No invite for Jesus to Malaysian Christmas
By Ioannis Gatsiounis

KUALA LUMPUR - In multi-ethnic Malaysia, where Muslims make up a slim majority and control the government but where there are also sizeable Christian, Hindu and Buddhist minorities, news that the government would ban any reference to Jesus in hymns and Christian symbols like the nativity scene from its Christmas Day open house, was destined to ruffle some feathers.

According to reports, the request to ban the mention of Jesus at the public Christmas celebration at Petaling Jaya on December 25 - held in the presence of King Syed Sirajuddin and Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi - was made in order to "protect Muslim sensibilities".

At first the state-neutered press ignored the story; it generally considers race and religion too sensitive to discuss. But with a swelling number of postings to websites, blogs and e-mail chat groups questioning the logic of the decision - and by way, the substance of Malaysia's brand of "tolerance and diversity" - it wasn't long before the mainstream media weighed in.

"In the end," declared an editorial in a ruling-party paper on Monday, "it turned out to be a case of much ado about nothing." Mere "rumors", the paper added.

Evidence points to the contrary. But this response, along with church officials' concurrence with it - despite the fact that the same church leaders charged the government with usurping Christmas in the first place - are a window into the tendency to truncate discussion on racial and religious differences; they provide a closer look at how this inclination has worked to both preserve and undermine national unity here.

Neighboring Singapore's former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew once said he felt relieved not to have had to govern Malaysia, with all the challenges involved in keeping its various groups contented. It was an indirect compliment to Malaysian leadership; Malaysia hasn't undergone large-scale racial violence since 1969. And it was no doubt toward preserving this trend that government representatives, according to church leaders close to the discussions, requested that Jesus' name and representative symbols be banned from the official Christmas ceremony.

The request is nothing new. According to a church insider speaking on the condition of anonymity, the government has been urging similar restraints from the church for each of the last three years. Each year the church has acquiesced. "The difference is," he said, "this year someone decided to speak up."

If someone had not, it's hardly likely Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Dr Rais Yatim would have declared, "There is no ban, officially or unofficially" or participated in a soft-pitch interview that accompanied the editorial on Monday. In it he was asked, "Will Christmas hymns be allowed?" He replied, "Why not? ... why should we say no to Christmas carols? Yes, some quarters have tried to say that the government is imposing restrictions and prohibitions. To this, I say: 'Attend the Christmas party ... Then talk.'"

Not everyone is satisfied with this reply. They point out that there is a difference between hymns and carols; that the use of Jesus' name, the central point of contention, was never mentioned during the interview; and that saying there was no ban obfuscates the government's intentions - a strongly worded request by the government is as good as a ban.

Some Christian leaders said the request is understandable, given the nature of the event. "The government doesn't want the celebration to turn into a religious issue, they want to bring Malaysians together, not to ostracize them," said Reverend Dr Herman Shastri of the Council of Churches in Kuala Lumpur. Shastri attended the handful of meetings between the government and church officials in preparation for the event. "We have agreed to use more neutral symbols like stars and Christmas trees [instead of ones representing Jesus]. It is a social event and not a religious event. Celebrating the joy of being together as Malaysians is what it's about. Religion is not primary."

Others feel that banning Jesus from the party is more divisive than inviting him, even if Muslims see Jesus as the second-to-last prophet and Christians worship him as the son of God.

"What is so sensitive about celebrating in public the birth of Jesus?" asked a letter writer to a local news website. "If [the government] is sincere in joining in the festivity, it should accept Christianity for what it is and not try to manipulate the meaning of Christmas by banning the use of the word 'Jesus'. This is not only an insult to Christians but an insult to Islam as well."

Many non-Muslims here quietly resent the ruling party's promotion of Islam, unrestrained as they see it. Indeed much of the architecture of a new multi-billion dollar administrative capital is Islamic-themed. A "floating" mosque there towers beside a lake, but churches or Indian and Chinese temples have gone missing. At many public functions the doa, a request to Allah, is spoken aloud, while non-Muslims are requested to silently make their own allegiances or requests.

Non-Muslims are ever more concerned with the Islamic revival that took root here in the late 1970s. The revival has gained steam in recent years, partly due to globalization and the foreign policy of some developed nations, which many Muslims here equate with a war against Islam. Another factor contributing to the revival is the struggle between the opposition conservative Islamic party, Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS), and the ruling United Malays National Organization (UMNO).

Each party has made a show of its Islamic credentials to secure Muslim votes. The concern with this development, not only among non-Muslims, is that the parties are using Islam for their own political gain.

In March, however, the ruling coalition, thought to be more moderate than PAS, won parliamentary elections decisively. And some supporters of the Islamic revival point out that revivalism and fundamentalism should not be equated with intolerance and insensitivity. Indeed, the tendency here among most Muslims has been to find a way to coexist peacefully with non-Muslims. Thus far it has worked. But pockets of the Islamic community have become more assertive as the changing global landscape has made them more sensitive to perceived slights. This can be dangerous, said Hatta Ramli, a central committee member of PAS.

The government needs to think a little bit harder about the true meaning of tolerance, Ramli said. "Why should there be restrictions for Christians on Christmas? Let [Christians] organize [the event] how they wish, and if [non-Christians] want to visit, it's up to them."

Added Rashid Moten, professor of political science at the International Islamic University here: "The Islamic state offers freedom of religion to others." The Malaysian constitution lists Islam as the official religion but recognizes the right to embrace and practice other faiths. Rights, though, have been known to be curbed. For instance, Christians are barred from printing and disseminating the Bible in the national language, Bahasa Melayu.

Moten said slighting other religions to protect Muslims could have societal repercussions; if groups are sheltered from being exposed to the ideas and practices of other faiths, then they are less likely to tolerate them when, inevitably, they do come in contact with them.

Shastri said in the era of globalization, Muslims have ample exposure to non-Muslim practices, from Hollywood movies to news media to fashion. Furthermore, he said, Muslim suspicion of some Christian practices is warranted, given the history of proselytizing among some Christian sects here.

In the end, he said, he was happy to meet the government's requests. "We don't want to overdo it because [the event] will bring together people of different cultures and religions." Besides, he added, "there is no shortage of promotion of what Christmas is about."

But among the mid- and lower levels of church leadership, disquiet lingers over the government's request. These voices say that the government's demand is the tip of the iceberg - that the government has been passively aggressively slighting minority religions for some time now, and is getting bolder. Recently, for instance, Muslims were barred from watching the film The Passion of the Christ. Only a handful of theaters were allowed to show the film.

The church insider mentioned above said that while church leadership and the government regret that the disagreement was made public and are trying hard to put and end to the controversy, that it was exposed is a victory for non-Muslims, and in turn for Malaysia.

In Malaysia, he said, the government deems many of the issues dearest to the rakyat's (citizen's) hearts - from race to religion to human rights - too sensitive to discuss. "So no one takes the bull by horns for fear of being accused of inciting unrest. But the more people keep quiet, [the] more their rights are going to be eroded."

Shastri said he has full confidence that the Christmas day celebration will be held in the true spirit of Malaysia. Christmas hymns as well as Malay and Chinese songs will be sung, he said.

If past official Christmas ceremonies here are an indication, all
caroling with any Christian connotation will cease upon the entry of the Muslim agong (king).

But when interviewed on Wednesday, minister Yatim said he didn't know if this would be the case. "I have not seen the program. Organizers will do what is proper for the agong to see."

Ioannis Gatsiounis, a New York native, has worked as a freelance foreign correspondent and previously co-hosted a weekly political/cultural radio call-in show in the US. He has been living in Malaysia since late 2002.

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