Catholics lodge protest over police inaction against Islamic magazine

Three Catholics, including a lawyer, have lodged a complaint over police inaction against an Islamic magazine, whose journalists allegedly carried out an act offensive to Catholics.

The front cover of the May 2009 issue of Al-Islam magazine. An article in it said that two Muslim journalists went into Catholic churches in Kuala Lumpur, received Holy Communion and then spat out the hosts.

The May issue of the Malay-language “Al-Islam” magazine carried a story by two Muslim journalists who said they went into Catholic churches in Kuala Lumpur, received Holy Communion and then spat out the host.

Two Catholics from Penang — Joachim Francis Xavier and Sundhagaran Stanley — lodged a complaint on July 8, but police apparently failed to act.

The Catholic Lawyers´ Society, together with Stanley and Xavier, decided to protest by handing a memorandum to the Home Minister on Aug. 17 in Putrajaya, the country´s administrative capital south of Kuala Lumpur.

However, the plan had to be deferred due to claims from certain parties that the Christians were seeking revenge against Muslims.

On Aug. 20, Xavier and Stanley, together with lawyer Annou Xavier, handed a letter to the Dang Wangi police station asking about the status of the investigation.

Stanley said the investigating police officer informed them they had completed the investigation and had handed the files to the attorney general a week ago. The officer said this was the fourth time the police had handed the files to the attorney general who had sent them back requesting further information.

Police say the matter is now in the hands of the attorney general.

“We are disappointed with the police for not taking swift action,” said Stanley.

“The government had announced that action would be taken on anyone found to be seditious or inciting hatred or racial tension. However, it appears that the government had not taken us, the Christian community seriously.”

Francis Xavier said he hoped the attorney general would charge the journalists “based on the evidence that we have, and not based on political influence.”

He said the next course of action was to deliver a protest to the Home Ministry together with the Catholic Lawyers´ Society. After consultation and approval from Bishop Antony Selvanayagam of Penang, he and Stanley also plan to hold a forum on issues affecting the rights of Catholics and how to respond to these.