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Politics : Canadian Political Free-for-All -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Richnorth who wrote (10514)	9/11/2006 12:43:56 AM
From: Cogito Ergo Sum	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 37260

Rich, We pray that peoples of all faiths, all races, all nations, may have their great human needs satisfied; that those now denied opportunity shall come to enjoy it to the full; that all who yearn for freedom may experience its spiritual blessings; that those who have freedom will understand, also, its heavy responsibilities; that all who are insensitive to the needs of others will learn charity; that the scourges of poverty, disease and ignorance will be made to disappear from the earth, and that, in the goodness of time, all peoples will come to live together in a peace guaranteed by the binding force of mutual respect and love.” Maybe you should email a copy to the Malaysian government ? Al

To: Richnorth who wrote (10514)	9/11/2006 1:04:47 AM
From: Cogito Ergo Sum	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 37260

Hmmmm! What's the Matter here ? hrw.org Malaysia: Protect Freedom of Belief for Sky Kingdom (New York, July 21, 2005) The Malaysian government should respect the right of members of the Sky Kingdom to practice their beliefs, Human Rights Watch said today. Fifty-eight members of the religious group, including 30 women and five children, were arrested yesterday in the northeastern state of Terengganu by the State Religious Department, with help from the local police. They will be charged today under the Shariah Criminal Offences Act for practicing a “deviant religion,” and if found guilty could be fined and jailed up to two years. “The right to practice one’s religious beliefs freely is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” said Sam Zarifi, deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Asia Division. “This right applies equally to members of unorthodox groups, not just adherents of the major religions.” On July 18, a mob composed of 30 to 35 masked persons dressed in robes launched a pre-dawn attack on a six-acre commune commonly known as the “Sky Kingdom.” The commune is inhabited by the followers of Ayah Pin (whose real name is Ariffin Muhammad), who claims to be the reincarnation of the holy figures of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Islam. The mob reportedly tossed Molotov cocktails, slashed car tires with machetes, broke the windows of several homes, and partially scorched religious structures, including a giant teapot and an umbrella-shaped building. Malaysian police have failed to arrest anyone involved in the attack. “It’s the government’s responsibility to protect members of the Sky Kingdom from armed mobs,” Zarifi said. “Instead of harassing people who are peacefully following their beliefs, the police should be prosecuting those who attacked them.” Government scrutiny and harassment of the group, which has been going on for years, has increased recently. In 2001, Ayah Pin himself was convicted and jailed for 11 months by the Kota Bahru Shariah Court for “deviant practices,” referring to his unorthodox religious beliefs. Last month, the government identified 22 deviant sects of Islam and described Ayah Pin as the “top deviationist and its existence very challenging.” On July 3, 21 of Ayah Pin’s followers were arrested by religious and local police at the commune and charged for violating a fatwa (religious decree) that has ruled Ayah Pin’s teachings as deviant. In April 2005, local authorities ordered the owner of the land which houses the commune to demolish religious structures on the property, including a large, concrete teapot, an umbrella-shaped building, a floating ark, and a vase which stores holy water for devotees, stating they were illegally built on agricultural land and violated the building code.