Armstrong Unbanned

Sometimes common sense wins.

I learned from Roosfa Hashim's article in Utusan Malaysia today that Karen Armstrong's A History of God which was officially banned in May 2005 is now now longer on the banned books list and is beginning to reappear in the bookshops.

Banned Books and Testicular Fortitude

Who, indeed, determines what you can read? Sisters of Islam were revving up their campaign against book banning at KLAB on Saturday with sandwich board ladies, t-shirts for sale, and snazzy paper bags to take them away in (below). And the postcards of course.

I am very happy to see SIS so actively involved. Most of the books which have been banned in Malaysia are about Islam, so it is necessary that an Islamic organisation can find the right counter-arguments.

The forum on Saturday afternoon brought together (from left, below) Astora Jabat (deputy editor of Al-Islam and columnist for Utusan Malaysia), V. Gayathry (Centre for Independent Journalism) and Norhayati Kaprawi (Sisters In Islam).


No-one from the Home Ministry (KDN) came. We aren't surprised.

Gayathry described a meeting that CIJ had had with the Ministry as ultimately depressing since there seems no will to change the way things are done. Most of the decisions about the books we can or cannot read are made by much less educated civil servants who may not even understand the books they are banning.

Most of the religious books that are banned are banned on the say so of JAKIM (Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia - The Department of Islamic Development Malaysia) and often because a single individual has complained about them. Some think that people who are not Muslim have no right writing books about Islam, hence the ban on some of the seemingly innocuous titles about Islam and books that have, up to now, been freely available here, sometimes for decades.


Astora gave a historical overview of book banning in the Islamic world. It hadn't occured to me that the Malay translation of the word "banned", "haram", carries the full weight of religious disapproval because it is the same word used for prohibition in Malay translations of the Qu'ran, and this of course discourages protest of book banning from Malaysia's Moslems.

Astora also talked about free access to books that are banned via the internet, though I have no idea of the website(s) he was referring to and would be grateful if anyone can let us know.

There were some questions and comments from the audience. One woman told an unbelievable tale about trying to buy one of Karen Armstrong's still unbanned titles - the bookshop had it in stock but was afraid to sell it because they said they had "been strongly discouraged" (by whom? presumably KDN officers?) from selling it and other of Armstrong's books.

I was going to talk about the restricted books but since Raman was sitting right behind me, and since he is the one who had alerted the world to the issue, it was better that he spoke. He talked of arbitary bannings of Khalil Gibran and Rushdie's books.

Raman asks (rhetorically), does the new Minister, Syed Hamid Syed Albar, know what's going on, or actually have the will to change anything? Above all does he have (Raman's favourite phrase) the necessary "testicular fortitude" to put things right?

Perhaps there is some hope ... wasn't he the person who invited Karen Armstrong to speak in Malaysia though several of her books were banned?


KDN officers often just take matters into their own hands, prime examples being the restricted books issue, the seizure of bibles, and the seizure of Christian children's books. In each case, it appears that KDN officers acted unilaterally, and only after there was an outcry did the Ministry slap wrists and put things right. Each of these instances has made Malaysia look pretty silly from overseas.

Something else that was discussed - authors often not knowing that their books were banned and therefore running out of time to mount an appeal. I gave the instance of Amina Wudud (see comments here) who thought I was spreading baseless rumours about her book being banned.

(Amina (if at all you revisit my blog) it is more helpful to stand with us and fight bannings than to turn round and bite the blogger who broke the bad news, hoping you - and others whose books were banned would actually help us to fight.)

All in all it was a good meeting and the first real coming together of concerned parties from different organisations. I hope that it is the beginning of something much bigger. I hope too that everyone who is concerned about books being banned will protest not just the ban on the books which represent their own religious or social views but all banned books. On principle.

DAP MP Theresa Kok has, as far as I know, has been the only politician to ask a question in parliament about banned books, but she was asking only about Christian books. (And she got no answer, of course.)

(It appears it isn't just books that are banned ... apparently Patrick Saw had some of his t-shirts with irreverent messages on them seized from his stall in central market by KDN officers!)

Karen Armstrong ... Recorded Elsewhere

Sick at heart I am (still) that I had to miss Karen Armstrong's talk on Saturday. Vision they say is always 20/20 in retrospect, and I realised that although I felt I had to keep a promise I'd made earlier, in actual fact MPH could have managed perfectly well without me - though that event was also useful and I will write about it later. (Note to self: sometimes own needs must be put first and stop saying yes to everyone!)

Anyway, the next best thing to being there is a trawl through blogs to see what those who did go have written. And everyone who is anyone was there. ('Cept me.)

According to Dina it was a pretty mixed bunch that turned up:

... young people, old people, professionals, locals, foreigners, ambassadors and ceos, writers, priests, men in kopiahs, nuns, women in hijabs, it was a great crowd. i've been to a few conferences and usually i'd be yawning away because everyone's so quiet and serious, but today's energy was good.

A Voice came away enthralled, and gives an excellent account of the talk.

Hafiz Noor Shams (from whom I have nicked the photo above) found what happened in the Q and A session particularly interesting:

A person came to the microphone and call for the government to undo the ban on Armstrong’s book. The crowd immediately gave the person a resounding round of applause. Armstrong completely agreed with the person and continued to say something to the effect that when freedom is suppressed, the human spirit sours and so too religion with it. The call for freedom is all the more impressive because this event was organized by the Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations, an arm of the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Syed Hamid Albar, the Malaysian Foreign Minister, was there, sitting by the former PM’s side. Furthermore, since the restriction* on the book began in 2005, the remark is a direct comment against the Abdullah administration.

The book referred to here is A History of God which isn't even the only one of Armstrong's books banned! Muhammad: A Biography of the Prophet was banned in the same year and The Battle for God: Fundamentalism is Judaism, Christianity and Islam, was gazetted as banned last year. (Severe penalties in place for even possession of banned books - up to 3 years jail or a fine of RM20,000!). No explanation for the ban has ever been made public.

Marina Mahathir asked the question I would have wanted to ask: what Armstrong thought about her books being banned in Malaysia:

... she said that she wasn't losing any sleep over it and indeed there were many in the West who would like to see her books banned there primarily because of her defense of Islam. But she added that banning books does nothing to further the cause of Islam. "Malaysians are grownups, "she said, and are perfectly capable of deciding for themselves what to think about anything, including religion, a remark which won her great cheers from the crowd.

There's a bit more consolation to be gained from the extensive coverage in the Star yesterday, including a report of the event, a Q&A and a lengthy interview with the author by Shahanaaz Habib. The Star has also put up a video of part of the interview which is well worth watching.

For those who'd like a bit more, you can find the documentary version of A History of God here and an excellent interview with Armstrong on salon.com here.

Am convinced I need to read Armstrong and never mind the bloody ban!

Karen Armstrong Lecture

I heard some time ago that author and religious commentator Karen Armstrong was coming to KL to speak, but wasn't at all sure the lecture would go ahead. If her name seems familiar, it's probably because her books have been banned in Malaysia. All the more reason to listen to her!

PUBLIC LECTURE BY KAREN ARMSTRONG ON "THE ROLE OF RELIGION IN THE 21ST CENTURY"

As you may be already aware the Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations (IDFR) together with International Movement for a Just World (JUST), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) are co-organizing the above lecture on Saturday 16 June 2007, 10.00 am at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Kuala Lumpur.

Admission is free.

If you and your friends are interested in attending the above lecture please contact Puan Shazatul (IDFR) – Tel: 21491018 / 21491000 Email: shazatul@idfr.gov.my.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE: KAREN ARMSTRONG

Karen Armstrong is one of the world’s leading commentators on religious affairs. She is a best-selling author, whose books have been translated into forty languages. Her early work focused on the monotheistic faiths of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, but she has since begun to explore the eastern religions. Her work is scholarly but written for the general reader, and has been appreciated not only by western audiences but also by Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus. She is a broadcaster, columnist, and is much sought after throughout the world as a public speaker. Her focus is not only on theology and spirituality but on the political implications of faith in the modern world.

Karen Armstrong spent seven years as a Roman Catholic nun in the 1960s, but then left her teaching order in 1969. She studied English Literature at the University of Oxford, earning the degrees of B.A. and M.Litt.. Since then she has taught modern literature at the University of London, and headed the English department in a girls’ public school. In 1982, she became a full time writer and broadcaster.

Her books include: A History of God [1993], which became an international bestseller; Jerusalem, One City, Three Faiths [1996]; The Battle for God, A History of Fundamentalism [2000]; Islam, A Short History [2000]; Buddha (2001); The Spiral Staircase: A Memoir (2004); A Short History of Myth (2005).The Great Transformation: The Beginning of Our Religious Traditions (2006); and finally Muhammad: A Prophet for our Time (2006).

Since September 11, 2001, however, she has become chiefly known for her work on Islam and Fundamentalism, particularly in the United States. She has addressed members of the United States Congress and the Senate on three occasions, has participated in the World Economic Forum, and spoken at an informal debate in the General Assembly of the United Nations. In 2005, she was appointed by Kofi Anan to take part in the United Nations initiative “The Alliance of Civilizations” which completed its report on the reasons for the rise of extremism and the best means of stemming this in November 2006

In autumn 2001, Karen Armstrong was Scholar in Residence at Lowell House, Harvard University, where she also delivered the Tillich Lecture (2001), the Peabody Lecture (2002) and the Ingersoll Lecture on Immortality (2005). In addition, she has lectured at Yale, MIT, Stanford, McGill and many other universities and colleges throughout Canada and the United States. She has recently received honorary degrees at Aston University in the West Midlands, where her books are required reading on the MBA course, and at Georgetown University, Washington DC. In the autumn of 2007, she will become the William Belden Noble Lecturer at Harvard.

Thanks, Shan, for forwarding the email.

More Banned Books

Malaysiakini reported on Friday that eighteen more books have been banned in Malaysia by the Internal Security Ministry under the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984. (Thanks, Animah, for telling me.) The story can also be read on the Bernama news agency's website.

The 18 banned books (with links when I could find them) :

1. The Bargaining for Israel: In the Shadow of Armageddon (Mona Johulan, Bridge-Logos Publishers, United States (USA).
   
2. Islam (Mathew S Gordon, Oxford University Press (OUP))
3. Lifting the Veil (Trudie Crawford, Apple of Gold, United States)
   
4. A Fundamental Fear: Eurocentrism and the Emergence of Islamism (Bobby S Sayyid, Zed Books Ltd, UK)
   
5. Islam Revealed: A Christian Arab's View of Islam (Anis Shorrosh, Thomas Nelson Publishers, USA)
   
6. What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam (John L Esposito, OUP)
   
7. Mini Skirts Mothers & Muslims (Christine Mallouhi)
   
8. The Battle for God: Fundamentalism in Judaism, Christianity and Islam (Karen Armstrong, Harper Collins, UK)*
   
9. Kundalini For Beginners (Ravindra Kumar, Health Harmony, B Jain Publishers (P) Ltd, India)
   
10. Sacred Books of the East (Epiphanius Wilson, J-Jeiley Asian Educational Services, India)
    
11. Sharing Your Faith with A Muslim (Abdiyah Akbar Abdul-Haqq, Bethany House Publishers, USA)
    
12. Cults, World Religions and The Occult (Kenneth Boa, Chariot Victor Publishings, UK)
    
13. Petua dan Doa Pendinding, Penawar, Penyembuh Penyakit (Awang Mohd Yahya, Unsie Publisher, Kuala Lumpur)
    
14. Hakikat & Hikmah 7 Hari Dalam Seminggu (Abu Nashr Al-Hamdanly, Pustaka Ilmi, Batu Caves, Selangor)
    
15. Pemuda Bani Tamim Perintis Jalan Imam Mahdi (Abu Muhammad, Penerbit Giliran Timor)
    
16. Kontroversi Hukum Hudud (Kassim Ahmad, Forum Iqra Berhad, Penang)
    
17. Risalah No 2 Dilema Umat Islam Antara Hadis dan Quran (Kassim Ahmad, Forum Iqra Berhad, Penang)
    
18. Siri 7 Amalan-Amalan Bid'ah Pada Bulan Syaban (Ustaz Rasul bin Dahri, Percetakan Putrajaya Sdn Bhd)

The only comment on the banning I could find was on Aiseyman's blog.

There is still no word from the government on why eleven titles (many of them books on Christianity) were banned last year, despite repeated attempts by the DAP to open up the debate. No doubt it will be the same story now.

Banning Books

According to the DAP website the Internal Security Ministry has banned 11 titles dealing with religious topics as being “detrimental to public order”. (Whatever that means!) The DAP of course wants to know why. As should we all.

These were books that were previously available here and one of them Great Religions of the World has been in circulation for more than 30 years and is published by National Geographic. (How subversive can you get?)

Another, A History of God by Karen Armstrong is a study of monotheism over 4,000 years and has been widely used by students of religious studies here. (Armstrong in fact has been honoured by the Islamic Center of Southern California as a bridge builder who promotes understanding among the three faiths.)

The other titles were Mercy Oceans’ Lovestream by Sheikh Nazim Al-Qubrusi, The Cross and the Crescent by Phil Parshall (I bought a copy of it more years ago than I care to remember, at a bookstall in Subang airport!), Messiah War in the Middle East and Road to Armageddon by Grant R. Jeffrey, The Sterling Dictionary of Religion by Amrita Sharma, The Word of Islam by John Alden Williams, Mysterious Facts: Strange World by Richard O’Neill, Mysterious Facts: Gods and Demons by Amanda O’Neill, Women and Islam by Fatima Mernissi, and Muhammad: A Biography of the Prophet by Karen Armstrong.

A society that bans books is surely a society in trouble.

Convergent ideas always will present a challenge to conventional thinking. But isn't that challenge best met by equipping ourselves intellectually? Isn't this what a knowledge-based society is about - inculcating the ability to think issues through clearly and logically, and to debate rationally? Or is this all just so much lip-service?