Anger at Malaysia 'Jesus cartoon'

[Barrett808]

Source: BBC

Anger at Malaysia 'Jesus cartoon'
By Jonathan Kent
BBC News, Kuala Lumpur

A Malaysian newspaper is facing calls to shut down after it published an image of Jesus holding a cigarette and what appeared to be a can of beer.

Malaysia's Muslim-led government closed two publications last year for carrying controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.

Now some members of Malaysia's minority religions say they want the same treatment over this latest incident.

Religion is a famously sensitive subject in Malaysia.

So when Tamil-language newspaper, Makkal Osai, published a picture on its front page apparently showing Jesus smoking and drinking it was bound to cause offence.

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6960220.stm

[atreides1]

1. Okay

So maybe Jesus didn't smoke, but he did drink wine? Why take offense?

[Igel]

7. It may well be that theology has less to do with it than

equal rights.

For offenses against Islam, the government intercedes. It's a point of pride and honor to protect religious sensibilities and to punish those that defame the Prophet.

On the other hand, insult the Christ, eh. Just Xians. With an "X".

Plus the Malaysians undoubtedly see their neighbor, Indonesia, where killing Xians gets you a hefty prison sentence, calculated in months (that is), with constant reductions for every Muslim holy days. But even being in charge of organizing Xians that killed Muslims gets you the death penalty. The inherent inequality in a state that says it's tolerant and even-handed is jarring.

Then again, Malaysian Xians probably remember Mahathir. And just the thought of him makes me shudder a bit.

[Squatch]

2. Oh, for heaven's sake.

[Frisbee]

9. HAHA...

You read my mind (and beat me to the punch!) Well done!

[Cronus Protagonist]

18. hahaha check this one out too....

[burrowowl]

20. Dogma is one hell of a funny film!

I really recommend it!

[B3Nut]

32. Oh hell yeah!

I mean, you've got George Carlin as a cardinal, Alan Rickman as an angel, and Alanis Morissette as God. And Chris freaking Rock! What's not to like? :D

Todd in Cheesecurdistan

[superconnected]

3. It dosen't matter if smoking kills you if you can rise from the dead.

They need to get over it.

[jeff30997]

8. LOL!

But I think that walking on water under the influence is illegal.:)

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

4. different cultures, different sensibilities

but since the Muslim majority didn't like the cartoons of the Beloved Prophet (saw), I don't see why they aren't also outraged about these cartoons. Jesus was a prophet too according to Islam. But I can understand why the Christian minority is insenced--for the cartoon and the lack of solidarity by their Muslim brothers.

[pingzing58]

5. Totally agree.

[ret5hd]

6. Were the xtian minority in solidarity with their muslim brothers...

when the muslims were outraged?

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

10. But there is a difference

in that Christianity does not recognize Mohammed (saw) as a prophet, but Islam recognizes Jesus as one.

[ret5hd]

12. So the answer is "no"?

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

14. the answer is "I don't know"

because I don't have information on what the Christian community did at that time.

[yahyakehidupan]

39. The response of the Malaysian Christian Community

The Malaysian Christian Community thought that the Danish cartoons were in bad taste.

At the same time, however, democratically-minded Malaysians of all religions were upset that a Malaysian newspaper was banned for merely using one of the cartoons to illustrate the story of the controversy.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/cartoonprotests/story/0,,1707129,00.html
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/47258

[DivinBreuvage]

25. are african american minorities in solidarity with their anglo-saxon brothers

when the Anglo-Saxons in, say, Arizona, take umbrage over Martin Luther King day?

Being a Christian of any stripe in Malaysia might not be quite the same thing as being a Fundie Christian here, ret5hd. You silly child.

On edit: the oppression of a minority by the majority is nearly always wrong... even if the majority is not white and protestant.

[BadgerLaw2010]

21. Depictions of Jesus are considered blasphemous in Islam as well

Jesus is an Islamic prophet - not considered the Son of God - and depicting any Islamic prophetic figures is strictly forbidden.

Cursing Jesus at a radical Islamic protest would be a good way to be beaten to death.

[mallard]

30. Re: 'aren't also outraged'?

"... but since the Muslim majority didn't like the cartoons of the Beloved Prophet (saw), I don't see why they aren't also outraged about these cartoons. Jesus was a prophet too according to Islam. But I can understand why the Christian minority is insenced--for the cartoon and the lack of solidarity by their Muslim brothers."

The government is coming down hard on these papers, for good reasons you've cited.

mallard / penang malaysia

[Stuckinthebush]

11. Man, I'd love to have a beer with Jesus

I bet that would be a blast. Perhaps a pitcher...and we could shoot pool, too.

[gratuitous]

13. I played golf with Jesus . . . once

I had a new set of titanium clubs, and off the first tee I nailed it. On the green, within 10 feet of the cup. Jesus pulled out a crooked stick with a sock tied to the end of it. I think the sock was filled with cotton balls or something. He took a swing at his ball, topped it, and it rolled about 10 yards down the fairway. A bird flying overhead swooped down and picked up his ball, and dropped it on a tree branch. The ball rolled down the branch just as a squirrel came out of a hole in the trunk and swatted the ball off the branch toward a water hazard. The ball ricocheted off a rock and landed on the back of a turtle that was just coming out of the water. The turtle ambled across the green and shrugged the ball off, directly into the cup. I turned to the Lord and said, "You wanna play golf or you wanna just fuck around?"

And now I'm here at DU.

[Stuckinthebush]

29. LMAO!

"You wanna play golf or you wanna just fuck around?"

Priceless!

[Fierce]

16. Jesus built my hotrod.

Yeah, fuck it.

[Zhade]

15. Jesus guys, it's just a drawing.

What, you going to get pissed when someone draws Zeus or any other mythical deity in a less than worshipful manner?

It's like getting mad when Santa's depicted riding a Nerelco razor.

[daleo]

17. Pictures of bowls of spaghetti insense me

As a follower of FSM.

[Bucky]

31. I am offended by your use of being offended.

Offensiveness is sacred to me. Whenever you get offended, it's like you're spitting on my religion of offensiveness.

[treestar]

19. This is not of opposite effect

Since Muslims recognize Jesus as a prophet in their religion - they are more tolerant of references to Jesus than Christians are to references to Mohamed.

I was at a Muslim memorial service, and they let someone read a Christian prayer - can't imagine the opposite happening.

So if they make fun of Jesus, they are partly making fun of their own, too, not just attacking Christians. Their perception of Jesus should be learned before condemning this as offensive. It may not be the same as what Westerners/Christians making fun of Mohamed are doing. It's not necessarily just the reverse.

[pschoeb]

26. It's a Tamil newspaper so my guess is it's not Muslim

but Hindu.

I guess it was a mistake on their part, they downloaded this image from the internet



and didn't realize what was in his hands, which might be believable for non-christians, as the picture isn't really clear and kinda looks like a book, but any Christian would recognize something was wrong with Jesus hands as this is a classic Sacred Heart image.

The picture appeared with a religious quote, and the context didn't really seem to be mocking, so I think it was just a mistake

[treestar]

33. Heck, I might have missed it completely

The beer looks like some sort of prayer book.

:rofl:

It took me a second to see the cig and I was looking for it!

I bet the author is some American kid!

[yahyakehidupan]

38. Yes, I think the Makkal Osai guy was honestly mistaken

The newspaper had quickly apologized.

The Christian community in Malayisa had accepted the apology with good graces. http://sivinkit.net/archives/002743

Samy Velu got a Christian henchman, Peter Sinappan, a Puchong MIC member, to lodge a police report http://mrdefinite.com/?p=1172

Unlike countless other police reports that have been made about all sorts of other atrocities which have never been acted on, the government moved swiftly and closed down the newspaper! http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/71593

Read http://journals.democraticunderground.com/yahyakehidupan for why...

[LadyAziz]

22. Here we go again

I doubt it will cause as big of a uproar as the cartoons of Prophet Muhammad. People need to lighten up esp. fundies. But hey, Jesus w/ a cigarette and a can of beer say his an American. :patriot:

oh I hope I don't go to hell for that statement. :hide: :D

[Homer Wells]

23. Judging by the world around me,

I am convinced that God does indeed have a sense of humor. Chances are that He gave his kid one as well.

I, personally, would much rather have a HUMAN Christ than one who is so "holy" that he could never understand us poor silly tragic beings here on this big planet.

In other words, Screw 'em if they cant take a joke!!:evilgrin:

[LadyAziz]

24. Right on

:D

[GoddessOfGuinness]

27. I'd like to drink a beer with Jesus.

Hell, I'd even buy.

[Canuckistanian]

28. You'd only have to buy once

Then, he'd do the "loaves and fishes" trick and then Presto! Beer for everyone.

[Orsino]

36. Elect Jesus '08! n/t

[superconnected]

34. Newspaper suspended over Jesus picture

Source: Associated Press

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Malaysia's government ordered a Tamil-language daily to immediately halt publication for a month Friday as punishment for printing an image of Jesus Christ holding a cigarette, an official with the newspaper said.

S.M. Periasamy, general manager of Makkal Osai, which caters to Malaysia's ethnic Indian minority, said his office received the directive by fax from the Internal Security Ministry.

"Of course we are shocked by this. My entire staff are all in tears. They will lose a month of income," Periasamy said, adding that the newspaper would abide by the order but plans to appeal the suspension.

Ministry officials in this Muslim-majority nation could not immediately be reached for comment.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070824/ap_on_re_as/malaysia_jesus_picture

[superconnected]

35. ummm yeah, overlooked that cigarette...

"Malaysia's newspapers operate under government licenses that bar them from publishing potentially provocative material on religion, race and other topics.

On Thursday, Periasamy said a graphic artist — who has since been suspended — downloaded a picture of Jesus from the Internet for use along with a quote from the Bible on the paper's front page on Tuesday. But the artist overlooked the fact that the picture had been altered to insert a cigarette in one hand and another object — a can or a book — in the other, he said."

Sadly that country doesn't have a first amendment.

[yahyakehidupan]

37. A Malysian replies: The real situation with the "Anger at Malaysia 'Jesus cartoon'"

I found this forum as I was googling for "Makkal Osai Jesus", hoping to find an online copy of the picture that started this mess, and I found the post that Barrett808 made in the "Latest Breaking News" section, "Anger at Malaysia 'Jesus cartoon'"

I am a Malaysian and I can tell you that it is not at all like you thought.

Malaysian Christians are not up in arms to close down the Makkal Osai newspaper! The Makkal Osai promptly apologized for their mistake (they didn't intend to offend Christians -- they simply grabbed a picture of the Internet and didn't notice the cigarette) and Malaysian Christian leaders quickly accepted their apology.

However, the Makkal Osai had recently been publishing many articles exposing the corruption of a prominent government minister -- Samy Velu, who is also head of the component party of the ruling coalition, Malaysian Indian Congress.

It is for this reason that the government banned the newspaper! Not because of Malaysian Christians! It is a despotic anti-democratic and corrupt government pouncing on an excuse to shut down a newspaper that has been exposing its misdeeds.

Here's an article from MalaysiaKINI, an independent web-based newspaper. This is the only news"paper" out of the government's control because it is online, so there is no publishing license for the government to pull.

http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/71621

Behind the Makkal Osai’s suspension...

Andrew Ong
Aug 25, 07 6:50pm

The Internal Security Ministry’s decision to temporarily suspend the publishing license of Tamil daily Makkal Osai has raised several questions over the motives of the move.

Ministry officials said the suspension was punishment for the daily’s publication of an image of Jesus Christ which was deemed inappropriate and could endanger public order.

But Christian groups who initially protested against the daily however appear to be taken aback by the government’s reaction to the matter.

Thus far, two of Malaysia’s biggest Christian organisations - Roman Catholic Church and the Council of Churches Malaysia (CCM), representing Anglicans - have accepted Makkal Osai’s subsequent apology on the matter.

According to Malaysian Consultative Council for Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Sikhsm (MCCBCHS) president A Vaithilingam (left), upon consultation with Christian leaders in the council, found the suspension to be “drastic” for a “genuine error”.

The Roman Catholic Church, Council of Churches and the National Christian Evangelical Fellowship together form the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM), which represents some 90 percent of the Malaysian Christian community. CFM is also part of the interfaith group MCCBCHS.

“The matter has been forgiven by Christian leaders and the daily apologised two days in succession. In a matter of days, the ministry ordered for the suspension. I don’t know if they really investigated the matter or not,” Vaithilingam told malaysiakini.

Warning sufficient

Vaithilingam said the MCCBCHS’s position was also made known to a high-ranking Internal Security Ministry official who contacted him yesterday.

“The official said that the prime minister wanted to know our view on the matter. We suggested that a written warning would suffice,” Vaithilingam told malaysiakini.

Similarly, Archbishop Murphy Pakiam (right) said he was “perplexed and bemused” by the suspension.

“Christians believe in reconciliation. We are confident that the newspaper was sincere in its apology and will see to it that this does not happen again,” said Murphy in the New Straits Times today.

Previously, a delegation from Makkal Osai had met with Murphy to explain the matter where the latter had reportedly accepted their apology.

When contacted, CCM secretary-general Rev Dr Hermen Shastri too described the suspension as “drastic” as Makkal Osai had proven they had no ill-intent.

“The consequences of which, innocent people would not be getting their salary (due to the suspension). This is not the Christian way,” he said.

Hermen also questioned why the government had acted so swiftly on this matter but had not tackled other problems in the country, such as investigating the mob who confronted a church in Ipoh.

Political motives?

Makkal Osai, the country’s second best selling Tamil newspaper, published a picture of Jesus Christ purportedly holding a cigarette in one hand and a drink can in the other on the front-page of the daily’s Tuesday edition.

Accompanying the picture was a caption saying: “If someone repents for his mistakes, then heaven awaits him”.

The image and the message was part of the daily’s regular ‘Thought for the Day’ feature which highlighted famous quotations of world leaders and philosophers.

Meanwhile, Makkal Osai general manage M Periasamy (left) in a press statement today alleged that the matter had been blown out of proportion by MIC politicians.

“(Their statements) do not respect the views of Christian leaders who represent Christian groups and have taking advantage of the situation to stir religious sentiments for their political gains,” he said.

Periasamy also alleged that MIC politicians are instigating their members to lodge police reports on Makkal Osai.

‘Strangling the truth’

Makkal Osai is closely aligned to former MIC deputy president S Subramaniam, who is known to be MIC president Samy Vellu’s arch rival.

The daily had consistently produced critical reports against the MIC such as the criticism on the party’s problem-ridden investment arm Maika Holdings, which is due to have a controversial shareholders' meeting next week.

Over the past weeks, Makkal Osai has been running a series of special reports on Maika Holdings.

“(Their attacks against us now) is a ploy to stir up the (controversy over the picture) in order to strangle the truth,” added Periasamy.

He is expected to appeal against the ministry’s suspension on Monday.

The daily has a staff strength of nearly 100. It is understood that a Makkal Osai staff has been suspended indefinitely over the incident.

Makkal Osai is the latest victim in a string of ‘disciplinary actions’ taken media outlets ever since Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who is also internal security minister, came to power in 2003.

[yahyakehidupan]

40. Malaysian Christians mobilize to defend the Makkal Osai

A few days ago, soon after this matter broke, a campaign by Malaysian Christians started to Say No To Makkal Osai's Suspension
http://www.bobjots.org/2007/08/christians_must_say_no_to_makk.php

Nathaniel Tan, a Christian blogger who is assistant to Anuar Ibrahim, a major Muslim opposition party leader, wrote an analysis of this on his blog: http://jelas.info/2007/08/25/makkal-osai-suspended/

Many other Christian bloggers have condemned the politicians hijacking their faith in this matter, for example http://7rangers.blogspot.com/2007/08/mic-is-used-my-faith-to-suspend-makkal.html