JULY 17 — In my years as a student in the 1960s and 70s, Catechism and Bible Knowledge classes at primary and secondary levels comprised students from various religious backgrounds.

Non-Christians voluntarily attended these classes, not because they were forced to in a Catholic mission school. Their parents knew there was no sinister attempt by the La Salle brothers to convert their children to Christianity.

Parents of Christian students, on the other hand, encouraged them to attend Agama (religious) classes where Jawi script, used mainly for religious purposes, was taught as well. Some of my staunch Catholic friends had even studied Malay literature and Islamic History in Form Six.

Many more celebrated events of pluralism occurred in my growing years. A standout was the annual trooping of Christians hand-in-hand with non-Christians — Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists — to the midnight church service on the eve of Christmas and Easter.

In and out of church, we knelt in rows — if only to show the belief that the existence of different types of people within the same society is a good thing. And we, Christians, never hesitated to return this warm gesture at their respective places of worship.

Looking back, I marvel at the young and old who were spectacular in their commitment to social equality and pluralism.

It was all about understanding and appreciating each other’s religion better. It was the perfect setting for a tolerant society, respectful of an individual’s beliefs.

Regrettably, that was then. Today, trouble rousers thrive on their ruinous obsession to fan sentiments of religious negativity.

Presently playing out controversially is the Islamic and Asian Civilisation Studies (TITAS), a subject to be made compulsory in September for local students in private tertiary institutions, regardless of their religion.

The move is to streamline the requirements between public and private tertiary institutions.

The issue has sparked debate over “creeping Islamisation” in the country and a course subject that’s “educational”. The differences in opinion have turned on the tap of chaos.

Consider: It sits well with the Malay right-wing contention that non-Malays refuse to understand and look down on everything Islam.

Detractors of making TITAS mandatory claim it is Putrajaya’s attempt to impose Islamic supremacy on to the country.

I have to ask: Would TITAS create a negative impression of the subject, instead of fostering communal understanding?

Would the move incite religious tension? Why wouldn’t the country move forward and Malaysians be global citizens by learning about Islamic civilisation?

Would it help if TITAS included studies of other major religions and civilisations in the world?

Would now be the time to ensure the national education system puts emphasis on the study of Chinese, Indian or European civilisations?

There’s no limit to knowledge and learning about any civilisation is not wrong.

Agreed, TITAS should not affect one’s cumulative grade point average. Malaysian Studies, which local students in public and private universities are required to take and pass, does not count towards the aggregate score.

But for an MP to say politics should not be dragged into the education system is naïve because politicians have often been the roadblock to reforms.

The dripping venom from those who find it difficult to understand the religions of fellow Malaysians is acerbic and the spiteful perpetrators appear cocooned in siege mindset. They have lost spiritual steadiness and inverted their values.

We are all people of the book and we can only be in awe of the idiocy of people who clasp fanaticism and restrain the young from learning with open minds.

* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.