The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion
The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion |
| Posted: 13 Nov 2012 03:45 PM PST NOV 14 — It's been interesting watching as Nurul Izzah Anwar was publicly 'flogged' for 'insulting Islam'. So much self-righteousness! I half-expected someone to suggest she be tied to a stake and stoned in a public square. In a way, she was. The difference is that the stones had names written on them: Utusan Malaysia and Berita Harian. PAS, her so-called defender, pleaded she be excused for her 'mistake' as she was but a child! Last I checked, Nurul is in her 30s? I could write an entire column on PAS' track record on being incredibly condescending towards women and anyone who does not agree with their interpretation of Islam. But it's not just PAS. It's Umno. It's religious authorities. It's people like the Selangor MB who happily threw Nurul under the bus without even hearing her side of the story. She must answer to JAIS, he says (I'm paraphrasing). Where was the part where someone said she should answer to God? That's how broken religious discourse is in our country. Never mind that the facts are murky. Never mind that Utusan Malaysia and Berita Harian were not actually witness to what she supposedly said. Never mind that some of the articles written about the event are suspiciously skewed towards the bias (on both sides) of the writers. The message is basically Nurul has no authority to say anything on religion that is not the accepted norm. She is also a woman, which makes her even less qualified to speak about religion! The Muslims could be confused! You need to save them from confusion! Reading all the "Save the Muslims from being confused" sounds a lot like the rhetoric used about the opposition. "Do not listen to the opposition lies! They mean to disunite the people! The rakyat will be confused!" Malaysians seem to be an easily confused lot. What I'm really confused about is the utter lack of compassion shown anywhere in this scenario. Isn't religion about goodness? Isn't compassion somewhere in the narrative when you mention God? Instead all I see are a bunch of politicians and "authorities" standing high on pedestals passing judgement on someone saying something they were not, in the first place, even a witness to. No investigation. No looking for evidence. Just a very public stoning. No compassion. No fact-finding. No attempt at fairness. Is this justice? Is this goodness? Is God going to look kindly on you for your self-righteousness? Or was all this a display, sacrificing Nurul on the altar of politics? The biggest fallacy is that all this was about God, when it was all really about men and winning an election. It's a shame they had to forfeit their souls in the process. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist. |
| Posted: 13 Nov 2012 03:41 PM PST NOV 14 — I have been mulling over the same question over the past two months: Is Islam the topic of discourse overdone, and do we need another conversation about it? Covering Islam and Muslims is not for the faint-hearted. Especially if you are a Muslim woman writing in a Muslim country, and have not been schooled in religious studies, and looks like everything that is the opposite of what a Muslimah should be. Once upon a time, I wrote a book, which was really a compilation of articles I wrote for Malaysiakini.com, titled I Am Muslim. It was written and published when I was in my 30s. I am now writing about believers of a faith in Malaysia in a column for this website, titled Holy Men, Holy Women. As I conduct research, meet with people of varying and different faiths, I collide with that world I wrote about once. I read with awe, humour, embarrassment about all things religion which appear in the Malaysian media. That book was not a personal journey that so many readers felt and assumed it was. It was really stories about Muslim life, which centred around the city, though I did embark on excursions out of Kuala Lumpur. People kept asking me to do another IAM. There were failed attempts to get others to contribute to a book, but sadly, submissions were angst riddled. Confessions of sins which are now redeemed. There were not enough essays to make a book. I created a website. That tanked too. My publisher told me to take a break. I did for three years and came up with Holy Men, which has to be resuscitated soon! My editors told me to think again. Write about the Muslim experience around Malaysia. My family and friends told me to pursue the idea. I conducted a straw poll. I counted my age and wondered whether I was stark raving bonkers to even think about attempting this. When you hit your 40s, you ache everywhere. In spite of the exercise and foods you put in, age reminds you that you're not as young as before. Islam in Malaysia, post publication of my book, has become more politicised, and angry. But it can be also kinder and inspiring, with ustazes such as Dr Asri Zainal Abidin and Dr Juanda Jaya. Social media has created a boom among young Muslims in Malaysia. Child marriages, inter-faith wars, how can you not cover this? Kuala Lumpur's brand of Islam is not the same as that in Penang, Sarawak or Perlis. In the five years since IAM was published, many things have happened, and many more writers, intellectuals and activists have come to the fore, representing diversity in Muslim conduct, thought and lives. It's been exciting to see all this, and it's also been exhausting to observe too. "But you're already travelling and meeting these people along the way, anyway," friends said. I plan to cover a family's journey from the Middle East to Java to Malaysia in Holy Men the book, so why not expand the theme? While do I want to cover and revisit again, will the voices I plan to write about be as important when already you have A-list intellectuals and writers who have assumed the role (of ambassadors of Islam?) They're sexier. The people I write about are normal Muslims, who have dreams, hopes, challenges, and they're not sexy. Unless there's a cause attached to them. For example, a makcik in Kelantan will only be attractive if she's relevant to an issue: child marriages etc. Who wants to know what she thinks or dreams about? Everything about Islam and Muslims these days is KL-centric, and angry. Perhaps I should sit on this first. Maybe there is no need to even write about the Rest of Malaysia, when the media covers KL-centric stories most of the time. Why should I anyway, when it's easier and less stressful to not do so. Right. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist. |
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