Don’t worry, I’m not contaminated

The Star

Muslim Malaysians have become way too fastidious about religious purity, said June Wong. Last month, two Malay laundromat owners decided to refuse service to non-Muslims, saying their customers need to be confident that they aren’t sharing a washer with someone whose clothes might be covered in bacon grease. Most Muslim clerics say the minuscule chance of inadvertent contact with forbidden materials does not warrant discrimination, and the rulers of the two Malaysian states where the businesses are based agreed. “This is not a Taliban state,” said Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar of Johor state. “I find this action to be totally unacceptable.” The laundromat

owners quickly scrapped their religious bans. But a growing number of Muslims still believe “that it is best to avoid contact with non-Muslims.” Malaysia is about 50 percent Malays, who are mostly Muslims, and 30 percent Chinese or Indians, who are mostly Buddhist, Christian, or Hindu. When I was a child, my family would share food with neighbors from other religions. Today, my Malay neighbors won’t eat any meals I prepare, not trusting an ethnic Chinese to offer them halal choices. We’re starting to see Muslim-only shopping carts and drinking cups. Will we no longer be able to sit next to one another on trains or hand each other bills and coins? Will Muslims “seek to segregate us?”