Update (20 June): Check out the response from the Borders’ management here.
19 June:
The store manager of the Mid-Valley Borders bookstore has reportedly been charged with distributing Irshad Manji’s book, ‘Allah, Liberty and Love’, which has been banned in Malaysia.
Nik Raina Nik Abdul Aziz was charged in the Syariah Court this morning and if convicted, could be fined up to RM3000 or jailed for up to two years or both.
Borders Malaysia is owned and operated by Berjaya Books Sdn Bhd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Vincent Tan’s Berjaya Corporation Bhd.
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“Umno and the Islamic departments seem oblivious to their abuse of authority and power”, so said Mariam Mokhtar in her thought provoking article “Beer, boobs and books”:
http://hornbillunleashed.wordpress.com/2012/06/24/31221/
Too bad, these narrow minded BN idiots refused to even understand what Irshad wrote in her book. Her detailed analysis and interpretation of Islam would have left our Imans struggling to refute them.
It will make a good case study for the ‘Iman Muda’ reality program on Astro?
Sad these religious fatwa controversies can take the people’s attention away from perhaps more pressing issues in the country now. 🙁
From today’s Star
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/6/20/courts/11509803&sec=courts
According to Borders COO, the books were seized from the shop on May 23 but the ban was gazetted by Home Ministry on May 29. Did I read correctly or it is seized on May 29, gazetted on May 23 ?
Doesn’t matter. Bans are applicable retrospectively, presently, futuristically, vertically and horizontally.
I will check up the book at the bookstore in Singapore.
Worth reading to find out what the fuss is all about.
Anyway how could jakim or BN ban digital copy of e-book version of this book that one could easily download to smartphone or iPad?
BM version of this book is available for free download on line …
Selling banned books = doing illegal activities = deserved to be charged = PADAN MUKA !!!
No complaint here.
The poor manager might not even know it is a banned book. All the government need to do is to order the manager to take down the book. Why waste our money and resource to sue her?
Is it worse than the illegal 250 millions cow gate or the corrupted 1 billion scorpene
Gherkin, didn’t you say don’t bully women?
Don’t we have real problems that needs to be addressed? Like CORRUPTION. I seriously doubt that reading her book will result to Muslims leaving the religion. Corruption is more serious than anything else. Why isn’t Jais or Jakim or whatever trying to ban corruption?
Look no further for good books. Just go down the … banned list.
The same go for movies. The latest best is “dictator”. Msia is at the same level with Belarus, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. Very nice repressive crowd we are in.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/bizarre/4371929/A-despot-of-bother-The-Dictator-banned-in-more-countries.html
Why a book that shows all of us how to reconcile faith and freedom in a world seething with repressive dogmas should be banned? Why in this Information age, we still can’t tolerate people with different opinions? Why we are so hypocrite that we want some people to speak up yet asking other to shut up?
When Ah Soon speaks the truth, he gets thumbs up.
This is rare, but certainly a good start.
Keep it up Ah Soon.
Meanwhile Berjaya Books Sdn Bhd has on 18 June 2012 applied to the High Court of Malaya for a judicial review of the actions of JAWI. The Minister of Home Affairs and the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department for Islamic Affairs have also been named as respondents in the application for judicial review.