| Submit your comments on this article |
| Southeast Asia |
| Cleric criticism closes Malaysian ghost museum |
| 2007-04-29 |
| A Malaysian state has closed down a museum exhibition on ghosts, ghouls and supernatural beings after Islamic clerics claimed it was detrimental to Muslims' faith, newspapers have reported. The exhibition at the state museum in southern Negeri Sembilan had drawn some 25,000 visitors since it opened March 10. But it also attracted criticism from religious scholars who charged the show was un-Islamic and based in fantasy, the New Straits Times reported. Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Rais Yatim also disapproved of the exhibition, saying it was not beneficial to the community. But the museum claimed its aim was to educate the public. The exhibition capitalized on widespread fascination in Malaysia with otherworldly creatures from local legends and mythology. Reports said artifacts on display included alleged vampire carcasses and a mythical phoenix bird. The Negeri Sembilan state government decided to halt the show after the National Fatwa Council ruled it was forbidden under Islam as it could undermine Muslims' faith, The Star newspaper reported. Some 60 percent of this Southeast Asian country's 26 million people are Muslims, who are subject to Islamic laws and fatwa council edicts even if they have not been enshrined in national or Islamic Sharia law. Abdul Shukor Husin, chairman of the fatwa council which advises the government on Islamic regulations, said spirits and supernatural beings involved the "invisible world" and were beyond the comprehension of the human mind. "We don't want to promote a belief in 'tahyul' (supernatural) and 'khurafat' (superstition) which we do not know about. We do not need to focus on such things or play them up by having such exhibitions," he was quoted as saying. |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #3 Maybe we'll have an Islamic museum: "See the ruins!" |
| Posted by: Jackal 2007-04-29 21:26 |
| #2 perhaps a djinn museum? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2007-04-29 16:17 |
| #1 With Islam in town, the museum didn't have a ghost of a chance. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-04-29 15:51 |