Isma Fears Halloween Will Spread Atheism Among Muslims

Halloween celebrations are organised by non-Muslims worldwide to shake the faith of Muslims and turn them godless, Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) alleged today.

themalaymailonline.com

According to a report in Sinar Harian Online, Muslim residents in Negeri Sembilan have voiced their concerns over the decision of an international school to allow a celebration of Halloween with their students, including those who are Muslim. The groups made their concerns known after spotting banners promoting the Halloween bash at the international school there.

freemalaysiatoday.com

Muslim groups in Malaysia have hit out at an international school in Negri Sembilan for promoting and organising Halloween activities that will take place on Oct 31, urging the Government to pull the plug on the event.

However, brushing aside calls to abort the event, the international school has said it will go ahead with its Halloween celebration, a Chinese-language newspaper reported on Sunday.

Its president Abdullah Zaik Abdul Rahman said it was likely that atheists were behind the events, claiming further that Halloween celebrations were also intended to spread atheism.

themalaymailonline.com

“We notice that such events are held to test moral limits or religion, and they are usually done by groups which are not religion-based — they are usually organised by non-Muslims. “What they are doing is promoting something that is anti-religion. Maybe it is done by atheists who want to shake one’s faith,” Zaik told a press conference here.

themalaymailonline.com

Isma ulama council chief Aznan Hasan also suggested that Halloween celebrations may be a concerted effort to weaken Muslim faith. “If it’s an isolated event, then it signals the poor understanding of Islam among Muslims, but what concerns me more is that if they are a form of planned attack (on Islam),” he told the same press conference.

themalaymailonline.com

Aznan also said such events were intended to make Muslim Malays “forget who they are” as celebrations like Oktoberfest and Halloween are western constructs.

themalaymailonline.com

Aznan also said such events were intended to make Muslim Malays “forget who they are” as celebrations like Oktoberfest and Halloween are western constructs. Zaik had made a similar accusation against the organiser of the Oktoberfest beer festival earlier this month.

themalaymailonline.com

Commenting on this, Zaik insisted that the Oktoberfest and Halloween celebrations were done to instil atheistic values and that they were designed to encourage Muslims to question the teachings of Islam. “It is a process. It is not just today. The reasons why they (non-Muslims and liberals) dare to question (the position of Islam and the Malays) is the culmination of such events,” Zaik said.

themalaymailonline.com

Isma’s detractors, however, argued that the Malaysians have long participated in such celebrations, and that there is no data to suggest that such events have led to Muslims abandoning their faith.

themalaymailonline.com

Halloween has its origins in the ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain (pronounced "sah-win"). The festival of Samhain is a celebration of the end of the harvest season in Gaelic culture. Samhain was a time used by the ancient pagans to take stock of supplies and prepare for winter. The ancient Gaels believed that on October 31, the boundaries between the worlds of the living and the dead overlapped and the deceased would come back to life and cause havoc such as sickness or damaged crops.

Masks and costumes were worn in an attempt to mimic the evil spirits or appease them. Trick-or-treating resembles the late medieval practice of "souling," when poor folk would go door to door on Hallowmas (November 1), receiving food in return for prayers for the dead on All Souls Day (November 2).