The Islam Defenders’ Associations (Pembela) has announced plans to commemorate July 30 as Malay Civilisation Day.<br /><br />This comes after the NGO expressed its disappointment in seeing Muslims celebrating the Bon Odori Festival, an annual cultural festival originating from Japan.<br /><br />“I was shocked to see 35,000 people celebrating this Bon Odori Festival, who were mostly Malay-Muslims, even though the asatizah (religious teachers) group, including the religious authorities and the mufti forbade it. <br /><br />“This is based on the results of their study, which found that there are elements of syirik (idolatry) behind it,” said Pembela chairperson Aminuddin Yahaya (above) in a statement today.
