Malay-Muslim pact lauds Jais raid, urge more pro-active action

KLANG: Leaders from a coalition of Malay-Muslim groups lauded the Selangor religious authority’s move today to raid the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM) and seize copies of Malay-language and Iban bibles.

Describing the move as “pro-active”, the Klang Muslims Solidarity Secretariat even urged the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) to conduct more more raids and bible seizures to curb the use of the word “Allah” by Christians.

“This was a good move, we support it ... It should proceed to other churches. I am confident that there have been many distributed to churches and there are some now in the hands of individuals and students,” said Mohd Khairi Hussein, the chairman of the secretariat, referring to the Malay-language bibles, which are also called al-Kitab.

“The move should continue and [be] publicised around Selangor so it will be more effective,” added Mohd Khairi, who is also the Kapar Umno religious bureau chief.

Jalur Tiga Malaysia (Jati) secretary-general Norman Toha told The Malay Mail Online that Jais was acting within its powers to enforce the Selangor Non-Islamic Religion (Control of Propagation Among Muslims) Enactment 1988.

“This is one of the pre-emptive action, proactive, done by Jais enforcers after the Sultan of Selangor decreed that it is a serious issue. Don’t wait until this causes problems, turmoil and chaos,” said Norman.

The deputy chief of the Klang chapter of Islamist group Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) Mohd Fathan Hussin also agreed with Norman, and accused churches of breaking the law by keeping the Malay-language bibles.

“They deserve it, because it is againt the law ... What for (are they keeping the bibles)? It is Jais’ right to seize banned books,” Mohd Fathan added.

BSM executive council member Nic Ng told The Malay Mail Online earlier today that a team of about 20 people including police officers and officials from Jais arrived at the society’s premises over an hour ago and demanded entry despite not bearing a warrant.

Ng said the police then told BSM president Lee Min Choon and general-secretary Dr Simon Wong to follow them to the Damansara police station.

The coalition, which also included Selangor Perkasa and Pertubuhan Ikatan Kebajikan dan Dakwah Selangor (IKDDAS) among others, announced today that they will hold a rally in the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes in Klang this Sunday.

It has called for Father Lawrence Andrew, editor of the Catholic Church’s weekly paper, Herald, to apologise over his remark insisting on the religion’s use of “Allah”.

Another rally has also been planned by Selangor Umno on the same day, which is expected to be at the Metro Tabernacle Church in Taman Samudera, Gombak.

The tussle over “Allah” arose in 2008 when Catholic newspaper The Herald was barred by the Home Ministry from using the Arabic word. The Catholic Church had contested this in court and won a High Court decision in 2009 upholding its constitutional right to do so.

Putrajaya later appealed the decision and successfully overturned the earlier decision when the Court of Appeal ruled this October that “Allah” was not integral to the Christian faith.

Despite the ban, the effects have not intruded directly into the everyday worship of Christians; it has so far been limited to a prohibition against the Herald printing the word, and the seizure of Christian religious materials, including the Al-Kitab Malay-language bibles and compact discs that contain the word “Allah”.

The shipments of the Al-Kitab were subsequently released but the compact discs have yet to be returned to its owner who has filed a lawsuit against the government.

The Catholic Church has since appealed to the country’s top court for clarity on the religious row that has drawn deep lines between Malaysia’s non-Muslim minorities and its 60 per cent Muslim population. --The Malay Mail Online

The Malaysian Crusade: Jangan Takut ALLAH, Yesus dan para Malaikat Bersama Kita!

Santo Mikail lindungilah kami di dalam pertarungan, Jadilah pelindung kami dari kejahatan dan keburukkan Syaitan, Semoga Allah menghancurkan musuh kami, Adakah kamu wahai putera Syurga, dengan kuasa Allah, menghapuskan Syaitan dan unsur kejahatan didunia, yang mencari manusia untuk dirosakkan jiwanya,

Amin

Trinity Corporation: Selangor State GLC Is The Brink Of Chaos? The grand mosque of cordoba.

Talam Transform Berhad or formerly known as Talam Corporation of Trinity Corporation Berhad.

Why the name change? Trinity Corporation Berhad was a good name right?

We read so much of the skandal in Talam/Trinity. We think that the people in charge of Selangor's GLC must answer this to the rakyat.

We heard about the Fidlot National Shahrizat Scandal, but we did not hear anything about Talam. Both are using the rakyat's money. What happened?

Remember, remember, the 5th of November

The Gunpowder Treason and plot;

I know of no reason why Gunpowder Treason

Should ever be forgot

Here is a piece on the Mosque in Cordoba which was converted to a church. 

Known locally as Mezquita-Catedral, the Great Mosque of Cordoba is one of the oldest structures still standing from the time Muslims ruled Al-Andalus (Muslim Iberia including most of Spain, Portugal, and a small section of Southern France) in the late 8th century. Cordoba is a two hour train ride south of Madrid, and draws visitors from all over the world.

Temple/Church/Mosque/Church

The buildings on this site are as complex as the extraordinarily rich history they illustrate. Historians believe that there had first been a temple to the Roman god, Janus, on this site. The temple was converted into a church by invading Visigoths who seized Corboba in 572. Next, the church was converted into a mosque and then completely rebuilt by the descendants of the exiled Umayyads—the first Islamic dynasty who had originally ruled from their capital Damascus (in present-day Syria) from 661 until 750.

A New Capital

Following the overthrow of his family in Damascus by the incoming Abbasids, Prince Abd al-Rahman I escaped to southern Spain. Once there, he established control over almost all of the Iberian Peninsula and attempted to recreate the grandeur of Damascus in his capital, Cordoba. He sponsored elaborate building programs, promoted agriculture, and even imported fruit trees and other plants from his former home. Orange trees still stand in the courtyard of the Mosque of Cordoba, a beautiful, if bittersweet reminder of the Umayyad exile.

The Hypostyle Hall

The building itself was expanded over two hundred years. It is comprised of a large hypostyle prayer hall (hypostyle means, filled with columns), a courtyard with a fountain in the middle, an orange grove, a covered walkway circling the courtyard, and a minaret (a tower used to call the faithful to prayer) that is now encased in a squared, tapered bell tower. The expansive prayer hall seems magnified by its repeated geometry. It is built with recycled ancient Roman columns from which sprout a striking combination of two-tiered, symmetrical arches, formed of stone and red brick.

The Mihrab

The focal point in the prayer hall is the famous horseshoe arched mihrab or prayer niche. A mihrab is used in a mosque to identify the wall that faces Mecca—the birth place of Islam in what is now Saudi Arabia. This is practical as Muslims face toward Mecca during their daily prayers. The mihrab in the Great Mosque of Cordoba is framed by an exquisitely decorated arch behind which is an unusually large space, the size of a small room. Gold tesserae (small pieces of glass with gold and color backing) create a dazzling combination of dark blues, reddish browns, yellows and golds that form intricate calligraphic bands and vegetal motifs that adorn the arch.

Mihrab (photo: Bongo Vongo)

The Horseshoe Arch

The horseshoe-style arch was common in the architecture of the Visigoths, the people that ruled this area after the Roman empire collapsed and before the Umayyads arrived. The horseshoe arch eventually spread across North Africa from Morocco to Egypt and is an easily identified characteristic of Western Islamic architecture (though there are some early examples in the East as well).

The Dome

Above the mihrab, is an equally dazzling dome. It is built of crisscrossing ribs that create pointed arches all lavishly covered with gold mosaic in a radial pattern. This astonishing building technique anticipates later Gothic rib vaulting, though on a more modest scale.

Rib Detail, Mihrab Dome (photo: Manuel Parada López de Corselas)

The Great Mosque of Cordoba is a prime example of the Muslem world's ability to brilliantly develop architectural styles based on pre-existing regional traditions. Here is an extraordinary combination of the familiar and the innovative, a formal stylistic vocabulary that can be recognized as “Islamic” even today.

Text by Shadieh Mirmobiny 

Gregorian Chant

Christian Rescue Missions Set to Feed Thousands of Poor, Homeless for Thanksgiving

BY JESSICA MARTINEZ, CP REPORTER

Charitable organizations throughout the country have gathered resources, volunteers and food to feed thousands of families in need this holiday season while offering them a moment of celebration amid their less fortunate situations.

In Los Angeles, Union Rescue Mission (URM) started its Thanksgiving outreach event early as part of its effort to feed over 180,000 people between the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Last weekend, URM fed over 3,000 individuals suffering from financial disparity from Skid Row, Los Angeles' most notorious neighborhood known for its high rate of homelessness.

Adakah Yesus telah disalibkan pada hari Jumaat?

We were informed that our Malay speaking brothers and sisters are keen in reading about our Lord Jesus Christ. So we took the liberty to find out information in Bahasa Malaysia and Indonesia so that they can understand what our Lord Jesus had been through to bring peace in this world. Hallelujah! Tak kenal maka tak cinta, mari kita bersama berkenalan dengan penyelamat dunia! Jesus Christ yang Terulung.

Soalan: Adakah Yesus telah disalibkan pada hari Jumaat? Sekiranya demikian, bagaimana Dia boleh berada tiga hari dalam kubur sekiranya Dia telah bangkit pada hari Ahad?

Jawapan: Kitab Injil tidak menyebut secara khusus pada hari apakah Yesus telah disalibkan. Dua pendapat yang secara meluas dipegang oleh orang ramai berhubung penyaliban-Nya ialah ‘pendapat hari Jumaat’ dan ‘pendapat hari Rabu’. Sesetengah orang pula mengambil hari Khamis sebagai hari penyaliban Yesus dengan mengabungkan rumusan kedua-dua hujah hari Jumaat dan Rabu.

Dalam Matius 12:40 Yesus berkata “Sebagaimana Yunus tinggal tiga hari dan tiga malam di dalam perut ikan besar, demikian juga Anak Manusia akan tinggal tiga hari dan tiga malam di dalam perut bumi”. Mereka yang berpegang kepada penyaliban pada hari Jumaat berkata bahawa masih ada cara lain untuk menunjukkan Yesus berada dalam kubur selama tiga hari. Pada pandangan orang Yahudi abad pertama, setengah hari dianggap sebagai satu hari penuh. Disebabkan Yesus berada dalam kubur pada sebahagian hari Jumaat, sehari suntuk pada hari Sabtu dan sebahagian hari Ahad – Dia boleh dianggap telah berada dalam kubur selama tiga hari. Salah satu pegangan kukuh untuk penyaliban hari Jumaat terdapat dalam Markus 15:12 yang mengatakan bahawa Yesus telah disalib sehari sebelum hari Sabat. Sekiranya hari itu merujuk kepada Sabat mingguan iaitu pada hari sabtu, maka penyaliban berlaku pada hari Jumaat. Beberapa orang pula memetik Matius 16:21 dan Lukas 9:22 yang mengatakan bahawa Yesus akan bangkit pada hari ketiga, maka Dia tidak perlu berada dalam kubur selama tiga hari suntuk. Beberapa terjemahan menggunakan frasa “pada hari ketiga” untuk ayat-ayat ini, tetapi bukan semua penterjemah menterjemah sedemikian dan bukan semua orang bersetuju bahawa itulah terjemahan yang terbaik bagi ayat-ayat ini. Lagipun Markus 8:31 berkata bahawa Yesus akan dibangkitkan “selepas” tiga hari. 

Sambutan Hari Kelahiran Penyelamat Agung! Jesus The Hope Of Christmas.

Kami dengan ini dengan bangganya menjemput, rakan-rakan kesemuanya untuk bersama-sama meraikan hari kelahiran penyelamat kita yang paling agung! 

Marilah kita bersama-sama bergembira dengan sambutan hari lahir Yesus yang Mulia!

Sambutan akan bermula pada 13 Disember 2013 akan bermula pada pukul 8pagi manakala, sambutan pada 14 &15 Disember 2013 akan bermula pada pukul 5 petang.

Mari kita bersama-sama menyambut kemuliaan dan kehebatan penyelamat kita Yesus di Pusat Konvensyen Kalvari, Bukit Jalil Kuala Lumpur.