Quran: My experience during university days...

It has been reported that several groups had condemned Sdr Nga Kor Ming for “belittling the religion” by virtue of reciting the verses from the Holy Quran as a non-Muslim.

The Perak CPO Zulklifli confirmed that the police had received three (3) police reports against Sdr Nga regarding the same issue. The police are currently investigating the matter under Section 298 of the Penal Code and will be calling him for statements.

Section 298 of the Penal Code says “298. Uttering words, etc. with deliberate intent to wound the religious feelings of any person. Whoever with deliberate intention of wounding the religious feelings of any person, utter any word or makes any sound in the hearing of that person, or makes any gesture in the sight of that person, or places any object in the sight of that person, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both.”

I am wondering what basis of defence Barisan Nasional, UMNO, MCA, Gerakan, MIC etc are going to adopt in case they firmly deny that the police reporting were perpetuated by them.

I attended International Islamic University Malaysia for 4 years. For the first 3 years (6 Semesters), it was a requirement for the students to enrol in at least 2 Islamic Law courses each semester; starting with Islamic Legal System in the First year and ended with Islamic Jurisprudence in the Third year. Furthermore, we were also required to complete 4 authentic courses of Islamic studies. In total, at least one third of the course requirement to obtain a Law Degree at the University pertained to Islamic Studies.

The Quran is the highest source of Syariah law, followed by the Sunnah of the Prophet. There is virtually impossible to neither understand nor study Syariah Law without the Holy Quran.

I bought my copy of the Holy Quran (Arabic-English) since the First day of my law study. I learned Arabic (the language for the original Quran transcript) during my first 2 semesters. As part of the process, we had to study the Holy Quran. In addition, we had to understand it, memorize and quote it as authority when completing our submissions or examinations for syariah laws. Sometimes you will get additional appraisals from your lecturer or ustaz if you manage to quote the Quranic verses in Arabic.

What is the matter with those who lodged the reports against Sdr. Nga? What offence has Nga committed? If the police decide that there is indeed a case against Nga, does that translate to, we, the International Islamic University Malaysia’s non-Muslim students had committed a crime? Were we then “forced” to carry out wrongdoing during our studies?

As far as my understanding of Islam and the Quran, it never intends to stop someone from uttering or invoking its teachings.

I sent a sms to my police friend who happens to be one of my classmates during my days at the university, whom had asked for Nga’s phone number for the police to conduct an investigation. The sms sounds: “Uncle, sila bagi tahu i.o., itu kes sebut Quran sia-sia punya. Kita kan tiap hari pegang, baca n hafal Quran masa uni days? ...”