COMMENT | In 2015, a group of Muslim residents in Taman Medan, Petaling Jaya had intimidated Christians who were attending their regular Sunday service and forced the pastor to bring down the cross affixed to the façade of the church building.

Some of them claimed that the sight of the cross in a Muslim majority area could influence younger minds while others felt that the existence of a church in a Muslim area challenged Islam.

The authorities who arrived at the scene later acted as intermediaries between the protesters and church leaders. A few hours later, the cross was taken down by church leaders for safety and security reasons.

Imagine if the protesters were non-Muslim residents who were angered by the existence of mosques and the constant calls for prayers in a non-Muslim majority area.

Do you think the authorities would have advised the mosque committee to turn off the speakers for safety and security reasons? Do you think the authorities would have even allowed the non-Muslim protesters to assemble outside the mosque?

I don’t think so.

Most likely the protesters would be reminded of whom the Malaysian soil belongs to and given friendly advice to leave the country if they felt it was unfair. Also, maybe, action would be taken against them for illegal assembly.

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