10/06/2020 Malaysia (International Christian Concern) – A Malaysian member of the parliament who made an offensive remark on August 26, calling the Bible “corrupted,” still refuses to apologize in spite of multiple requests from his colleague, interfaith groups, and Christian organizations.
During a recent session in parliament, Pasir Puteh MP Nik Muhammad Zawawi Nik Salleh, a prominent Muslim politician who studied in Egypt and Jordan, claimed the Bible has been distorted from its original meaning. He also added that the New Testament did not reflect the true message of Jesus’ life and ministry because the text had been altered over the centuries.
His remarks upset many Christians in the Muslim-majority country. Several MPs also went after Zawawi for voicing this view in parliament, saying his comments were religiously divisive and asking him to apologize.
But the Muslim MP insisted that these Christians have no right to be offended because what he had said was not accusation but a “fact.”
According to UCA News, Archbishop Julian Leow Beng Kim, a prominent and outspoken Catholic clergyman, and several other religious leaders from the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism have recently warned in a public statement that denigrating the faith of Christians and others in the country’s parliament could set “a dangerous precedent.”
“In trampling with shocking audacity on the sacred and holy Word of God, the representative for Pasir Puteh showed a reprehensible disrespect not only for his fellow Malaysians who are Christians but also for all the efforts of our forefathers in forging peoples of diverse creeds, color and cultures into a peace-loving and harmonious nation,” the archbishop said.
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