Yet Another Religious Casualty

It had been the talk of our classes on a daily basis, "Boycott Dutch products." Me, obviously, and my two other non-Muslim friends couldn't care less. And no, it's not because the film wasn't anything regarding my faith, or that we're agreeing with Geert Wilders' ideas and opinions. Well, okay, maybe it's a bit of the former. But here's the thing, Christianity, probably especially Catholicism had been "wrongly perceived" too, and badly presented (my vocab is worsening by the minute) for so long. Did we make a big fuss out of it? I'll get back to you later.

This whole "Fitna" issue suddenly brings me back to the things that had happened previously, issues regarding religion matters. When we were discussing it in the class this morning, i was suddenly reminded of the Da Vinci Code movie issue. Wait a minute, hold it; for the past couple of years studying in a university, i would know it's an issue if it's talked about in class as a discussion. Previously, there was the caricature issue; Prophet Muhammad S.A.W. was depicted as the head of Jihad. And now this, misinterpretation of the Holy Qu'ran (just what is wrong with the Dutch). Yes, these i consider as issues as we were asked to discuss them in class. Obviously, it is always when Islam is being humiliated, negatively presented and lowly put. Of course, it's only right because the said religion is the official religion of the country and its a majority. But as a democratic country cultivating freedom of religion, harmony and all, don't you think that when other religions are being mocked and contradicted, they should be openly discussed a well?

I remember when Gibson's Passion of the Christ was released, it wasn't shown in cinemas in Malaysia. And even the VCDs came out on the market only weeks after its release. And not long after that, Da Vinci Code came out; it was an immediate blockbuster film, up and going in cinemas across the nation. Note that these are two very contradicting on each other. The first one promoting (no, that's not the word, just what is wrong with my vocab these days), or more of in support of the Catholics, while the other one completely deject the Holy Trinity and depict Jesus Christ as a human being. And which one made it to the cinemas in Malaysia, and which one did not? Doesn't that get you thinking?I made it a point to bring it up for discussion someday and i just did today (well, since we were already talking about religion). Surprisingly, some of my fellow friends of the different creed do not even know about Mel Gibson's movie. I don't blame them. The one to blame is, (i hate to mention the big G word), no, not God, you silly. The Government. Or the enforcement, or whoever it is that is in authority. My lecturer then asked if the churches in Malaysia did anything about it (bising-bising as she would say it), and i replied, "Even if we did, i don't think the mainstream media won't pay enough attention to it" and don't ask me why coz i'm not about to make any assumptions. The point is, why is it when our religion is being mocked like that, it doesn't become an issue?