According to reported news, a 25-year-old Muslim school teacher in SJKC Nan Ya in Kota Tinggi was told to take off her “tudung” to continue teaching there by one of the school directors.
Everyone has the right to practise his or her respective faiths. If the news is true, we urge the said Director to apologize to the Muslim teacher without any delay.
However, we urge UMNO Youth not to over exaggerate the issue as if there are more and more non-Muslims insulting Muslims in our country.
Firstly, if the report is true, the said Director should be responsible for his words and come forward to apologise. UMNO Youth Education Bureau Chairman, Mohd Rafiq Naizamohideen should not suggest the Education Ministry to sack the school headmistress. Why should a headmaster be held responsible and blamed for a Director’s statement?
Secondly, UMNO Youth should not overstate the incident as part of “insults against Islam” which have become “more and more frequent”.
As a matter of fact, there is no such “more and more frequent” incidents that should be labeled as “insult against Islam”. Mohd Rafiq quoted Father Lawrence Andrew as an example. However, what Father Lawrence Andrew has done should not be labeled as an “insult to Islam” because there are many fellow Muslims shared his views, such as respected Islamic scholar and former Perlis Mufti Datuk Dr Asri Zainul Abidin, Sisters In Islam (SIS), Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir (daughter of the former Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammed), Siti Kasim and Nik Elin Nik Rashid (facebook event creators of “IN THE NAME OF ALLAH” who support the solidarity gathering at the Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Klang, Selangor) and many others.
Other than that, a United Arab Emirates daily – The National and Endy M Bayuni, Senior Editor of Jakarta Post also criticized the “Allah” ban.
In the eye of Mohd Rafiq, are all these Muslims abovenamed insulting Islam too?
Religious harmony is a vital foundation of a country, responsible leaders should encourage more dialogues and education in order to instill respect and tolerance among different beliefs, rather than adding fuel to the fire and stirring up the controversy.