Conflict in a cauldron - religion or culture?
- From: !pluto <!pluto@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 13 Sep 2005 14:26:45 +0800
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/40320
Conflict in a cauldron - religion or culture?
Claudia Theophilus
Sep 13, 05 2:19pm
Whatever it is that makes Ayah Pin?s followers tick and loyal to the
self-styled spiritual leader, one thing is clear. They have individually
strong views on Islam and their chosen way of life.
One of them who works as a freelance musician firmly believes that Islam
and Malays are not synonymous.
Nor Hazam Md Rashid, 33 (right in photo) is convinced that Malaysian
Muslims, particularly the Malays, are not practising moderate or original
Islam.
?Malaysia practices secular Islam which is used to control the Malays. But
this is a wrong practice of the true Islam,? he said when met in Kuala
Lumpur recently.
He described the original Islam as a religion which teaches Muslims to
accept the different races, religions and cultures of the world without
prejudice.
?In the Malaysian context, the true Islam would teach Muslims to gel with
non-Malays and respect the differences.?
He said many Malays supported his views but were too afraid to speak out
for fear of official harassment or mass persecution.
?Why don?t someone get the feedback of the Malays on this point? Let them
decide what they want and how to live their own lives.?
Unreasonable provision
In addition, he said, Malays had no choice in the matter of conversion.
?Thanks to the prevailing constitutional provision, Malays are
automatically linked to Islam.
?I think the constitution should be amended to pure or original Islam which
ensures freedom of religion.?
Nor Hazam said the provision was very unreasonable to the Malays as it went
against the interest of the main ethnic majority as well as the basic
freedom of religion.
He said only in Malaysia does a name denote one?s religion.
?An ethnic Indian born a Muslim and bearing a name with the joinder ?a/l?
or ?a/p? (s/o or d/o) instead of a ?bin? or ?binti? will be presumed to be
a non-Muslim and no one will realise that the person is a Muslim.
?The good thing is that people in this situation are able to live their
lives both as Muslims while retaining their respective cultures.?
Views like this are openly discussed among the followers of Ayah Pin or
Ariffin Mohammad (photo) in KL.
As for those living at Kampung Batu 13, dubbed the Sky Kingdom commune in
Hulu Besut, Terengganu, they too have their own views on Islam and Malay
culture.
Nor Hazam claims many of Ayah Pin?s followers in KL and other parts of the
country feel the same way as he does about Islam and the Malay culture.
?Cultural integration in our country is only possible for other races, not
for the Malays because of the official mix-up between religion and
race/culture,? he noted.
?If it?s true that Prophet Muhammad had brought the original Islam, then
Muslims should be able to easily integrate with other communities.
?Instead, secular Islam has caused Malaysian Muslims to remain isolated
from other Malaysians.?
All God's will
He said the religious department controlled the lives of the Malays.
?If they (religious authorities) were the country?s guardians of Islam,
they would not fear Malays renouncing it because they would know that the
true religion is strong.
?They fear Malays leaving Islam precisely because it is secular Islam that
is practiced here. No one has the right to decide another?s fate or
destiny. It is all God?s will.?
Citing the mufti?s post, he said it was a created position and not provided
in the original Islam.
?The country?s syariah administration is all about the politics of power
and the power of money.
?But who is monitoring the religious authorities? actions? They have a free
reign to do whatever they want to control the Malays.
?To disagree with secular Islam means that I?m in violation of a fatwa
(pronouncement).?
He was referring to the 1997 Terengganu state fatwa against Ayah Pin
declaring him a Muslim deviant and which prohibit the public from any form
of involvement with him.
Nor Hazam criticised secular Islam in Malaysia for ?promoting force,
humiliation, oppression, unlawful detention and violence?.
He cited the enforcement raids, allegedly unlawful demolition of the giant
replicas in Kampung Batu 13 and the charges against tens of followers
pending before the Terengganu syariah court as the most recent and clear
examples.
He said Malays were generally more prone to deviant teachings because the
prevailing Islamic system in Malaysia was ?self-created? and not divine as
it should be.
The word ?sesat? (deviant), he argued, was the agenda of the secular
Islamic system led by power-crazy ultra-Malays.
?The system is very oppressive... squeezing us very badly and threatening
us with terrible things,? he said, citing the mob attack against the
commune on July 18.
?Just look at what they did to the villagers and the property, the
religious authorities used arbitrary action.
?People should think critically about what?s been happening to us (Ayah
Pin?s followers) in the context of Islam as a religion of peace.?
Committed no crime
Che Suhadi Jiman, 40 (right in photo), who has been preparing and
submitting appeal letters to government agencies and rights bodies, said
accurate information was lacking over the whole issue of religion, race and
culture.
?Even where the media?s audience are mostly Malays, reports are not on what
true Islam is about based on the Qur?an. This is why everyone is confused
about the whole Ayah Pin issue,? he said.
?We want to rectify the negative public perception about us Ayah Pin
followers because we also have our rights under the constitution and the
country?s laws, and we haven?t committed any crime.?
He said they were trying to argue for the dissolution of the 1997 fatwa on
grounds that it is wrong to declare it without fully investigating the
subject matter.
?We intend to challenge it till the end. The fatwa stands because no one
knows how to challenge it.
?Furthermore, no one dares to do so. But I intend to prevent people from
being continuously conned by the religious authorities.?
Che Suhadi claimed to have been entrusted with the duty of spreading the
word and rectifying the errors and large gaps in understanding,
particularly on the point of Ayah Pin?s deviant teachings.
?The fact is, he does not teach. He merely deciphers or interprets visions
that followers have. His only advises everyone to keep repeating God?s name
in prayer and to do good.?
He said Ayah Pin always insists that followers comply with all the laws.
?This is why we have been sending memorandums to Putrajaya (and to relevant
bodies) because we want to follow all proper channels and exhaust all
avenues.?
He believes that the Terengganu religious authorities, whom Ayah Pin
followers describe as ?the real culprit? in the erosion of their basic
rights, had not complied with due process.
Sky Kingdom followers not guilty of ?treason?
02:51pm Mon Sep 05, 2005
No more demolition in Sky Kingdom, for now
01:09pm Sat Aug 13, 2005
Sky Kingdom - let them live their lives
12:26pm Tue Aug 09, 2005
Sky Kingdom: Bar Council appeals to syariah lawyers
10:58am Tue Aug 09, 2005
Unrepresented Sky Kingdom accused breach of justice
12:09pm Mon Aug 08, 2005
Sky Kingdom: Authorities unlike Talibans, worse
12:07pm Mon Aug 08, 2005
Govt under fire for 'persecuting' Sky Kingdom followers
05:42am Thu Aug 04, 2005
Sky Kingdom leveling an act of lawlessness
12:49pm Tue Aug 02, 2005
Sky Kingdom demolition 'legal'
10:09am Tue Aug 02, 2005
Sky Kingdom now a ?ghost commune?
10:56am Sat Jul 23, 2005
Sky Kingdom raid: Vigilante violence shameful
11:13am Fri Jul 22, 2005
=====================================================
[pluto note: the above is a verbatim copy and paste message without any comment from me. If i have any comment, it is in square brackets thus [pn...]
[pluto note:
Reading without understanding is idiotic.
Understanding without cybernetic dialectics creates harmonious discords]
cheers
pluto
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