Dear friends,
The Internal Security Ministry under the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 recently banned eighteen books published locally and overseas, as they have been deemed able to disrupt peace and harmony. The act prohibits any form of reproduction or distribution of these books, six of which are in Malay and the rest in English.
We would appreciate if you and your organisation/friends/family members/contacts could endorse the joint statement below by 28 June 2006. Please contact : waifong@cijmalaysia.org .The joint statement will be presented to Internal Security Minister and will also be sent to the media by 30 June 2006 .
Your support is most appreciated.
Thank you.
JOINT STATEMENT
We, the undersigned, wish to appeal to the Internal Security Minister to revoke the recent banning of the 18 books and other books previously banned as listed in the attachment. We are particularly concerned at the increasing number of books on Islam and religion that are being banned. A few of the authors, particularly Karen Armstrong and John Esposito, are both highly regarded scholars who are most sympathetic to Islam and Muslims worldwide. Their books are used as reference in courses on Islam in universities in both the East and West.
The ban is part of a worrying regressive trend displayed by those in authority on civil rights issues such as on liberalism and pluralism, Kongsi Raya open house and moral policing.
As concerned citizens, we ask that the Government ensure that a transparent and open process is employed if books are to be banned. There should be opportunity for readers and authors to question the decisions being made and the reasons behind the bans. In this instance, the given reason that these books could 'disrupt peace and harmony' is obviously unjustified, considering that these books have been in circulation for some time.
We are concerned that the space for discourse is narrowing and that Malaysian readers are deprived of ideas and debates by renowned scholars and writers, published by reputable institutions such as the Oxford University Press.
Such censorship on knowledge and ideas contradicts the Government's commitment to place knowledge on a pedestal and as the foundation of civilization, in accordance with the Government's stated policy of Islam Hadhari.
(List of banned books are as attached)
Endorsed by:
The Internal Security Ministry under the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 recently banned eighteen books published locally and overseas, as they have been deemed able to disrupt peace and harmony. The act prohibits any form of reproduction or distribution of these books, six of which are in Malay and the rest in English.
We would appreciate if you and your organisation/friends/family members/contacts could endorse the joint statement below by 28 June 2006. Please contact : waifong@cijmalaysia.org .The joint statement will be presented to Internal Security Minister and will also be sent to the media by 30 June 2006 .
Your support is most appreciated.
Thank you.
JOINT STATEMENT
We, the undersigned, wish to appeal to the Internal Security Minister to revoke the recent banning of the 18 books and other books previously banned as listed in the attachment. We are particularly concerned at the increasing number of books on Islam and religion that are being banned. A few of the authors, particularly Karen Armstrong and John Esposito, are both highly regarded scholars who are most sympathetic to Islam and Muslims worldwide. Their books are used as reference in courses on Islam in universities in both the East and West.
The ban is part of a worrying regressive trend displayed by those in authority on civil rights issues such as on liberalism and pluralism, Kongsi Raya open house and moral policing.
As concerned citizens, we ask that the Government ensure that a transparent and open process is employed if books are to be banned. There should be opportunity for readers and authors to question the decisions being made and the reasons behind the bans. In this instance, the given reason that these books could 'disrupt peace and harmony' is obviously unjustified, considering that these books have been in circulation for some time.
We are concerned that the space for discourse is narrowing and that Malaysian readers are deprived of ideas and debates by renowned scholars and writers, published by reputable institutions such as the Oxford University Press.
Such censorship on knowledge and ideas contradicts the Government's commitment to place knowledge on a pedestal and as the foundation of civilization, in accordance with the Government's stated policy of Islam Hadhari.
(List of banned books are as attached)
Endorsed by:
20 comments:
weggy, apa tajuk buku2 yg di ban tuh?
tq
1. The Bargaining for Israel: In the Shadow of Armageddon authored by Mona Johulan and published by
Bridge-Logos Publishers, United States (USA).
2. Islam (Mathew S Gordon, Oxford University Press (OUP))
3. Lifting the Veil (Trudie Crawford, Apple of Gold,United States)
4. A Fundamental Fear of Eurocentrism and the Emergence of Islamism (Bobby S Sayyid, Zed Books Ltd,
United Kingdom (UK))
5. Islam Revealed - A Christian Arab's View of Islam (Dr Anis A Shorrosh, Thomas Nelson Publishers, USA)
6. What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam (John L Esposito, OUP)
7. Mini Skirts Mothers & Muslims (Christine Mallouhi, publisher not available)
8. The Battle for God Fundamentalism in Judaism, Christianity and Islam (Karen Armstrong, Harper
Collins, UK)
9. Kundalini For Beginners (Ravindra Kumar, Health Harmony, B Jain Publishers (P) Ltd, India)
10. Sacred Books of the East (Epiphanius Wilson, J-Jeiley Asian Educational Services, India)
11. Sharing Your Faith with A Muslim (Akbidayah Akbar Abdul-Haqq, Bethany House Publishers, USA)
12. Cults, World Religions and The Occult (Kenneth Bon, Chariot Victor Publishings, UK)
13. Petua dan Doa Pendinding, Penawar, Penyembuh Penyakit (Awang Mohd Yahya, Unsie Publisher, Kuala
Lumpur)
14. Hakikat & Hikmah 7 Hari Dalam Seminggu (Abu Nashr Al-Hamdanly, Pustaka Ilmi, Batu Caves, Selangor)
15. Pemuda Bani Tamim Perintis Jalan Imam Mahdi (Abu Muhammad, Penerbit Giliran Timor)
16. Kontroversi Hukum Hudud (Kassim Ahmad, Forum Iqra Berhad, Penang)
17. Risalah No.2 Dilema Umat Islam-Antara Hadis dan Quran (Kassim Ahmad, Forum Iqra Berhad, Penang)
18. Siri 7 Amalan-Amalan Bid'ah Pada Bulan Syaban (Ustaz Rasul bin Dahri, Percetakan Putrajaya Sdn Bhd)
wegrot
jom superman this saturday?
or are you not free?
suparrrDzu
i am not, i'll be at sunway lagoon resort hotel the whole weekend, working ... go ahead + take loads of pictures!
p.s.
i'll be missing from this weekend onwards + will be back for shazlan's wedding + later off to jakarta ... pheewwwiiittt!
deru sang ombak bersilir ke pantai
disambut alunan nyiur melambai
rembulan megah di atas mahligai
Tersenyum melihat kita berdua
Angin membawa lagu cinta
Sejuta bintang bermain mata
Seakan rela dua insan
di dalam skenarionya
antara Anyer dan Jakarta
kita jatuh cinta
antara Anyer dan Jakarta
kisah cinta tiga malam
kan kuingat selamanya
antara Anyer dan Jakarta
Izan, Kairin, Allya + Shazlan
see you guys soon!
dzu, jom movie ;) - i will make it this time. hehe.
agus? dtg la wei, kalau jadi ...
wegra nak g jakarta? jgn lupa minum teh botol ;) .. selamat bekerja dihujung minggu yg cik yaya. btw, u dah penah baca one of the books ka? heard abt book no 8, read the summary - guess not going to read the whole book la ...
i am sure that this trend will go on and will not change in my lifetime...we still hv a long way to go
bertique
i've read most of armstrong's
My point, the way Islam is taught in our country is similar to that in Afghanistan prior Taliban. We are too bogged down with materials, rituals, we forgot to look at the values it imparts. Arrogantly imposing a ban on books that would encourage people to reflect + dig for answers would do more harm under this circumstances.
My belum cukup makan garam opinion.
gravt kills
have you resigned to that? i'm still holding on to the hope
i'd say yes to the banning of them books.malaysians are way too vulnerable to handle the issue.
ti.e.na
you're saying malaysians are weak?
oits! i'm strong OK!
*wegra angkat dumbbell*
so how do we address the vulnerability ... continue protecting or feed them with energy food + let them roam in the open?
p.s.
the vulnerable malaysians iqra' ke pun?
hmm ... have not read the book, can't really comment. but i do agree with your feedback.
tak tau kat mana silap, probably in the interpretation .. or what nots. if we were to take a few step back, i think "misyar" is a good example.
this is an information i got from an imam, yg nak nikahkan my fren. dia ckp misyar (sebutan mis-yar, bukan mi-syar) ialah kawin yg angkat akad shj. tak yah majlis, so tak yah keluar duit utk lelaki/perempuan.
TETAPI - tanggungjawab seorang lelaki selepas itu tetap sama. harus sediakan segala kelengkapan rumah utk si isteri, bukan hanya batiniah. dan ini ialah makna perkawinan misyar yg datang dr imam2 di arab ..
kita, di malaysia .. punyai maksud yg sgt berlainan .. kan? salah siapa?
tuh belum lagi kes islam hadhari ..
wallahualam ..
bertique
that definition of mi-syar i donch mind
bertique
that mi-syar make more sense OK!
demmit you peeps yang feed me with songsang information!!! demmit me for not exploring further!!!
eh mis-yar
*wegra is obviously excited with the new input*
Aku nengok suparman mlm ni, mid valley 9.30pm. ada RHB promo pass sneak prebiu. Tapi ujong minggu ni aku misti ada punya. doncha worry.
kasi angkat la itu ban. tapi kalau them books were in circulation, the cetek malaysians will sure buat kecoh after reading them and ask for a ban all the same. they aren't many but they still sound foul.
superman tak pulak depa ban. bukan terlalu mistik dan tak logik ke citer nih? boleh buat taksub gitu. Macan Gaban. Macam depa buat kecoh pasal doraemon dedulu. argh, begitulah senario di kampung halamanku....
agus
ntah ntah ada conspiracy theory behind it all ... to cover a bigger problemo, they pukul canang on the smaller non detrimental issue ... jeng! jeng! jeng!
*wegra berangan jadi partner will smith in man in black 4*
p.s.
gila ke bagi idea ban superman????
nanti i nak berangan jadi superhero cemana wehh tak de source of inspiration???
hi superman!
tak pa la u, kita learn from each other. good info to know, from the right source. baca paper, baca mentri punya komen apa ada kan ..
kalau ur fren tanya, at least skang dah ada clearer definition la ..
mis-yar .. bukan mi-syar yek ..
i m superman. hi wegra. *wink*
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