A Malaysian Muslim who embraced Christianity has gone missing after video-clips posted on YouTube showed him giving a speech in which he insulted and made fun of Islam and the Prophet Muhammad.Christian groups condemned the insults after recent news articles brought the videos to public attention.
After abandoning Islam, Benjamin Stephen reportedly left peninsular (West) Malaysia for the Christian-majority eastern state of Sarawak where he now claims to be a preacher.
Apostasy is a crime under shari’a law in Malaysia while the government has also warned it will take stern action against anyone who publishes articles insulting Islam online.
In lodging a police report against Stephen, the protem president of the Muslim Bloggers Alliance, Zainol Abideen, urged police and the home ministry to take action against the “apostate turned Christian preacher.”
Christian churches were quick to distance themselves from Stephen.
In a press statement, the Council of Churches of Malaysia (CCM) said that “the so-called preacher had acted as an individual representing his own views and not the official views of the churches.”
“The churches leave it to the authorities to act on this matter in such a manner that it will help to diffuse emotions and sustain peace and harmony,” the CCM statement said.
Amidst concerns that the videos may further strain already fractured interreligious relations, several Christians urged authorities to quickly arrest and prosecute Stephen.
“As Catholics, we condemn what Benjamin has done and we assure our Muslim friends that we have the utmost respect for Islam,” said Adrian Gomez, who said he spoke on behalf of a local group.
Leading Bible teacher, Thomas Lee Seng Hock, wrote in a Chinese newspaper that there is no place for such an attitude.
“I am disgusted with such intolerance, and the fanatical and uncompromising pursuit and propaganda of the Christian faith by the immature and uncouth preacher,” Lee wrote.
Alfred Tais from the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship (NECF) told local media that to embrace a new religion is one thing, but to humiliate your former religion or speak badly about any other religion is against Christian teaching and values.
SIC: CTH/INDIA