COMMENT | When Malaysians talk about religious extremism in Malaysia, most people imagine that non-Muslims and non-Malays are the only victims. They forget that Malay Muslims are also affected by religious extremism.

Last week, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim claimed that the general masses, especially the Malay Muslims, view secularism as “something that is anti-religion”, and he urged the public to understand the term clearly.

He said, “The majority of Muslims have been told that secularism means complete separation of state and religion based on the influence and experience of the Holy Roman Empire."

Without meaning to sound patronising, are many Malay Muslims really au fait with the Holy Roman Empire which was destroyed in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars?

So, who told the Muslims about secularism and the political entity known as the Holy Roman Empire?...