On the 5th of February 2025, the Star Online reports from Malaysia, “New rules proposed for Muslims attending non-Muslim events, funerals or houses of worship”.

From the article:

Event organisers must get the authorities’ approval and the views of Islamic authorities when inviting leaders or Muslims for festive events, funerals or events held in non-Muslim houses of worship.

These were among the updates to existing guidelines involving Muslims in such gatherings, to be finalised by the Muzakarah Committee of the National Council for Islamic Religious Affairs (MKI) at month’s end.

Hi, my name is Terence and I’m your host for the Daily Monsoon, a podcast where I connect current events to matters of faith. If some people have their way, I would need to ask permission from the authorities to make any critical comments.

These proposed guidelines have created quite a storm since it was announced.

The President of the Malaysian Buddhist Consultative Council published a press statement that includes this line:

The requirement for non-Muslim organizations to obtain permission from Islamic religious authorities if invitations involve Muslim leaders or individuals may be seen as an additional layer of bureaucracy that could hinder the spirit of mutual respect and unity.

There is a lot of respect in this statement: “May be seen”, “could hinder”, are soft phrases, hopeful that gentle words will persuade the reader.

In Facebook, the Right Reverend Bishop Datuk Danald Jute, Chairman of the Association of Churches Sarawak, shared a letter he wrote to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. Commenting on the proposed guidelines requirement that non-Muslim religious symbols not be displayed, the Bishop writes:

Those symbols are integral part of their premises. Those symbols are not there to cause offence to Muslims or anybody else. Those symbols are their identity, marking who they are. In this regard, I proudly wear my cross in the presence of His Royal Highness the Sultan of Selangor; likewise in the presence of His Royal Highness the Sultan of Perak and two days ago, in the presence of His Eminence the Grand Imam of Al Azhar. This I have also been doing in the presence of our State Governor and YAB Premier.
I meet them as a Christian and they know I have the highest regard for them as Muslim leaders.

The rising tide of public opinion must have done some good because today… the Star Online, just one hour ago from the time of this recording, published an article with the headline: “Cabinet decides that Jakim may provide advice but is not official policy”.

The Malaysian Cabinet made this statement as well:

The Cabinet also emphasised that any policy formulated must take national unity into account and receive prior approval from the Cabinet.

This suggests that the proposed guidelines were not approved by the cabinet, which is a cause for concern.

I get it that someone thinks that this guideline is a good idea to protect Muslims and their faith.

What I don’t get is how someone would not be aware of the reaction it may cause among the public, both Muslims and non-Muslims.

If you are aware of it, then you would try to message it better. Though I am not sure how you could spin this, as the Bishop Danald Jute said in his letter, “preposterous guidelines”.

But if you are even slightly aware that there will be some blowback, there is some sensitivity to this topic, then at the very least, it should be presented to the Cabinet first.

Politicians are sometimes stereotyped as gutless people who have no convictions and just track and follow public opinion. Today’s event shows that there are some politicians who are on the other extreme; they are gutsy, full of convictions, who don’t know and don’t care what the public thinks.

Let us move on from the incompetence of publicly elected officials and turn to the intent of the proposed guidelines.

If this proposed guideline was enforced, it would mean segregating the people, drawing a line on religious grounds. And that is what they wanted.

Boundary markers exist in every social grouping. It defines us vs. them. Men vs. Women. Adult vs. Children. Manchester United vs. Arsenal. Jews vs. Gentiles.

If you study the Old Testament, you will quickly realise that God commands the Jews to be separated from the nations around them. God gives clear instructions on what food they can and cannot consume. This makes it difficult for Jews and non-Jews, also known as Gentiles, to eat a meal together.

There are rules for Jews mixing with Gentiles that make it difficult for Jews and Gentiles to be under the same roof. Jews are not allowed to marry non-Jews, or more accurately, those who are not of the same faith.

During Old Testament times, Nehemiah saw that the men had married the local women who were leading the men away from the faith. Jeremiah pulled their hair. Let me read the passage:

Nehemiah 13:23–25 (ESV)
In those days also I saw the Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and they could not speak the language of Judah, but only the language of each people. And I confronted them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair. And I made them take an oath in the name of God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters to their sons, or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves.

So, this idea of keeping your own people pure and separate from all the rest is not a new or even Muslim. It is in the Bible.

Trying to keep people separate happens not just on religious grounds, but also racial: The Indians, Chinese, Malays would prefer if their children married their own kind. To marry outside of your own race, inter-racial marriage, is more common today. It used to be taboo. But even though it is more common, it is still complicated to navigate between the different cultures.

The point is drawing people apart into their own tribes, religious or racial or something else, just seems to be part of life.

Unless you can see the other person to be just the same as you. Not us vs. them, but we are all people who want to love and be loved. That’s a sentimental way of putting it.

A Christian way of putting it is: “we are all created in the image of God.”

Christians consider ourselves as children of Abraham, but we do not follow the food laws or boundary markers of Judaism, because Jesus has fulfilled them all. He has said there is no need for followers of God to be made distinct based on what we eat or drink, but rather by our devotion to God.

And that devotion to God is not seen by distancing ourselves from our non-Christian neighbours but by how much we can demonstrate ourselves as light of the world and salt of the earth. A life marked by godly living: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness and self-control.

So in a way, Christians are not condemning the idea of boundaries, for we also have our boundaries. We want boundaries that keep us safe and right before God. Boundaries that stop people from coming together for weddings and funerals, stop people from speaking and learning from one another, probing the reality we all share? Those boundaries don’t make us right before God, they bring us further away from God.

This is the Daily Monsoon, a podcast where I connect current events to matters of faith. Thanks for listening.