwide?’

‘Umno should insult us by building churches’

 

Umno calls DAP’s mosque plan ‘insult to Muslims’

yrsayumnoshouldinsultus Kingfisher: The apparently unassuming and highly educated Kelantan Umno liaison chairperson Mustapa Mohamed, who was thought to be a reasonable and fair-minded politician, has proved very disappointing with his shockingly parochial remarks – that DAP’s plan to build a mosque in Gua Musang is an insult to Muslims.

It is quite amusing to read his reference to ‘halal’ considering the constant debate in this country about corruption, abuse of power and the acquisition of disproportionate assets. Or is that why he is emphasising it?

His statement is a learning experience for many who will now realise that a seemingly fair-minded man may have a distorted sense of logic not consistent with the public impressions about him.

What a huge disappointment in an otherwise already depressing environment.

Justine Gow: If DAP were to decline the request to build a mosque from the imam and the residents in Gua Musang, I think Umno Baru would very likely accuse DAP of being anti-Islamic.

Since it is deprived of this opportunity to label DAP as anti-Islamic, it is now crying that DAP’s plan to build the mosque is an insult to Muslims. It has to do better than this – explain to us why it is an insult.

How is it an insult when building the mosque is done at the request of the people who are going to use it? DAP is building the mosque on humanitarian ground, just like NGOs rebuilding homes and mosques for victims of earthquakes in Indonesia.

If my home is destroyed by a flood or earthquake and an organisation is willing to help me rebuild it today without imposing any condition on me, why must I wait tomorrow or next year for the government aid which may or may not come?

Well Thats Fantastic: Mustapa, who paid for the 24,000 mosques and surau nationwide? If it was our tax money, then you have no right to get credit for doing it. That is called doing your job.

Swipenter: Temples and churches need federal funds. How come there is so little for them and so hard for non-Muslims to get such allocation from the federal government.

They also welcome donations from Muslims and non-adherents. A good deed is a good deed, irrespective who the contributor is.

Doc: Mustapa, as an authority on ‘halal’ issues regarding donations to Islamic causes, especially on the building of mosques, I would like to ask for your opinion.

I received two letters recently addressed to my clinic requesting for donations. One was from an orphanage managed by Malays and house only Malay kids following strict Islamic principles and the other letter is from an organisation seeking to build a mosque.

So, as a non-Muslim, I am concern if the donation provided by myself to these organisations may be deemed ‘non-halal’. Please advise urgently whether non-Muslims can donate to Islamic causes here in Malaysia.

Wira: When I contributed years ago to the building of the Penang state mosque, I was never questioned whether my money was halal or otherwise.

What if the money contributed by many non-Muslims were then haram? Are you going to tear it down to rebuild?

Proarte: DAP should know better than to play politics with religion. Let the local population source funds from the public or government.

Will the DAP also be re-building churches for the Orang Asli in Kelantan who have seen their places of worship demolished?

Anyway, it is a coup of sorts for the DAP because the request came from the resident imam of the surau. Let us hope DAP will not make a habit of playing ‘caliph’ in the hope of portraying a Malay/Islam friendly image.

This will add to unnecessary religious tension as we are now seeing Umno declaring the building of a mosque by DAP as an insult to Muslims. DAP should just focus on good governance and not play politics on the Islamic terrain.

2Kali5: It looks like Malaysians are the smartest in all aspects, religion included. The French Muslims never complained or rejected the Grand Mosque in Paris, built in 1926 by the French government to honour those Muslims who fought for the country in WW1.

KnockKnock: I am a Muslim and I intend to donate to DAP to build the mosque. Is that halal or haram?

SSDhaliwal: While the money given by Umno to their contractors to build mosques at inflated prices belongs to the taxpayers, it is questionable if it is halal, especially given the swindling of billions by Umno.

Myop101: I agree it is an insult – insult in so far that the federal government failed to fulfill its role and this leads to local residents seeking help from others.

Vision2020: Non-Muslims have no qualm for the government to build churches, temples and shrines for their devotees without any string attached. This is a benevolent deed.

Similarly, what is wrong for non-Muslims to support building the ‘masjid’ (mosque) for timely reconstruction of Kelantan villages from the flood calamity? That shows how out of touch the BN government is with the rakyat.

Zappy-Zapzap: Umno, is this what Islam teaches us? To deny good deeds by a political party you hate? Why is the federal government not coming to build the mosque before the DAP made its announcement?

Stig: Since DAP has insulted Muslims by planning to build a mosque, Kelantan Umno should repay this act by building churches, Buddhist temples, Hindu temples, and maybe even a synagogue, to insult the other religions.


The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakinisubscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. Over the past one year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now.

These comments are compiled to reflect the views of Malaysiakinisubscribers on matters of public interest. Malaysiakini does not intend to represent these views as fact.