Nachdem sich während meines dreitägigen Aufenthaltes in Malaysia die Religionspolizei nicht hatte blicken lassen, alle möglichen Tempel und Kirchen existierten und überall Weihnachtsmusik gespielt wurde (am Flughafen in Penang verkaufte sogar jemand Holzschnitzereien vom „Letzten Abendmahl“ und es waren offizielle Weihnachtsgrüße aufgehängt) startete ich am letzten Nachmittag den ultimativen Härtetest für den islamischen Staat: Würde es in einer Buchhandlung Richard Dawkins „Der Gotteswahn“ (The God Delusion) geben?
Also ab in den MPH Bookstore im Johor Bahru City Square – gleich gegenüber dem Grenzübergang nach Singapur. Zunächst fiel mein Blick auf muslimische Frauenmagazine und muslimische Frauenromane:
Ts, ts… wenn man es nicht aus deutschen Medien besser wüsste, müsste man glatt meinen, diese Musliminnen wären ganz normale Frauen wie alle anderen auch…
Ich meine, es sei gleich daneben gewesen – da fand ich zumindest schon mal Richard Dawkins‘ „The Greatest Show on Earth“ – übrigens mit einen sehr schönen Cover, etwas anders als das englische und das amerikanische:
Als nächstes fand ich – Hans Küng! Daneben übrigens auch Karen Armstrongs „The Case For God“.
Und da war er: Der Gotteswahn:
Ich habe gleich ein Exemplar als Weihnachtsgeschenk für einen Verwandten gekauft.
Und dann noch als Tüpfelchen auf dem i:
Ich kaufte unter anderem noch folgende Bücher:
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Leider muss ich erst noch das blöde Nonnenbuch zu Ende lesen… ein wirklich schlechtes Buch. Dazu ein andermal mehr.
Skydaddy's Blog 
Malaysian Muslims are the so-called moderates. It’s a secular country(not an Islamic state per se), even though Islam is the official and the religion of the majority. Most Malaysians are peace loving and naturally tolerant to each other, and there’s no religious tension between the different communities. But there are a few instances of exception, and this is slowly becoming the trend. The Malaysian society is becoming more sensitive and divisive. Recently, there was a row between some Muslims and Christians over the use of the word „Allah“. The problem was discussed by theologians in a proper way, but soon it deteriorated into a political issue. There were a few protests using home-made explosives, but generally they were contained. Luckily enough, most Malaysians are rational.
And again I would like to point out, that Malaysia is NOT an Islamic state. And it must be understood that, much like Christianity, Islam has spread across continents. There are variations and cultural/traditional differences between Islam practiced in the West, Africa, Middle East, South Asia and South-East Asia. In terms of SEA, the Malays have been Hindu-Buddhists and to some extent been animistic before they accepted and assimilated Islam. So, it’s a syncretic process. Some of the animistic and hindu-buddhist elements still survives in their tradition. For example, Shamanism and some aspects of their cultural practices collectively known as the adat. But recently, there have been the drive within the Muslim community to shed their ancient traditions which are regarded as incompatible with Islam. I can write more about the cultural differences, but one major point I want to make here. Muslim malay women never really wore the hijab. Normally, they wear a more flexible and comfortable headscarf called „tudung“. And it is also not uncommon to see them without tudung.
About the books, not all bookstores sell these books openly. My friend in KL(the capital city) told me, the bookstores there don’t display these books on the shelf.
3 days in JB(an urban area) is not a strong test for the activities of the religious police. Normally the officers from the Islamic department don’t really operate in the major cities. They are found in higher numbers in sub-urban and Muslim concentrated areas. Perhaps, the best time to see them is during the fasting(Ramadhan) period. However, they will only be concerned with the Muslims and will not be bothered about the rest.