International Religious Freedom Report 2009 ~ Brunei

The US Embassy in Brunei has released the International Religious Report 2009. Of interest, there is a Brunei report starting off with what the Brunei’s Constitution states on religion: “The religion of Brunei Darussalam shall be the Muslim religion according to the Shafi’i sect of that religion: Provided that all other religions may be practiced in peace and harmony by the person professing them in any part of Brunei Darussalam.”

I am picking up stats and info from the report. During the reporting period from 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2009:

• Brunei’s population is 380,000. The population includes -
  197,260 (or almost 52%) are Muslims;
  16,215 (4%) are Buddhists (Buddhism is the second largest religious belief in Brunei);
  6,884 (1.8%) Christians;
  712 (0.2%) are Roman Catholics;
  242 (0.06%) Hindus;
  72 (0.02%) Baha’is;
  34 (0.009%) atheists;
  40 (0.01%) Taoists;
  33 (0.008%) Sikhs;
  7 (0.001%) Nasrani;
  53 (0.013%) of other religious groups; and
  16,916 (4.45%) did not state their religious preference.
• There are 101 mosques and Muslim prayer halls, seven Christian churches, three Chinese temples, and one Hindu temple officially registered in the country.
• The following religious holidays as national holidays: Chinese New Year, Christmas Day, Hari Raya Aidil Fitri (Eid ul-Fitr), Hari Raya Aidil Adha (Eid ul-Adha), First Day of Ramadhan (Ramadan), First Day of the Muharram (Islamic Calendar), Isra Mikraj (Isra Me’raj), the Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday, and Nuzul Al-Quraan (Revelation of the Quran).
• Several religious groups were banned that are considered deviant, including Al-Arqam, Abdul Razak Mohammad, Al-Ma’unah, Saihoni Taispan, the Baha’i faith, Tariqat Mufarridiyyah, Silat Lintau, and Qadiyaniah.
• There were 54 khalwat (close proximity between sexes) cases.
• 369 conversions to Islam.

The report said that the Brunei Government categorizes Catholics as distinct from other Christians. There is also an indigenous population that adheres to traditional beliefs, although they often convert either to Islam or Christianity.

Seeing is Believing Fund Raising Event

Disclaimer: Please note that I didn’t get anything for putting up this poster. This is entirely done due to the main cause of this event. Please do come along and experience a little of the many challenges face by the visually-impaired.

Fri, 6 November 2009 @ Hua Ho Manggis. Be part of the Seeing is Believing Charity Fund.

Lessons in life series: marriage cases

I hope I am not being hit by marriage counsellors because of this post but this can be a fact of life. Just take the humorous side of it yeah. P/S: Dont let this deter you from getting married.

#CASE 1

Getting married is like going to a restaurant with friends. You order what you want, then when you see what the other fellow has, you wish you had ordered that.

#CASE 2

At the cocktail party, one woman said to another, “Aren’t you wearing your wedding ring on the wrong finger??” The other replied, “Yes, I am. I married the wrong man.”

#CASE 3

Before a man is married, he is incomplete. Then when he is married, he is finished.

#CASE 4

Marriage is an institution in which a man losses his bachelor’s degree and the woman gets her master’s status.

#CASE 5

A little boy asked his father, “Daddy, how much does it cost to get married??” And the father replied, “I don’t know son, I’m still paying for it.”

#CASE 6

Young son : “Is it true, Dad, I heard that in some parts of Africa, a man doesn’t know his wife until he marries her?”

Dad : “That happens in most countries son.”

#CASE 7

Then there was a man who said, “I never knew what real happiness was until I got married, and then it was too late.”

#CASE 8

A happy marriage is a matter of give and take; the husband gives and the wife takes

#CASE 9

When a newly married man looks happy, we know why. But when a ten-year married man looks happy, we wonder why. Affair ?

#CASE 10

In the first year of marriage, the man speaks and the woman listens. In the second year, the woman speaks and the man listens. In the third year, they both speak and the neighbors listen.

#CASE 11

After a quarrel, a wife said to her husband, “You know, I was a fool when I married you.” And the Husband replied, “Yes, dear, but I was in love and didn’t notice it.”

#CASE 12

A man inserted an ‘ad’ in the classified : “Wife wanted”. The next day, he received hundreds letters. They all said the same thing “You can have mine.”

#CASE 13

When a man opens the door of his car for his wife, you can be sure of one thing : either the car is new or his wife is new.

#CASE 14

A woman was telling her friend : “It is I who made my husband a millionaire.”

“And what was he before you married him?” the friend asked. The woman replied, “A Billionaire.”