Muslim Civility and Decorum?

A heartening story about reasonable control over media, in a predominantly Muslim country, for the protection of Christian imagery.

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Newspaper Suspended Over Jesus Picture

By JULIA ZAPPEI,AP

Posted: 2007-08-25 01:39:29

Filed Under: Weird News

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (Aug. 25) - 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.

The newspaper had said it published the photo by mistake Tuesday and carried a front-page apology Thursday.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Thursday that the picture was hurtful and an insult to Christians. Kuala Lumpur archbishop, Murphy Pakiam, criticized the picture as a "desecration," but later accepted the newspaper's apology.

Ethnic Indians comprise 10 percent of Malaysia's 26 million people, and are mostly Hindus with a sprinkling of Christians and Muslims. Chinese, who follow Christianity and Buddhism, make up 25 percent, while Malay Muslims comprise 60 percent.

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.

The Malaysian Indian Congress , a party in Malaysia's ruling coalition, had called on the government to close the paper, which is generally critical of the MIC.

Makkal Osai is one of two Tamil-language newspapers catering to Malaysia's largely Tamil-speaking ethnic Indians. The other newspaper is aligned with the MIC.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

2007-08-24 20:44:53

Comments

[Phil]

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

"The Malaysian Indian Congress , a party in Malaysia's ruling coalition, had called on the government to close the paper, which is generally critical of the MIC. "

Sorry, but this does not constitute reasonable control in my book, but creating infinite possibilities for the government to curb political critism and free speech in general. A lack of a first amandment-like right has done its fair share of evil in many countries around the world, most notably in prolonging brutal dictatorships.

If the media publishes something that's offensive, the reasonable reaction is that you don't buy the magazine. If it's particularly gross, organise a demonstration to make yourself heard. If it's really, really over the top try a civil case. But having the government ban publications because they're merely offensive is opening pandora's box; tomorrow (or in this case, yesterday) they'll ban simply for opposing the government. Malaysia isn't that strong on the democratic front.

Besides, government is not there to outlaw all sin - if they try they always end up with very strange and rerailed notions of the concept. And God is perfectly capable of dealing with those himself. As long as there isn't a breach of the peace government should stay out of these things.

Decorum and civility requires a voluntary retraction and apology, not one obtained under duress from the government.

[ffred]

Reasonable control? Shame on you. Maybe all those wackos on the left were correct when they said that Christians want a theocracy.

Christianity has done quite well without the government punishing those that do something stupid.

This was not some means of protecting Christianity - Jesus is a Muslim figure as well. They call him "Issa", and the reason they banned the picture is that it defamed a prophet of Islam.

[lovehatetragedy]

i agree with the statement above that that was not meant to protect Christianity but as their way of protecting their "Isa". it's very hard to live in a country that is prejudice to Christianity. I'm a Malaysian Catholic and i know how difficult it could be when they stressed more on their religion in schools and in the law ifself.