Why non-Muslims have the right to ask about Islam, hudud
Every point raised by a non-Muslim about Hudud or Islam should be taken as an opportunity to enlighten the questioner and this should be done with patience and love.
By Ravinder Singh
Minister Azalina Othman Said and the president of the Intellectual Wisdom Society, Rehan Ahmad Jamaluddin, are angry with non-Musims who talk about Islam and hudud. Azalina said it was important in a multicultural country like Malaysia to respect the sensitivities of those different from oneself by race, religion and culture as doing so was part and parcel of fostering harmony. I couldn’t agree more with her on this point.
If she had lived in the 50s and 60s, she would have had first-hand experience of what harmony in then multicultural Malaysia was, and compare that with what we have today. The Muslims then were not afflicted with the “sensitivity” virus nor did they suffer from any allergy towards non-Muslims, the way a small number of them do today. Unfortunately, this same group has taken it upon themselves to speak for all Muslims.
How did this allergy to non-Muslims take root? The Muslims of the 50s and 60s, although they were like brothers and sisters to non-Muslims, never lost their faith, never felt threatened by the presence of temples and crosses, never felt offended if non-Muslims ate in their presence during the month of Ramadan.
Anyway, I wonder whether both Azalina and Rehan have given it a thought as to why non-Muslims talk about Islam and hudud (negatively is what I suppose they mean, as talking good fosters harmony and they wouldn’t be complaining about it then).
For a start, for how long have the non-Muslims been called “kafirs” and in doing so, exactly who is teaching whom to look down upon the “kafirs” and avoid them? Do they honestly believe that in this day and age, it is appropriate to label non-Muslims this way? Can they justify that?
Who has been snatching dead bodies from funeral parlours and how has this contributed to building bridges between those of Malaysia’s multiracial society?
Who has been unilaterally converting children and tearing them away from the other parent, in all cases so far, the mother? Is this a part of the syllabus for harmony? Should non-Muslims not talk about this?
Who has been making washrooms or toilets available for non-Muslims students to have their meals in during Ramadan so that Muslim students are not tempted to eat upon seeing their non-Muslim schoolmates doing so at recess? Is this the way to strengthen the faith of Muslim students?
How many teachers or head teachers, who publicly told non-Malay students to ‘balik Cina” or “balik India” were non-Muslims?
What about the case where a Muslim and a non-Muslim were taken to court for the same offence and the judge found the non-Muslim guilty and the Muslim not guilty because the judge was of the opinion that a Muslim would not tell lies?
How far does having separate trolleys for Muslims and non-Muslims in hypermarkets go towards fostering harmony?
What about preachers who criticise and belittle the religions of non-Muslims?
How about that professor who spews vitriol in his articles against “non-believers”?
Why do Muslims worry that non-Muslims will go to hell for not being “believers”?
The above and many more provide a lot of opportunity for non-Muslims to talk about Islam and hudud.
I have played and worked with Malay Muslims since my earliest school days. One of my close neighbourhood Muslims friends, who never fails to greet me as I pass his roadside stall, told me once that a Muslim customer asked him why he was so respectful to me (a kafir). My friend however was unfazed by this subtle attempt to drive a wedge between us. He is his usual self and this incident actually helped make our friendship stronger.
In the 60s and 70s, Muslims had no qualms about visiting the homes of non-Muslim friends on festive occasions. Where is this harmony today?
Rehan says non-Muslims have no right to talk about hudud. Even without hudud, the actions of certain fanatics are directly affecting non-Muslims and causing them untold misery and pain. In such an atmosphere, is it unreasonable that non-Muslims feel things would be worse under hudud?
Hudud has not been proven to be successful in reducing crime in the countries where it has been in practice for years. If crime is increasing in Kelantan, the most Islamic state in Malaysia, and the very state hudud is supposedly meant for, why? Why are the police not able to keep crime in check in Kelantan? Are they not allowed to enforce the Penal Code there?
So what is wrong with non-Muslims talking about hudud? Views from outside of one’s own circle can be educational and should be welcome. Every point raised by a non-Muslim about hudud or Islam should be taken as an opportunity to enlighten the questioners and this should be done with patience and love.
Do not be like certain school teachers who reprimand children for asking “too many questions” only because they themselves have no answers to the children’s’ probing questions.
Ravinder Singh is an FMT reader.
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