Church group slams Malaysian airport officials for confiscating Bibles

KUALA LUMPUR (AP) – A church federation slammed Malaysian customs officials yesterday for seizing 32 Bibles, saying the confiscation shows the Muslim-majority country is becoming less tolerant of other religions.

The Royal Malaysian Customs department said it was only trying to determine if the Bibles were imported for commercial purposes.

Custom officials at an airport in Kuala Lumpur took the Bibles from a Malaysian woman Jan. 28 on her return from the Philippines, said the Rev. Hermen Shastri, general secretary of the Council of Churches of Malaysia.

The woman was told that all religious materials have to be sent to the Internal Security Ministry’s publications control unit for clearance, Shastri said, adding that he had never before heard of anyone being told to do this when bringing English-language Bibles into the country.

“It’s getting from bad to worse,” Shastri told The Associated Press. “This either points to a concerted effort to undermine the current practice of religious tolerance, or the religious enforcement authorities have been given a free hand and they are having a field day,” he said.

In a statement, the council urged authorities to release the Bibles and issue a formal apology. It also called on Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to publicly reassure Christians of their rights.

“No authority on earth should deny Christians the right to possess, read and travel with their Bibles,” the statement said.

Customs department spokesman Iskandar Jaafar denied the Bibles were confiscated because of religious intolerance.

“It’s the normal procedure” to check if so many books were being imported for commercial purposes, Jaafar said, adding that the Bibles had been sent to the Internal Security Ministry. The ministry vets publications before they can be distributed.

A ministry official said he was checking on the incident.

Malaysian law forbids proselytizing by non-Muslims, although Muslims are allowed to encourage people to convert to Islam.

Shastri said the woman was bringing the books to give to Bible study groups. He did not explain why she had to bring the books in from abroad.

Shastri noted that Malaysian officials recently seized Christian children’s books from stores - although they were later returned - and banned the word “Allah” from Malay-language Bibles and other Christian publications.

Religious issues are extremely sensitive in Malaysia, where ethnic Malay Muslims make up about 60 percent of the 27 million people. But the Constitution guarantees freedom of worship for minorities, who include Christians, Buddhists and Hindus.