Comments: Religious judges

Sat, 06/06/2009 12:27 PM  |  Reader's Forum

Members of a coalition of hard-line Muslim organizations, including the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) and the Muslim Forum (FUI), staged a rally in Jakarta on Monday demanding the government ban Ahmadiyah, an Islamic sect accused of heresy. Observers have warned that the protests against the sect could become a political issue ahead of the Presidential election.

Your comments:
What's in your mind, guys? Do you think you have authority to judge a belief?

It's only God's right to do so. Please, Islam teaches us to love others, even all of Allah's creatures, not only human beings. Don't you understand a figh qaidah says that "dar al-mafasid muqaddam *ala al-jalb al-masalih".

It's clear that from an Islamic perspective to prevent violence, chaos and disharmony is to be prioritized over attempting to reinforce a truth - from your perspective. Your behavior has given Islam a horrifying face, internationally.

Irham Ali

These people are the ugly face of a gathering of religious and cultural intolerance which is eating away at the fabric of so many traditional Indonesian cultures where tolerance of other people's beliefs has been a proud tradition.

Those that choose to follow Ahmadiyah surely have the right to do so in a modern democracy where religious freedom is supposedly guaranteed.

Religious intolerance has been exploited with disastrous consequences in authoritarian and communist regimes. I hope the Government of Indonesia is never bludgeoned into supporting religious suppression and intolerance.

Perhaps these people are already asking us to chose between democracy and hypocrisy?

Nairdah

One of Cambodia's precious gems--June 2, p. 28

The prime minister's insult might be considered typical in a country with continuing gender inequality, but that didn't mean Mu Sochua was going to take it lying down. For 20 years, Mu Sochua has been a voice for exploited Cambodians.

As the Vietnam War spread to Cambodia in 1972, the then 18-year-old was exiled, with no chance to say goodbye to her parents, who later vanished under the Khmer Rouge regime. She spent 18 years overseas, studying and working in Paris, the US and Italy and in refugee camps along the Thai-Cambodian border.

Your comments:
This article is very biased toward the fact that you (the writer) happen to be a family friend who cannot distinguish facts from emotions. The whole world sympathizes with Mu Sochua's cause; however, the way she is going about it with this specific incident is childish.

Cheung klang in Cambodian is not derogatory at all. It has a lesser effect than Gordon Brown calling Tony Blair a "bloody idiot" during sessions, and that was not taken personally.

Cheung klang in Cambodian is similar to the English words "smart ass" or even "big-headed".

When Mu Sochua decided to take the prime minister's words personally and went on the attack, freedom of speech in Cambodia actually plummeted, meaning that anyone who dares to criticize anybody can be hit with a defamation lawsuit.

The prime minister has never once voiced any criticism toward Mu Sochua. Suing for defamation on grounds of "implied" allegations does not hold up in a court of law.

David S.

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