Malaysiakini.com（http://www.malaysiakini.com）
We Muslims are only protecting Islam, 20 May 2008
by Muslim Technocrat
I believe there is nothing wrong with our constitution that guarantees one’s religious freedom. And I believe the constitution really guarantees it. I have not seen a Muslim stopping any non- Muslim from performing their religious rites or rights. Even if roads are closed and clogged with refuse after a non-Islamic religious procession has ended. Have you heard any of us protest? Can we see this in Singapore?
Muslims have never burned any temples or churches except for one isolated incident many, many years ago by overzealous people who misunderstood the true teachings of Islam. And they ended up getting themselves killed. Has the Kelantan government ruined any place of worship that belonged to the non-Muslims? Have non-Muslims all over the country been forced into professing Islam? Please check these facts.
What we Muslims are doing now is merely stopping our people from crossing over. I am very sure that non-Muslims also do not like any of their brethren to convert into Islam. Is it not because of this dislike that our non-Muslim brothers and sisters are crying foul over the so-called ‘body-snatching’ cases? Is it wrong for us to stop our people from crossing over and to protect and uphold the holiness of our religion? Why do the non-Muslims like to meddle or give their unsolicited opinions regarding what is right or wrong about our religion when they don’t even know the religion? Let us alone understand it!
So please stop from championing or citing Lina Joy’s case. As in the case of the late Gan, if my memory doesn’t fail me, he also has a son who is a convert. Why was this son’s testimony so conveniently forgotten when this case is cited? Please don’t be biased when citing cases. And also don’t be too naVve.
However, I call for the Shariah courts and Jabatan Agama Islam to review two important issues namely conversion into Islam and deciding on the dead who claimed to have converted. Do not simply allow one into Islam unless he or she truly wants to be a Muslim especially those who are converting just for the sake of marriage. They have to be made to truly understand the edict on apostasy. And I truly believe, too, that all our non-Muslim brothers and sister should be also made to understand this edict.
Once they do, then conversions of convenience - especially by way of marriage - will be greatly reduced. I know this sound ridiculous but certain things just cannot be explained - like the existence of God or the creation of mankind. On the dead, as much as it is sinful not to bury a Muslim according to the rites, it is equally or even more sinful to give a non-Muslim a Muslim burial rites. To all mufti, please remember that Islam is not just simply written on paper.
Inasmuch as our non-Muslims brothers expect us not to teach them or their children about Islam, we too, do not expect our non-Muslim brothers and sisters to propagate their religious teachings to any of us and our children, especially our daughters. We have to tell and teach our children the differences in the religions that we embrace and how it is impossible to live together without embracing the other’s beliefs. It is always better to nip this in the bud then trying to rationalise things out later since it is impossible for a Muslim to leave his and her religion. May I repeat again, it is impossible for a Muslim to leave the religion.Having said the above, nonetheless we can work together as brothers and sisters or as Malaysians. We can work along a common point in commerce et cetera. Where the points are not common, we should stay away from them and respect what the other party’s beliefs are rather than attempting to give a stupid view or opinion when one doesn’t even have a scant knowledge about the other’s religion. Is this too difficult to do? Like the old saying puts it: ‘When you are in Rome, just do as the Romans do’.
Then we will live peacefully together whether you are a Muslim or otherwise but most importantly as Malaysians who come from different cultures and religious beliefs. Let’s stay that way.
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