MARCH 22 — Section 295 of the Penal Code is the first of five provisions in Chapter XV on offences relating to religion.
The section provides for the offence of destroying, damaging or defiling a place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class. It reads as follows:
Whoever destroys, damages or defiles any place of worship, or any object held sacred by any class of persons, with the intention of thereby insulting the religion of any class of persons, or with the knowledge that any class of persons is likely to consider such destruction, damage or defilement as an insult to their religion, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.
The offence is destroying, damaging or defiling a place of worship or sacred object with intent to insult the religion of any class of persons
To constitute the offence, the person accused (accused) must have –
(1) destroyed or damaged or defiled a place of worship or sacred object; and
(2) the intention to insult the religion of any class of persons
The first is the actus reus of the offence. “Destroying” is the most severe form. It usually means a total or partial demolition of a religious structure. “Damaging” includes any act that harms a place of worship or a sacred object. It doesn’t have to make them unusable. “Defiling” is often more symbolic. It includes acts that pollute, contaminate, or desecrate a sacred place or object.
“Places of worship” includes mosques, temples, churches, and gurdwaras. “Sacred objects” includes idols, religious texts, and holy artifacts – anything considered sacred by a religion. — File picture by Hari Anggara
“Places of worship” includes mosques, temples, churches, and gurdwaras. “Sacred objects” includes idols, religious texts, and holy artifacts – anything considered sacred by a religion.
The second is the mens rea (mental element) which is vital to proving the offence. It is conversely the main defence to a charge for the offence.
The offence is in consonance with the Quranic prohibition in Surah Al-An’am (Chapter 6) verse 108 which reads as follows:
“And do not insult what they invoke besides Allah or they will insult Allah spitefully out of ignorance.”
Imam Ibn Kathir, a renowned commentator of the Qur’an, said:
“Allah prohibits His Messenger and the believers from insulting the false deities of the idolators, although there is a clear benefit in doing so. Insulting their deities will lead to a bigger evil than its benefit, for the idolators might retaliate by insulting Allah, the one God of the believers.
“Ali bin Abi Talhah said that Ibn ‘Abbas commented on this verse as follows: ‘They (the disbelievers) said, ‘O Muhammad! You will stop insulting our gods, or we will insult your Lord.’ Thereafter, Allah prohibited the believers from insulting the disbelievers’ idols, lest they insult Allah wrongfully without knowledge.”
The message is clear: Do not insult religions or sacred objects of religion.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
