Two Malaysian Muslim Journalists Spark Anger With Church Article


By: Derick Ho
Christian Post Asia Correspondent
Wednesday, 15 July 2009, 8:51 (EST)
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Malaysian authorities said Tuesday they
are investigating complaints against an Islamic magazine that reported two
Muslim journalists pretended to be Catholic and took Holy Communion during Mass
to do research for an article.

Churchgoers, Joachim Xavier and Sudhagaran
Stanley, filed a police report last week accusing the monthly ‘Al Islam’
magazine of desecrating the Christian practice of Holy Communion in an article
written by two journalists who described how they tasted the wafer, representing
the body of Jesus, and spat it out to take a photo of it, Al Arabiya New Channel
reported.

The two journalists went undercover and pretended to be
Christians to infiltrate a church they claimed was converting Muslims into
Christians.

However, they wrote in their published article “Al Islam's
investigation in church: Finding the truth behind youths' apostasy" that they
found no proof of the church offering money to Muslim youths to convert to
Christianity.

But the journalist duo who took the ‘Holy communion’ had
criticized parts of the ceremony and wrote Christians strayed from the right
path.

"Entering these premises with the intention to spy, and worse, to
violate the sanctity of the worship only serves to incite anger and hatred that
could lead to potentially dangerous consequences that would tear this country
apart," Xavier and Stanley said in a statement.

Rev. Lawrence Andrew, the
editor of the Herald, the Catholic Church’s main publication in Malaysia, said
the men had "insulted the Christians" through their actions.

"For us,
this is a very holy matter," Andrew told The Associated Press (AP). "They have
shown disregard, disrespect. ... So we are very upset about
this."

Norshamsinor Baharin, the assistant editor of Al-Islam, said the
magazine did not want to make any statement for now. Al-Islam writes about
Islamic teachings and news.

Church officials would not forbid
non-Christians from attending Mass, but they cannot take Communion, Andrew told
AP, adding that Catholics were also unhappy that the men had entered the church
under false pretenses.

The magazine article indicated the men had spat
out the Communion wafer because they took a photograph of it partially
bitten.

Police federal crime investigations head Mohamad Bakri Zinin told
Associated Press that the officials were investigating whether the two men had
caused religious disharmony - a crime that carries a prison sentence of up to
five years.

Christian, Buddhist and Hindu minorities - who comprise about
one-third of Malaysia's population - often say their constitutional right to
practice religion freely has come under threat from Muslim-dominated
authorities. The government denies any discrimination.

Religious disputes
include a court battle between the Catholic church and the government over a
2007 order banning non-Muslims from translating God as "Allah" in their
literature. The government says its use would confuse Muslims, but Christians
say the ban is unconstitutional. Christians have been fighting in the highest
court of the country since 2007 to revert the case.