1. New Straits Times Online (http://www.nst.com.my)
'Allah' inscription on meat astounds villagers, 28 September 2009
ALOR SETAR: Villagers flocked to a house in Kampung Alur Gunung here where meat bearing the word "Allah" in Arabic was discovered.
Housewife Rashadah Abdul Rani, 57, whose daughter discovered the inscription, said her son had bought the meat from a market in the village yesterday.
"I asked him (son) to buy a kilogram of meat at the market to prepare for our sahur meal for the Syawal ''Enam'' fast (optional fasting after Ramadan).
"I cut the meat into six pieces and soaked them in the water. It was my daughter, who was helping me in the kitchen, who saw the word ''Allah'' on all six pieces of the meat," she told reporters at her house here today.
Rashadah said she planned to dry the meat and keep it or use it for medicinal purposes.(Bernama)
2. Malaysiakini.com (http://www.malaysiakini.com)
Ex-mufti: Conspiracy not political, but religious, 5 November 2009
by Christine Chan & Jimadie Shah Othman
Former Perlis mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin has claimed that a 'conspiracy' authored by religious authorities might have led to his arrest on Sunday night.
In an interview with Malaysiakini today, the 38-year-old Islamic scholar dismissed the possibility that there were political elements involved.
Asri said that his vocal and critical views against some religious authorities could have ruffled feathers, resulting in him being targeted.
He was also mystified by the large number of police personnel and officials from the Selangor Islamic Department (Jais) who were deployed to arrest him.
"It does not make any sense that there were more than 10 police personnel and 30 Jais officers during my arrest. It looks as if they were arresting a terrorist!" he lamented.
"And at the court the next morning, there was still nothing, no charges, or investigation," he added.
Asri was arrested after delivering a religious discourse at a bungalow in Ampang, Kuala Lumpur, on the grounds that he had no authorisation to do so.
Among others who had attended the talk were Ampang PKR MP Zuraida Kamaruddin and Hulu Kelang state assemblyperson Saari Sungib.
His arrest drew flak from various quarters, including Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.
It was speculated that his detention could have been related to his proposed appointment as the new president of the Islamic Da'wah Foundation of Malaysia.
His appointment was opposed by the Syarie Lawyers Association of Malaysia (PGSM) on the grounds that he had insulted certain Islamic scholars.
The association had also sent a memorandum, backed by the 13 Muslim non-governmental organisations, to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on this matter.
3. Bernama.com (http://www.bernama.com)
Ulama Should Explain Decisions And Rulings - Abdullah, 12 November 2009
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 12 (Bernama) -- Ulama have been urged to explain the reasons, guidelines or methods used in making decisions or opinions on religious rulings or issues to avoid public confusion.
Institute of Islamic Understanding (Ikim) chairman Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said many issues in society were in dire need of explanations by the religious experts such as the use of the word Allah, yoga, deviant teachings, Syiah doctrine, anti-mazhab (anti-sect) and anti-Sunnah Wal Jamaah (anti-Sunni Islam).
"This phenomenon exists because the edicts gazetted and published are not always accompanied by explanations, while the decisions made by the syariah courts are often without written judgments which explain the reasons or rationale," he said when opening the Taqlid (imitation), Ijtihad (endeavour of making a religious decision by independent interpretation of the Quran and Hadith) and Talfiq (deception) seminar, here, Thursday.
The former premier said the majority in society were no experts in syariah law and religious matters, and they could be categorised as the less educated and highly educated.
He said the biggest challenge was dealing with the less educated, especially those without formal education, who required rational explanations on almost all matters.
"It is especially an awesome challenge for the ulama group because if their fatwa (edicts) are not convincing, there can be conflicts and disunity in society."
Abdullah said to address the problem, the best approach would be ijtihad, and the sanctity of syariah law depended on the integrity and ijtihad capability of the Muslim community.
"We have to acknowledge that syariah law is no conservative law. Syariah must continue to grow and be able to determine the rules which govern our lives as Muslims and in all fields," he said.
Abdullah said the ulama group must also be prepared to face new challenges. "Islamic understanding must be expanded and enhanced from the school level up to the tertiary level."
He said the media also had a role to play in providing the best explanations on religious matters and not add to the confusion in society.
The three-day seminar, with about 300 participants, is to provide understanding of the concepts of taqlid, ijtihad, talfiq and related terms, besides the Islamic law objectives.
(BERNAMA)
4. Malaysian Insider (http://www.themalaysianinsider.com)
Who speaks for Islam in Malaysia?, 11 November 2009
Some time ago I was interviewed by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation for a radio feature, and was asked about “… the creeping conservatism of (Islam) in Malaysia)…”. When I responded (to Kartika’s whipping) that this was what many Muslims wanted, even though they felt that an example should be made on the ruling elite who drank and led corrupt and un-Islamic lifestyles, Kartika’s punishment was apt. True Muslims would not or dare err.
I also mentioned that many Muslims believe fervently that by having an Islamic state, the rights and freedoms of non-Muslims will be protected. A prime example of that would be Kelantan. Nobody is stopping them from attending concerts, and so forth. It is just the impressionable young and liberal Malays who want to attend these events and lead “… a hedonistic Western lifestyle…”
I said all this with confidence, because this was what I have observed and been told by my peers. And they were not uneducated and unexposed hicks; my peers have been educated abroad and are successful professionals.
When it comes to the Western media, and so-called "progressive", "liberal" Muslims, their idea of Islam is different from the grassroots’ idea of their faith. I have been accused of being a relativist; I beg to differ. I’m a realist.
While this country’s Constitution says Malaysia’s official religion is Islam and that Malays are constitutionalised Muslims, and that Malaysia is not an Islamic state, Muslims in Malaysia, especially Malay-Muslims, do not see a demarcation of the state and faith.
Zulkifli Noordin may be an anomaly to secularists and human rights activists, but there are many Zulkifli Noordins in this country. This is not a pessimistic view of faith in Malaysia: this is a realistic view of Malaysia’s Islam.
In a joint study conducted by Merdeka Center and the Asia Foundation, "National Youth Survey 2008", it was discovered that religious identity was very important to youth today. Thirty-eight per cent would identify themselves as a follower of a certain religion. Identification as Muslim was very important to Malay respondents. Among the Malays, 62 per cent chose to be identified as a Muslim but Muslim Bumiputeras from Sabah and Sarawak preferred to be identified as Malaysians where three in five Muslim Bumiputeras wanted to first call themselves Malaysians. The new generation of observant Muslims are more conscious of their faith than their parents and older generations.
So, who speaks for Islam, globally and in Malaysia?
Anyone who can think and communicate, despite his or her Islamic leanings.
Your Islam may not be my idea of Islam.
One interesting example to see how one version of Islam can be misconstrued is a feature which appeared in the Huffington Post on Oct 24. Dalia Mogahed, executive director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies, recounted her television interview on Muslimah Dilema as “…unpleasant surprise, I found out on air that I was joined by a member of Hizbul Tahrir (HT), a marginal but controversial group which denounces Western democracy and calls for the creation of a pan-Islamic state in the Muslim world.”
“The HT representative on the programme dismissed or ‘reinterpreted’ findings I presented so as to not challenge the group's simplistic utopian ideology which holds liberty in contempt as morally decadent. For example, as I regularly report, our research shows that far from denouncing democracy, Muslims around the world say it is among the things they most admire about the West, specifically mentioning 'liberty' as a desirable attribute. Around the world, from Morocco to Malaysia, Muslim respondents described their respect for much of what the West holds dear: freedom of the press, the rule of law, and transparency and accountability of government.
“To them, my crime was that I reported that many Muslim women wanted sharia as a source of legislation. I also explained that Muslim women surveyed by Gallup said they believed they should have access to equal legal rights, free employment, voting without family influence, and even leadership positions in government. This suggests that many Muslim women see sharia differently from those who use it to deny women rights. For simply stating the results of the survey research, I stood accused of ‘endorsing’ Taliban-like rule, and downplaying the abuses done in the name of sharia.”
The law of relativity, et tu?
In Malaysia, the way I see it, the main concerns about the practice of Islam are (1) Muslims in Malaysia are generally from the Sunni school of thought and (2) we are not allowed to challenge and question ulamas.
But in an increasingly pluralistic Muslim Malaysia — we have minority Muslims such as the Shiites, the Ahmadiyyahs (though this may be contested greatly even by progressive Muslims as we believe the Last Messenger was Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) and in the Second Coming of Christ, while the Ahmadiyyahs believe that the latter will not happen and Christ or Isa has been “reincarnated” in their “prophet” Ghulam Sarwar. More on the Ahmadiyyahs in subsequent articles) and a growing number of Chinese and Indian Muslims as well as the Muslim migrant community — there will be clashes and different interpretations of Islam. Does that make them any less Muslim than the majority? Is the majority correct? Reading the Malay tabloids and newspapers already shows that some of the majority follow rather strange… leaders or prophets of Islam!
Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin’s rather dramatic religious adventure should be taken positively. The fact that such a personality has challenged the authority of a long-established elite, and given us Muslims the permission to think is a minor revolution, so to speak. (On this note: does this mean that the local neighbourhood ustaz is no longer allowed to lecture and talk about Islam in the private homes of his constituency?)
We still have a long way to go. We have yet to reconcile our religion on racial lines: Malay Muslims versus Chinese Muslims and Indian Muslims (who are not considered Bumiputera by the way), for example. There is a chasm among the minority liberals, and factions among conservative Muslims. We must also remember that there have been political and ideological differences in Islam, which has enriched and also embittered Muslims throughout time. If you read John Esposito’s book “Who Speaks For Islam” , the Muslims surveyed come from different backgrounds. There is only one Islam — all these labels have been created to belittle opponents and ridicule them.
So who speaks for Islam in Malaysia?
All of us.
Now if we can only agree to disagree.
Copyright © 2009 The Malaysian Insider
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