Christian vs Muslim

Those who oppose the use of the word Allah say "please respect the sensitivities of the Muslims.
Allah has been used for centuries in Malaysia as the word to denote the God of Islam. "

Those who are for the use of the word Allah to denote God in general, say "But it is merely a word which predates religion. It is our inherent right to use that word."

So, really, why can't the Christians just respect the sensitivities of the Muslims? Why not just revert to Tuhan instead of Allah?

Why indeed?

Because like the Sun columnist said today, it is possibly because the Christians (and all other faiths in Malaysia) feel that we may have given a little too much.

1.Pork is banned in Islam, movies about small cute pigs by the name of Babe never make it to Malaysian shores.
2.Shah Alam residents are mostly Muslims, the whole town is declared an Islamic town and alcohol and entertainment are banned.
3.International acts who want to perform here do not adhere to the strict "dress code" to respect our culture (which by OUR culture it means Islamic culture), we prohibit them from performing here.
4.Alcohol is banned in Islam, so all things related to alcohol such as concerts organised by the company, or any other event, is banned.
5.Scholarships and university placements are not based on merit, but by race and religion.
6.Up until this year, all businessmen who want to set up a company must find 30% bumiputra investors/partners before they can.
7.Malays/Muslims pay less for property because they get an automatic 5% discount
8. They removed Hang Tuah from the history books because it was found that Hang Tuah, the great warrior, was actually Chinese.
9. When the Muslims fast, they can go home early/ come in late, but when the Christians/Hindus/Buddhist fast they do not get that privilege.
10. They banned the Da Vinci code because it was about Christianity (though many Christians thought watching the movie amounted to Blasphemy)
11. They allow universities set up for Malays/Muslims to crop up like flowers after a shower, but only allow UTAR university status after fighting for it for ten years.
12. They relocate temples, tear down places of worship belonging to other faiths, because it offensive to the majority of Muslims living in that area. (And then they step on cow heads to prove a point)

I could go on.

But I shall not. Because I do not adopt the attitude of those who think we have to respect their sensitivies, but do not find the need to also respect ours in return.

The country has been relatively peaceful because the Non Muslims have done NOTHING but respect the sensitivities of the Muslims.

It has become inherent to us not to eat in front of them when our Muslim friends are fasting.
We provide for halal food when we invite them for meals.
We wear the tudung to cover our heads when we enter the mosque.
We prevent alcohol from being served when there are Muslims who are attending an event.
We do not conduct anything on Fridays during their Friday prayer hours.

That is just to name a few.

In return, when we ask for small favours which is our very right as a citizen of Malaysia, we're reminded that we're merely "foreigners" who have been given the permission to "remain in Malaysia." That the Malays/Muslims were kind enough to let us stay and be given citizenship.

In the wake of the church burnings, the Christians have rallied together to pray for peace. Nobody has retaliated. Nobody has started burning churches.

Instead the arson continues. Lawyers who defend the Herald see their offices being broken into, whether coincidentally or not. Protests continue in Mosques. Poster saying "ALLAH adalah untuk kegunaan Islam saja" crop up everywhere.

And the Christians continue to kneel before God and bow their heads and pray for peace.