Imams Lament Over Soaring Crime
By Azlan Othman

Bandar Seri Begawan - Escalating crime, especially in regard to theft in the sultanate came under the Imam's view yesterday as the religious leaders warned perpetrators against misdeeds.

In their Friday sermon, religious authorities said mankind has now stooped to committing dastardly crimes turning to narcotics, indulging in fraudulent activities, thefts, robbery kidnapping and rape, in other words, challenging the very power of Allah the Almighty in their criminal behaviour.

The alarming trends of surging crimes were given as an example whereby thefts showed an obvious rising trend in the past three years. Last year alone there had been 443 cases compared to 359 cases in 2006 while robberies escalated up to a 100 per cent.

Committing theft is a big sin clearly showing the person has no faith. According to some scholars, a thief will not receive forgiveness, regardless of whether the perpetrator performs repentance, so long as he had not returned back the stolen items to their rightful owner.

If the thief is bankrupt, he could seek forgiveness Halalness' for items that he stole from the owner of such property. If the owner of such property does not forgive him, then he will be questioned in the hereafter.

This depicts the suffering of those who commit such crime. It would be further aggravated should the thief pass away before he seeks forgiveness from the Almighty.

However the Imams said, it is not impossible for a thief to get back on track, just like a person committing any other crime. Haying adequate religious knowledge, civic mindedness and good moral values were the crucial factors that he should develop. Towards this, it requires initiative and earnest efforts by him if needed with the aid of several institutions like family, education, Islamic propagation and the mass media, could help such a fallen man to rise again.

The party involved should look at this crime with the deepest regret so that he can build and focus on building a credible society with high quality.

Parenting skills are crucial, the religious leaders said in moulding the character of their offspring. Parents should give their children adequate religious knowledge and be firm in their actions to build a society with good morals and learn to differentiate between the 'Hamm' and the 'Halal'.

Those who are complacent and ignore such a call will lead to their children engaging in social ills and crimes. The public is also urged to be vigilant and to safeguard their property by not opening opportunities for crime. This includes securing their doors and windows and leaving their cars locked at all times.

The public was also urged to report any criminal act to the police. As citizens of the nation, the Imams urged everyone to shoulder the responsibility of upholding peace and prosperity and pray for the well-being of the people and the nation from any bad deeds. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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