Oleh/By  	:	DATO SERI DR MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
Tempat/Venue	:	JW MARRIOT HOTEL, KUALA LUMPUR
Tarikh/Date	:	04-05-2001
Tajuk/Title 	:	THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE 
			WORLD EVANGELICAL FELLOWSHIP
Versi 		:	ENGLISH
Penyampai	:  	PM

   
         I  wish to thank the World Evangelical Fellowship
   for  inviting me to share my thoughts with participants
   at  this  General  Assembly of  the  World  Evangelical
   Fellowship today.
   
   2.    Religion  should  be viewed  as  a  way  of  life
   envisioning, as its ultimate goal, the day when all men
   can  live together in perfect understanding and  peace.
   Historically,   the  beginnings  of  a   religion   are
   characterised by the proclamation of positive truth  in
   a  flush  of  enthusiasm. After  the  period  of  first
   exuberance,  however, there may be long centuries  when
   men  have  to practise their religion without  anything
   comparable  to  the  initial exhilaration.  Thus,  even
   though there is no doubt that many great religions have
   nurtured  and  shaped the concerns and  commitments  of
   their  adherents, nevertheless as humans they can,  and
   sometimes   do,   direct  their  faith   or   religious
   commitments  toward what is not truly the teachings  of
   the religion.
    
   3.   Hence, it is not surprising   to find history being
   replete with instances of religious conflicts, coercion,
   persecution and intolerance even  among co-religionists, 
   more  so  of  course against  those  of    other faiths! 
   The highlights are well known to all of us: the struggle 
   over monotheism in ancient Egypt; the bloody suppression 
   of the idolaters in Israel; the trial  and  execution of 
   Socrates; the killing of alleged heretics by Christians;
   periodic pogroms against Jews; the Inquisition; the vicious 
   bloodletting of the religious   wars between Protestants
   and Catholics; and so on.   In Islam too there have been 
   many   so-called  `jihad'   against  fellow  Muslims and 
   persecution of  Christians  and Jews  in their societies. 
   During  much of these  the true  teachings of Islam were 
   ignored or deliberately misinterpreted, as when some
   Muslims declare other Muslims as apostates and infidels
   in order   to justify their wars against these people.
   
   4.   Consequently, there have been numerous accusations
   by those who are against religion, that it is the source
   of conflicts, persecutions and injustices.  It is also 
   said to be  the opium of life.  In a way, a look at the
   historical facts and evidence will tell us that some of
   these charges appear to  be justifiable. They are in fact 
   difficult to deny.  But it is questionable whether they
   are really due to the true teachings  of the religions.
   
   5.    Before  the  rise of the Roman Empire,  religious
   intolerance  was the rule rather than exception  within
   their society. Each tribe living within the Empire  had
   its  own Gods or Goddesses who watched over its members
   and  governed the area. A person joining the  tribe  is
   forced  to  accept  its  deities  wholeheartedly.   The
   ancient  Israelites are known to have committed vicious
   genocides against neighbouring tribes partly  at  least
   due to religious differences.
   
   6.   When  Christianity  was adopted as the religion of 
   the Roman   Empire in the  late 4th century, instead of 
   tolerance, more  intolerance set in. Pagan temples were
   confiscated,  and their  priests  and  priestesses were
   either persecuted or massacred. Jews in particular were 
   senselessly   persecuted  as they  were  blamed for the
   betrayal  and  crucifixion of  Jesus  Christ. Breakaway 
   Christian  movements,  including  the  Protestants  and 
   the Huguenots, were hounded and forced into exile by the
   Catholics.  In turn the Protestants were intolerant of the
   Catholics and others and would periodically burn so-called
   witches.
   
   7.   Then there were the Christian-Muslim warring encounters.
   These prolonged and violent Crusades resulted in the deaths of
   hundreds of thousands of Muslims and Christians. The Crusades
   were justified on the grounds that the primary aim was to make
   it possible for Christians to go on pilgrimage to the Holy Land
   without threat.
   
   8.   Although the Crusades had no lasting effect in the Islamic
   world, where they were seen as mere routine frontier skirmishes
   of two opposing armies, the conflict influenced Christian
   perceptions of Muslims to this day.  That Christians had lived
   among Muslims in the land holy to both religions was ignored.
   These Christians were actually slaughtered along with the
   Muslims because they dress in the same way as the Muslims.  And
   so whole populations of the towns of Palestine were put to the
   sword.  Forty thousand were slaughtered in Jerusalem alone.
   
   9.   When the Europeans colonised North America, Africa, South
   and East Asia and Australia millions of natives were killed
   through wars or pure genocide because their heathen lives were
   not regarded as worth preserving.  Forced conversions on pain
   of death were practised especially where the Spaniards and the
   Portuguese established their colonies.  In the process the
   locals became so divided that they would war against each other
   to this day.  This is what we are seeing in the Philippines and
   Indonesia and elsewhere.
   
   10.  In the 20th century, inter- as well as intra-religious
   conflicts continue to afflict societies. These include; the
   stand-off between the Roman Catholics and Protestants in
   Northern Ireland that have resulted in thousands of deaths
   among followers of each denomination, the Iran-Iraq war of the
   1980s leading to uncountable losses of lives and destruction of
   properties, the genocide of 200,000 Muslims by Serbian Orthodox
   Christians in Kosovo, Bosnia and Serbia, and the tragic and
   cruel killings of Muslims by Muslims in Algeria.  In Palestine
   the cruel killings are going on.  The world stood by and hardly
   raised a finger to stop these modern-day barbarism.
   
   11.  Notwithstanding the above, the history of inter-religious
   relations is also full of anecdotes of cordial interactions
   between Christians and Muslims. In fact this started as early
   as the time when Muhammad was appointed Prophet. A Christian,
   Waraqa ibn Nawfal was reported to have reassured Muhammad that
   his traumatic experience in the cave on Mount Hira in 610 C.E.
   was a genuine call to prophet hood. Then the first group of
   Muslim emigrants sought asylum in the Christian kingdom of
   Abyssinia. The ruler Negus wept when he heard Jaafar ibni Abi
   Talib reciting verses of the Quran about Jesus. He then
   exclaimed that, "The difference between you Muslims and us
   Christians is just this line" - (which he drew in the sand with
   his walking stick).
   
   12.  It is also narrated that when the Christian delegation
   from Najran came to see the Prophet Muhammad around 628 C.E.,
   they were offered to say their prayers at the mosque of the
   city. Why did the Prophet open the doors of the Medina mosque
   for the visitors? He opened them for the sons of his brother
   Isa or Jesus Christ.
   
   13.  Intolerance breeds injustice. Injustice invariably leads
   to rebellion and retaliation, and these will lead to escalation
   on the part of both making reconciliation almost impossible. It
   would  appear that during times of stress, despair  and
   frustration, people become increasingly irrational, and they do
   things which they never think they are capable of.  And so we
   see hideous brutality perpetrated by the most gentle people.
   
   14.  Once started religious strife has a tendency to go on and
   on, to become permanent feuds.  The situation is not unlike the
   tribal feuds which existed among the ignorant pre-Islamic Arab
   tribes  of the Arabian Peninsular.  Today we  see  such
   intractable inter-religious wars in Northern Ireland, between
   Jews and Muslims and Christians in Palestine, Hindus and
   Muslims in South Asia and in many other places.  Attempts to
   bring about peace have failed again and again.  Always the
   extremist elements invoking past injustices, imagined or real,
   will succeed in torpedoing the peace efforts and bringing about
   another bout of hostility.
   
   15.  Perhaps religion and deep faith makes it impossible for
   enmity between people of different religious faith to become
   reconciled.   It is because of this that some  advocate
   abandoning religions and faith in God.  Many now openly
   question the existence or relevance of God.  They claim that
   the world would be better if there are no religions, no belief
   in God.  The question that must be asked is whether the fault
   lies with the religions or is it with the people practising the
   religions?
   
   16.  Even a casual examination will reveal that the adherents
   of most religions have deviated from the original teachings.
   Some have become extreme and fanatical and it is these people
   who give religions not only a bad image but actually cause
   religions to deliver the opposite results from what were
   originally promised.  And these people are so seemingly
   religious that few dared to go against them for fear of being
   declared heretics.  And so we find the simple teachings of the
   Prophets becoming quite different from the religions that we
   practise now.
   
   17.  The Quran says, "you faithful Muslims, do as we have
   recommended and what was recommended to Abraham, Moses and
   Jesus: unite in faith and do not separate". Unfortunately we
   find the followers of the same religion divided into numerous
   sects and denominations. Is this what was taught by our
   religions? Religion should unite not only people of the same
   faith, but all of humanity, whether they are of the same faith
   or not. Religion should make people in the East brothers to the
   people in the West; a white man brother to the black man; it
   should make the believers merciful and kind to all human
   beings, even if that person subscribes to a different faith.
   
   18.  It is narrated that once when the Prophet Muhammad was
   distributing alms to the poor, an idol-worshipper asked for his
   share. Muhammad said to him, `you are not of my religion, so I
   won't help you". So the poor man went away feeling very sad. At
   that very moment the angel Gabriel came down from heaven with
   an urgent message for Prophet Muhammad, which said, you do not
   have to lead them all to your faith. That is, you, Muhammad is
   not responsible for the religious beliefs of all people, but
   for assisting them regardless of their religion. You have to
   inform them, but whether they follow or not is for God to
   determine. God shows the right way to whomever He wants.
   
   19.  After the Prophet received the angel's words, he said,
   "send the man back to me".  He gave the man what he needed and
   never again did he refuse to help anyone in need, regardless of
   religion. God says, "What you give others is for your own
   good". It is as if humanity is made of one soul, so if the rich
   man helps the poor man, it is as if he were helping himself.
   Muhammad like other messengers of God, was human and human
   beings make mistakes. But God corrects them.
   
   20.  The edicts of God the Creator have been brought down from
   heaven through the Prophets. They are not only aimed at making
   peace among people but to encourage them to join hands in
   brotherhood. Until mankind returns to the true teachings, we
   will never be able to eradicate intolerance. If intolerance is
   allowed to spread unabated, then it will spell disaster for
   mankind. Today we talk about human rights as if we have just
   realised it.  But our religions have promoted human rights
   thousands of years ago.  It is because we have forsaken the
   teachings of our religion that we now have to rediscover human
   rights.
   
   21.  No one can be held responsible for acts committed by his
   ancestors. Yet most of us are still fighting each other because
   in the distant past our ancestors had fought.  Because 500
   years ago the Turks massacred the Serbs, today the Serbs are
   still bent on revenge seeking to kill Muslims in Bosnia and
   Kosovo because of what happened 500 years ago.
   
   22.  We are now at the beginning of a new century.  It is a
   good time to resolve to break away from the tragedies of the
   past and to build on the realities of the present.
   
   23.  We now know what the 20th century has brought us.  We had
   welcomed free trade and liberalism in the hope that capital
   will  be invested more widely and so help spread wealth
   throughout the world.  Capitalism was rather subdued in the
   days of Socialism and Communism.  The Capitalists showed their
   friendliest face in order to survive and defeat Communism and
   Socialism.
   
   24.  Now the Socialists and Communists are no more. Capitalism
   is the winner. The option to defect is gone and Capitalism need
   no longer be friendly. Greed now rules, unabashed greed, Greed
   with a capital G. Anything done in order to amass more wealth
   is legitimate and honourable. Why should anything stand in the
   way of unlimited acquisitiveness?
   
   25.  Perhaps the only hope lies in religion, in the true
   teachings and not the corrupted teachings.  God had always sent
   Prophets to guide man whenever they strayed away from the right
   path and suffer as a consequence.  We have a need now to return
   to religion as we face the new culture of greed which is
   tending to destroy us.  It should not be just a renewal of
   faith but a return to the guiding principles of religion which
   has always condemned greed.
   
   26.  The world, through a combination of God-given resources
   and human ingenuity in terms of technology has never been so
   rich as it is now.  There really is no need for anyone to take
   everything for himself in order to be rich.  There is enough
   for all of us to share.  Poverty in this day and age is
   indefensible and a disgrace for the level of civilisation that
   humans have achieved.  No one should be poor if those of us who
   are not religious are not so greedy.  Certainly the rich must
   not steal from the poor to further enrich themselves.  Giving
   away a fraction of that stolen money as charity cannot be
   described as philanthropic.
   
   27.  In multi-racial, multi-cultural Malaysia it is also
   worthwhile for religious leaders to revisit their roles as we
   move into a new era in the development of society. The greatest
   contribution they can make is in promoting tolerance among
   their followers. For example, major religions uphold good
   neighbourliness and the honouring of family ties. These noble
   values should be given a strong emphasis in all activities
   organised by the religious body.
   
   28.  Religious leaders may also wish to consider setting up
   inter-religious working groups at the various levels of the
   community. These can work to improve mutual understanding,
   adopting best-practice models from successful experiments where
   effective local and national mechanisms have been established
   for inter-communal communication, awareness and acceptance of
   the undertakings made when one is converting to another
   religion for whatever reason.  Sensitivity to the beliefs of
   others must prevail.  Islam makes it clear that we must accept
   that others will believe in their own beliefs, worship in their
   own way.  To them their religions, to the Muslims theirs.  Just
   as Muslims must accept the others rights to their own faith,
   others too must accept and respect the rights of Muslims as
   Muslims.
   
   29.  This is in line with verse 48 of Surah Al-Ma'idah of the
   Holy Quran translated thus, "To thee (O Muhammad) We sent the
   scripture in truth, confirming the scripture that came before
   it, and guarding it in safety. So judge between them by what
   God has revealed, and follow not their vain desires, diverging
   from the truth that has come to thee. To each among you, We
   have prescribed a set of rules of practical conduct and a
   spiritual way and an open way. If Allah had so willed, He would
   have made you a single people, but His plan is to test you in
   what He has given you, so strive as in a race in all virtues.
   The goal of you all is to Allah; it is He that will show you
   the truth of the matters in which you dispute".
   
   30.  The young generation should be the target of a consistent
   effort to protect and preserve religious tolerance. Young
   children are usually free of biases and prejudices. Pupils at
   the kindergarten level have no qualms about studying and
   playing together. They often walk hand in hand without the
   slightest feeling of distrust and insecurity. They provide the
   best example of tolerance and peaceful co-existence.
   
   31.  However, more often than not this splendid and cordial
   relationship will cool off as they grow up. Parental input and
   other environmental influences may start to shape their minds.
   And this will result in prejudices they had not known before.
   The relevant religious authorities should look into ways of
   halting the loosening of the bondage of friendship of these
   young  children. They can be made known of each other's
   similarities and differences, as far as religion is concerned.
   And it must be impressed on them that if they could respect one
   another, then living together as a community, even while
   professing different faiths, would not be an impossible task at
   all.
   
   32.  The other vital role of religion in this post-modern age
   is ensuring harmony in society by not knowingly and blatantly
   sowing the seed of discord. It is true that it is the nature of
   some religious denominations that propagation of their faith is
   obligatory.  But we should be careful that we don't propagate
   religions at the cost of conflicts and violence.   Such
   conflicts can only bring about an environment where religions
   cannot thrive.
   
   33.  We must be careful when undertaking matters involving
   religion. The sensitivity of others of different religious
   prescriptions must be given due considerations.
   
   34.  Let us hope that the 21st century will once again give
   religions a role in the life of mankind, a role which can be
   good and constructive provided we do not deviate from the
   teachings in our attempts to establish the righteousness of our
   own faiths.
  

   Sumber : Pejabat Perdana Menteri

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