We’ve experienced many different religious climates in the countries we’ve been to so far, from overtly Christian Ghana (but with some voodoo influence from Togo creeping in) to mostly Buddhist Thailand. Malaysia is primarily Muslim. While we have met many Muslims in West Africa, there is a big difference here in how we would talk to them here.
In Malaysia you are free to practice whatever religion you would like. The only exception is that if you are born a Muslim or convert to Islam, it is illegal to convert to another religion. So it is also illegal to proselytize to Muslims. That doesn’t mean that you can’t talk to them about what you each believe. You just can’t press them to convert or else you put yourself in danger but mostly them, because they would be giving up their family, their well being, even their lives if they became a Christian.
This puts us in an interesting place, considering the type of trip that we are on. We had to take a different approach than we’ve needed to take in any of the other countries we’ve been to so far.
During the two weeks we stayed in Penang, half of our team volunteered at a refugee school on the mainland. It’s a Muslim school where the majority of the refugees are Rohingya from Myanmar, also known as or previously known as Burma. The Rohingya are a persecuted people in Myanmar. They are denied citizenship by Myanmar and many have been tortured, raped, or killed, and many of their villages have been burned down. There is a large population of Rohingya in Malaysia seeking refuge. Since they are not citizens many have issues with finding employment and going to school. That’s why there are schools like this one.
We taught the kids whatever the teachers needed help with. Mostly English, but I also taught math and science. The older kids knew some English and most spoke Malay or Burmese or both. The school only had classes from 9:00am to 12:30pm. The kids were so kind and welcoming. At the end of the two weeks they gave us notes saying they love us and many came and thanked us for our time with them.
Once a couple of kids asked us, who is Isa? So Isa is Jesus’ name in Islam. One of the boys explained to them who he was by acting out Jesus being crucified. We confirmed that that was the case and that he came back from the dead. Then the kids got distracted and conversation moved elsewhere.
The thing is, Isa is literally the most important distinction between our faith and the other Abrahamic religions. Christians believe that not only is Jesus the Messiah (which Jews do not believe), but that he is the son of God and that he IS God (which Muslims do not believe and view as polytheism). But that Jesus is our savior and that he is God is the most important tenet of Christianity. So when the kids ask who is Isa, they are asking the literal most important question that they can be asking.
I’d like to ask you to join me in praying for these kids and their families, that they would continue to ask the important questions, that they would learn who Jesus is. And for the Rohingya specifically, that they would be able to have a home and not be persecuted because of being a different ethnic group.
Jessica
