Malaysia curbs blasphemy and any insult to religion or to the religious by rigorous control of what people in that country can say or do. Government-funded schools teach young Muslims the principles of Sunni Islam, and instruct young non-Muslims on morals. The government informs the citizenry on proper behavior and attitudes, and ensures that Muslim civil servants take courses in Sunni Islam. The government ensures that the broadcasting and publishing media do not create disharmony or disobedience. If someone blasphemes or otherwise engages in deviant behavior, Malaysia punishes such transgression with Sharia or through legislation such as the Penal Code.
Articles 295-298A of the Malaysian Penal Code provide penalties for those who commit offenses against religion. The penalties range from [ clarification needed ] up to three years in prison or a fine of up to US$1,000 (approximately). [1] Prosecutions for blasphemy usually target those who offend Islam, but an insult to any religion can give rise to prosecution. [1] [2]
The government strictly controls what is broadcast and published. [3] The Printing Press and Publications Act 1984 prohibits the publication of articles or pictures that could disturb public security, harmony, or morality. The printing, sale, distribution, or possession of any banned book is punishable by up to three years imprisonment and/or a fine of 20,000 ringgits. [4] In 2008, the government banned sixty-two books that touched upon religion. In 2008, customs authorities seized six titles of Christian children's books because the books contain words that—according to Islamic authorities—belong to Islam. The Publications and Al-Quran Texts Control Department contended that "Allah" (God), "Baitullah" (House of God), and "Solat" (prayer) are lawfully used by Muslims only. [5]
In August 2009, a state court sentenced a Muslim woman to six strokes of the cane and a RM 5,000 ($1,400) fine after she was caught drinking beer in a hotel in the Malaysian state of Pahang. [6]
In March 2009, Malaysian religious authorities threatened to sue the Malaysian Bar, which represents 12,000 of the country’s lawyers, for using the word “Allah” on the Bar's website. [7]
In November 2008, the Malaysian National Fatwa Council told Muslims to refrain from doing yoga because is it blasphemous. The condemnation of yoga followed upon the Council's condemnation of females who wear trousers. The Council said that girls who wear trousers are at risk of becoming sexually-active tomboys. [8]
In 2008, religious authorities were seeking Ayah Pin, the leader of a banned, nonviolent religious group known as the Sky Kingdom, and one of his four wives for supporting "deviant" religious practices. On 3 March 2008, a Sharia Court sentenced Kamariah Ali, 57, who converted from Islam to the banned group, to two years imprisonment for apostasy. [5]
On February 12, 2008, the Internal Security Ministry issued a directive to the Catholic Church to stop using the word "Allah" in its weekly publication, The Herald . [5] On 16 February 2009, the Ministry revised its directive to permit the word "Allah" in Christian publications if each publication bore a notice which indicated the publication was not for Muslims. [9] [10]
In January 2008, officials from the Ministry of Internal Security seized Christian children's books from several bookshops. The books contained drawings representing Moses and Noah. The officials deemed the drawings "caricatures of prophets," and said the drawings were offensive to Muslim sensibilities. The Malaysian Council of Churches accused ministry officials of overstepping their authority by confiscating literature that was not meant for Muslims. The Ministry returned the books. [5]
In August 2007, the government of Malaysia suspended for one month the operations of a daily Makkal Osai (in the Tamil language) for violating the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984. On 21 August 2007, the daily had published a caricature of Jesus Christ clutching a cigarette and a can of beer. [2]
On 23 January 2006, the National Fatwa Council, Malaysia's highest Islamic authority, banned Muslims from taking part in the activities associated with Black Metal music. Datuk Mustafa Abdul Rahman, the director-general of the Islamic Development Department, told a press conference on 27 January 2006, that Black Metal often led its followers to worship Satan, rebel, kill, and incite hatred. Nevertheless, the government favored counseling rather than a ban upon the musical genre. [11]
On or about 23 May 2002, a French missionary was arrested on blasphemy charges after distributing a pamphlet about Quranic plagiary. Though he could have been sentenced to two to five years in jail for "acting in a manner which could lead to disharmony between Christians and Muslims," a judge ordered that he be deported. [4]
In 2000, the Sharia High Court in the state of Kelantan sentenced four persons to three years in prison for disregarding a lower court's order to recant their deviant beliefs and "return to the true teachings of Islam." The High Court rejected the argument that Sharia has no jurisdiction over people who have ceased to be Muslims. In dismissing the appeal, the Court of Appeal ruled (in August 2002) that only the Sharia court has jurisdiction to determine whether a person has ceased to be a Muslim. [12]