KUALA LUMPUR: Controversy continues to surround the Malaysia government's crackdown over a book by Canadian Muslim and lesbian author Irshad Manji, which was banned last month and has led to a raid on a Borders bookstore in the country. Malaysia's Minister in charge of religious affairs has defended the raid on a Borders bookstore in Kuala Lumpur. The raid resulted in seeing the bookstore manager being charged in the Syariah court for distributing and selling the book that is now banned. Malaysia's Minister in charge of religious affairs, Jamil Khir Baharom, has come out to defend the action. He said, “The country has laws, we have rules and regulation. We will answer in court.” His deputy said parties involved should have known the book was banned, since her department had already advised the Home Ministry (KDN) that it considers the book “un-Islamic.” Masitah Ibrahim, Deputy Minister in charge of Islamic affairs, argued, “We did our part, if Borders wants to sue, we will see them in court. She should be responsible for distributing something that's against Islam. Our part from Jawi is that we've give our comments, we should prevent things that go against Islam. Other than that, the store manager, etc., they have to deal with KDN.” The book was banned because officials in Malaysia said it went against Islamic teachings, but activists and others told Bikyamasr.com they believe Manji's book was banned because she is a lesbian. Bookstore manager 36-year-old Nik Raina Nik Aziz was charged this week at the Syariah court for distributing and selling the book. If convicted, she could be fined up to $1,000 or jailed for two years. The company said Nik Raina has been victimized and is demanding that the charge against her be dropped. The chief operating officer (COO) claimed that she has no knowledge of the ban at the time of the raid. In fact, the notice only came from the Home Ministry a week later. As store manager Nik Raina was not involved in the book selection process, adding that she is grossly mistreated and want all charges against her be dropped immediately. Yau Su Peng, COO, Borders Malaysia, said: “This current event has really broken her down. There are a lot of concerns of the safety of her family, pressures being put on them from around, she kept on saying to me “I understand why I have to go through this, but my family, my friends not all of them will understand what's this all about, to them I am already guilty". For me, that's really sad because all she was doing was performing her duty." Yau is now worried about her other staff who are mostly Muslim. She said she may have to reconsider the hiring policy from now on. “You are asking me whether (am I) going to relook our hiring policies and consider excluding Muslim – my personal reaction to that is absolutely not. As a business person, I have to say, it has crossed our mind," she added. Activists and readers in the country told Bikyamasr.com that the ban was “ridiculous" and that “people should be able to choose for themselves what they read and how they react." Mohid Datuk Serat, a university student and political science major in Kuala Lumpur, told Bikyamasr.com that he hopes the charges will be dropped, or the government will intervene somehow. “It is really a dark spot on our future right now to be banning books and trying to force a certain belief over people," he began. “I just wish the government would let us choose how we want to react to different views." The Home Ministry banned the book last month after it was deemed offensive to Islam, contained “elements that could mislead the public," and was “detrimental to public order." According to Manji's website, the book “shows all of us how to reconcile faith and freedom in a world seething with repressive dogmas." She has been a longtime proponent of tolerance and understanding within Islam, and describes herself as a “practicing Muslim."
