In a now-removed video on Reddit, a man filmed his actions of desecrating a Chinese shrine. The video which was 41 seconds long shows a man saying the following in Malay (translated to English), “Agong Malaysia…Chief of Police (a.k.a Inspector-General of Police)…they are afraid! Allah was insulted, Islam was insulted. They are the worshippers of these (the Chinese deity in the shrine). [proceed to kick and destroy the statue of the Chinese deity] What is there to be afraid of? The Muslims in Malaysia need to wake up - don't just stand there. Even your life is given by Allah, (you guys) need to wake up. Islam was insulted and you guys just let it be. (Are you guys) stupid or what? Stupid…scared of kafirs (kafirs means unbelievers, typically mean non-Muslims).” The video ended after he said “stupid” one more time.
The video went viral and garnered a lot of attention on Reddit; it accumulated 533 upvotes and 487 shares before it was taken down. Netizens were understandably outraged by the actions of the man. One netizen commented, “Let’s see how many months (in jail) this guy gets. Better not a case of ‘no report, no investigation’ ”. Another netizen who is Muslim commented, “Destroyed property belonging to places of worship? CHECK! Insulted YDPA? CHECK! Did a crime, recorded the evidence, and shared said evidence to the public? CHECK! Not representing Islam's teaching? CHECK! This guy better have the book thrown at him. It's clear cut and he did it willingly with clear intent. As a Muslim, I apologise for this disrespectful and uncivilised action by one of ours who doesn't act in accordance to what Islam has commanded us to do when dealing with non-Muslims and their places of worship.”.
Judging from what the man in the video has said and the time he posted it, many have speculated that this was a form of revenge for the ‘Allah’ socks controversy. In case you didn't know about the ‘Allah’ socks controversy, here is a short recap: popular Chinese-Muslim preacher Firdaus Wong discovered a pair of socks bearing the word ‘Allah’ on the 13th of March 2024. He discovered the pair of socks at a KK Mart outlet in Bandar Sunway and proceeded to share it on social media where it drew outrage among Malaysians all over the nation. This prompted Malaysian Muslims to start a boycott movement against KK Mart.
The man in the video is believed to be in Perak as both the temple and shrine are in Kampung Koh, Sitiawan, Perak. Ironically, the statue of the Chinese deity he kicked is Datuk Kong (also known as Na Tuk Kong); most Datuk Kongs are Malay-Muslim spirits. There is even one temple in Banting, Selangor where Sultan Abdul Samad (the 4th Sultan of Selangor) is worshipped and venerated as a Datuk Kong; a deity meant to be worshipped. The worshippers of Datuk Kong are also expected to serve halal food as most Datuk Kong are Malays. Among the popular foods served are chicken rendang, lamb/chicken curry, yellow glutinous rice, black coffee, betel leaves, and tobacco leaves (some also offer satay, nasi lemak, etc). This halal food is not only limited to non-pork or alcohol, but also the chicken, lamb, or beef must be truly halal, meaning slaughtered according to Islamic practices. If a person offers non-halal food (for a Datuk Kong considered to be Malay), it is believed that Datuk Kong will be angry and the person will be afflicted with calamity.
At the time of writing, no suspect was identified nor arrest was made at the time of writing. What do you think of the issue? Do you think what the man did was right? Let me know in the comments.
*Updated: As of 7/4/2024, the Manjung District Police have arrested a 35-year-old Malay man as a suspect. The case is investigated under Penal Code Section 295 for defiling a place of worship with the intent to insult the religion. The offense is punishable with a maximum jail term of 2 years. The video is also available on X (formerly known as Twitter). Many Muslim netizens on X condemn the actions of the perpetrator who defiled the shrine and destroyed the statue of Datuk Kong.
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