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By JULIA ZAPPEI
The Associated Press
Wednesday, July 15, 2009; 1:52 AM KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- Malaysian police have arrested nine Christians
accused of trying to convert Muslim university students - a serious
crime punishable by prison in this Muslim-majority country, a lawyer
said Wednesday.
The suspects have denied the allegation, which could aggravate
complaints by religious minorities that authorities are increasingly
ignoring their rights in favor of Islam. Proselytizing of Muslims by members of other religions is forbidden in
Malaysia, though the reverse is allowed. Muslims, who comprise nearly
two-thirds of Malaysia's 28 million people, are also not legally
permitted to change religion. Police detained the nine in a hostel room at the Universiti Putra
Malaysia near Kuala Lumpur late Tuesday, said Annou Xavier, a lawyer who
is handling their cases and is a specialist in religion issues. He spoke
to The Associated Press by phone from the police station where the nine
are being held.
ad_icon They claimed they were visiting friends, but a Muslim student apparently
filed a police complaint accusing them of trying to convert Muslims,
Xavier said. "These allegations are baseless and untrue," Xavier said. The identities of the nine were not immediately clear. The Malaysian
Insider independent news Web site said they were students belonging to a
Malaysian Christian organization. Zahedi Ayob, the police chief of Sepang district near Kuala Lumpur, said
he could not immediately confirm the arrests. Cases of non-Muslims preaching to Muslims are rare in Malaysia.
Penalties differ for various states, but most provide for prison terms
of at least two years. One northern state also prescribes a punishment
of six lashes with a rattan cane. Malaysia's Constitution guarantees freedom of worship for minorities,
who include Christians, Buddhists and Hindus. But Muslims who try to
convert are often sent by Islamic authorities for counseling and
rehabilitation, and some have also been imprisoned for apostasy for up
to three years. There was no indication that Tuesday's arrests were linked to a separate
religious dispute involving Roman Catholics who complained about two
Muslim men who posed as Christians and took Communion at a church service. The men were researching a magazine article about unsubstantiated rumors
that churches were converting Muslim teenagers. Police said Tuesday they
were investigating whether the men had caused religious disharmony - a
crime that carries a prison term of up to five years. Minorities say their right to practice religion freely has been
increasingly threatened by Muslim authorities in recent years. The
government denies any discrimination. Other ongoing problems include a court battle between the Catholic
church and the government over a 2007 order banning non-Muslims from
translating God as "Allah" in their literature. The government says its
use would confuse Muslims, but Christians say the ban is unconstitutional. Minorities also complain about the occasional demolition of their places
of worships. In a separate case Wednesday, the High Court ruled that
Islamic authorities in northern Kelantan state unlawfully destroyed a
church in 2007. State officials had said the church was illegally built, but the court
ruled that the Christian villagers there should receive financial
compensation.
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