AUGUST 8 — I was very angry when I heard calls for the authorities to take action against a Chinese man who had complained on Facebook about the mosque’s loud morning prayers during Hari Raya.

What crime did he commit? Under what law should he be charged? Sedition?

It is mind boggling that it is deemed illegal to rant about noise in one’s neighbourhood. We all have the right to quiet and peaceful surroundings. If anything, the local authorities should have checked out the man’s complaint and if his neighbours were similarly concerned about the excessively high volume of the morning prayers, they could have asked the mosque to tone it down.

Sure, the man used profanities in his rant. But the last I checked, it’s not a crime to use foul language in Malaysia.

This incident followed shortly after the uproar over a video of an Indian-Muslim preacher discouraging Muslims to buy curry powder from “Hindu” companies.

Shahul Hamid’s rationale was that there was a statue of a Hindu goddess located at one of the companies’ factories.

News portal The Rakyat Post reported another video of the preacher, in which he said the Hindus have no god as the Muslim god is the one true god. He also reportedly advised Muslims not to visit the Penang Snake Temple.

At least 12 racial/ religious incidents were reported in the media since January last year, involving insults or the questioning of both Islam and other religions.

Half of the dozen incidents resulted in either police investigations or court charges under the archaic Sedition Act 1948.

The Muslim preacher was the latest to be probed under the Sedition Act. Others investigated under that colonial law include a Christian priest who allegedly said the churches would continue referring to God as “Allah”, a PAS lawmaker who allegedly wanted an Islamic council’s powers to be limited, and a DAP leader who challenged the government to repeat the May 13 race riots.

Those who have been charged with sedition include former sex bloggers Alvin Tan and Vivian Lee, who had allegedly invited Muslims to break fast with “bak kut teh”, and Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) president Abdullah Zaik Abd Rahman who allegedly called the country’s ethnic Chinese “intruders.”

The police have also used Section 298 or 298A of the Penal Code, which criminalises the act of causing hatred or ill-will on religious grounds, to investigate Muslim speakers who had allegedly called Jesus Christ a mere mortal at a Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) seminar, a Korean tourist who had allegedly worn a dress printed with Quranic verses, and Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali’s threat to burn Malay-language bibles.

Muslim intellectual Kassim Ahmad was charged under the Shariah law with insulting Islam for allegedly questioning the hadith and the use of the headscarf.

None of these incidents merit state prosecution and certainly do not deserve to be called “hate speech”, as there were no threats of physical harm.

What is so criminal about Muslim preacher Shahul stating that there is only one true god, and that all other gods are false? That is the basis of monotheistic religions like Judaism, Christianity and Islam. He was merely expressing his Muslim beliefs.

As for advising his fellow brethren against buying products from “Hindu” companies, that’s his right, just like how everyone else has the right to boycott corporations linked to Israel because of the Gaza conflict.

If it’s illegal for Shahul to express his beliefs, should we jail Christians and Muslims too for saying that everyone outside their faith will go to hell?

The Muslim speakers at UiTM who called Jesus a human prophet similarly are not guilty of committing hate crimes. Muslims just don’t believe that Jesus Christ was divine or that he was the Son of God.

People should not be jailed just for stating their religious beliefs, even if such beliefs offend others.

Outlawing the questioning of a certain interpretation of Islam, prohibiting Christians from calling God “Allah”, or even wanting the state to prosecute an annoyed resident for complaining about loud Islamic prayers is just plain ridiculous.

It’s even more laughable to call for state action against a DAP lawmaker who allegedly used a swear word against Umno. Umno is just a political party.

All of us have the right to ridicule, condemn, and criticise political parties in Malaysia with every expletive in the book. That’s what a democracy is about.

As an atheist, I don’t want to see my precious tax money being spent to imprison every Tom, Dick and Harry who makes racist comments or pokes fun at religion.

It’s about time that we repeal the Sedition Act and Section 298/ 298A of the Penal Code if we ever want to be a vibrant and developed nation that truly allows for freedom of speech.

*This is the personal opinion of the columnist.