Malaysia - Nurturing a Nation of Jihadists

Submitted by Abraham (Singapore), May 26, 2006 at 21:40

Violence and murder is being preached through Malaysia's own school curricula and textbooks. This is no an exaggeration. Its curriculum for Islamic Education is used to feed young minds with intolerance.

The secondary school syllabus for Islamic Education (Pendidikan Islam) includes learning how to deal with apostates and that one of the prescriptions is to kill them off.

In many widely-used Pendidikan Islam workbooks (which base their texts on the Ministry of Education's syllabus), imposing a death sentence on apostates is offered as a religious duty. Look at the extract of some of what is written (and the original Malay version for readers to check on context and accuracy).

For example, under the heading ‘Ways of Dealing with Apostates' (Cara menangani orang murtad), the following precepts are given:

1. Advise and persuade the offender to repent and return to Islam (menasihati dan memintanya supaya bertaubat dan kembali kepada Islam)
   
2. To impose a death sentence (melaksanakan hukuman bunuh)

The text also has a heading which reads: ‘The death sentence against an apostate who refuses to repent and return to Islam has several virtues'. (Hukuman bunuh terhadap orang murtad yang tidak mahu kembali kepada ajaran Islam mempunyai beberapa hikmah).

Among which are:

1. To show to others at large that Islam is not a religion to be mocked at will (menunjukkan kepada orang ramai bahawa Islam bukanlah agama yang boleh dipersenda dengan sewenang-wenangnya).
   
   
2. So that no one will dare to denigrate the Islamic religion (supaya tidak ada orang yang berani memburuk-burukkan agama Islam).

Already the hudud laws passed in the states of Kelantan and Terengganu are now in the process of being activated. But for the rest of Malaysia, punishing someone labeled apostate is nothing but a grave act.

How can we be sure that children fed with the above commands will not one day act to fulfill their jihad? Malaysia tells the world they are moderates but on the other hand quietly feed their young with poison. What will the future hold for secular Malaysia and the world at large?

How sad. Government-endorsed textbooks can seek to contort innocent young minds and turn them to jihadists and Islamists.

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