YB Nik Zawawi’s retraction does not amount to an apology. He is merely offering to substitute an emotive word (terpesong) with a more descriptive word (ubah suai). He explains that he was referring to the ‘original kitab injil’ which was revealed to Jesus without any changes” (kitab injil asal yang diturunkan kepada Allah nabi Isa tanpa sebagai perubahan). He is reiterating the Muslim claim that Jesus was given an ‘original kitab injil’ which is different from the four present gospels and that this supposed ‘original kitab injil’ has been lost.
Assuming for the sake of argument that Nik Zawawi’s claim is true, the consequence is that Muslims, including Nik Zawawi are in principle unable to produce a copy of this missing ‘original kitab injil’. Since Nik Zawawi has no access to a copy of this so-called ‘original kitab injil’, one wonders how Nik Zawawi is able to declare that it prohibits the consumption of alcohol. His inability to produce a chapter and verse from the ‘original kitab injil’ to support his declaration shows that it is fabricated without any historical foundation.
Since Nik Zawawi does not have a copy of his so-called ‘original kitab injil’, he is in no position to compare it with the present Christian Bible (restored through textual criticism and careful analysis of thousands of ancient manuscripts). As such, his assertion that Christians have altered the original Bible is made without a shred of textual evidence.
Contrary to Nik Zawawi’s assertion, the Christian Bible is based on solid historical foundations and abundant textual evidence. As such, the Christian community hopes that, for the sake of maintaining good interfaith relations, Nik Zawawi will make genuine effort to consult Christian scholars before making any public judgment on the Christian faith in future.
Date: 3 Nov 2020
Related Post
https://krisispraxis.com/archives/2017/07/faq-on-muslim-questions-christian-answers-updated/
What would be interesting to know is how extensive the manuscripts for the narrative of Muhammed the prophet are, in comparison. So little is known about that.