Apostasy

ARCHIVES 2012

By MT Webmaster On Jan 8, 2012

To most Muslims, Hasan Ali is doing the right thing. Heck, even the Sultan of Selangor backs him. And can the Sultan not back him when the Sultan is supposed to be head of religion? The Sultan will be committing hara-kiri if he chides Hasan Ali. He has no choice but to back Hasan Ali.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

How do you define apostasy?

Say I do not believe in the existence of God, I think that all those stories about prophets and miracles are old wife’s tales and folklore, and that all the so-called religious books like the Torah, Bible, Quran, etc., were fabricated by humans and are not the word of God.

Then, say, one day, for some strange reason, I suddenly start believing in the existence of God and I become a Christian. Would I be considered an apostate?

If you, by an accident of nature, happen to have been born to parents who are Muslims, then you would be committing apostasy. This is because, according to the Federal Constitution of Malaysia, you are a Muslim. Hence, if you become a Christian, then you would be regarded as having converted to Christianity and would therefore have committed apostasy.

The fact that before this you never believed in the existence of God, thought that all those stories about prophets and miracles are old wife’s tales and folklore, and that all the so-called religious books like the Torah, Bible, Quran, etc., were fabricated by humans and are not the word of God is immaterial. The fact that you were born to Muslim parents is. Hence you are a Muslim and no two ways about it even though, because of your disbelief, technically, you are not a Muslim.

Muslims are very sensitive about apostasy. They can run amok and kill or even die to fight against apostasy. And even back before Merdeka this has been so. Riots resulting in deaths have erupted due to this apostasy issue back in the days of British rule.

If you are, say, a Christian, and you decide to become a Muslim, you will receive VIP treatment. Your name will be revered and will be on everyone’s lips. If you are a superstar like Cassius Clay, Michael Jackson, Lady Diana, Cat Stevens, etc., even more so — although they may be mere rumours that they have converted to Islam.

However, if you are a Muslim, even a mere unknown student studying in the UK, and you become a Christian, all hell will break lose.

Actually, it is the same in politics. If you are an UMNO, MCA, Gerakan, or MIC leader — especially one who was a cabinet minister such as Zaid Ibrahim and Chua Jui Meng — and you cross over to join PKR or Pakatan Rakyat, you will receive red carpet treatment and they will say all sorts of nice thing about you. You will be garlanded and given an important party post without even having to contest that post.

However, if it is the other way around — you cross over to join Barisan Nasional — then God help you. The things they will say about you are unimaginable.

There are many who are unhappy with Hasan Ali and they want PAS or Pakatan Rakyat to sack him. But PAS — and even Anwar Ibrahim — can’t do that.

Hasan Ali holds the religious portfolio in the Selangor State EXCO. So he is just doing his job in fighting against apostasy and all those other things which Islam views as evil and sinful — such as drinking, partying, attending concerts, and whatnot.

Even Anwar Ibrahim and the PAS President can’t whack Hasan Ali for doing his job. And if the DAP Secretary-General tries to pressure PAS to sack Hasan Ali, DAP is going to lose a lot of the Malay votes from Penang. And Lim Guan Eng knows he needs the Malay votes to be able to retain the state in the next general election.

So what do you want PAS to do? Sack Hasan Ali? Okay, say they do this — they sack Hasan Ali. Hasan Ali then just walks over to Umno who are already waiting for him with open arms.

Why did PAS sack Hasan Ali? Because he fought for Islam even at the risk of being sacked from the party. Why did Umno take him? Because Umno is the one who is really fighting for Islam — alongside PERKASA and PEKIDA who also fight for Islam.

People will say: it looks like it is true what they say about PAS after all. PAS really has forsaken Islam and is a tool (kuda) of DAP while Umno is the true defender of Islam. PAS is even prepared to axe Hasan Ali just because DAP and the Chinese supporters of Pakatan Rakyat (plus readers of Malaysia Today) don’t like him.

Now you know why PAS can’t rein in Hasan Ali and why Anwar Ibrahim has to play deaf and dumb on the issue. It is all wayang kulit, of course. But is not politics wayang kulit anyway?

PAS can’t sack Hasan Ali on grounds he is putting Islam above the party. All Muslims are expected to do that — put Islam above everything else. They can, however, sack Hasan Ali if he breaches party discipline — like issue a statement saying that he will not attend the rally in front of the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Monday, 9th January 2012.

To sack Hasan Ali on grounds he is ‘too Islamic’ will turn him into a hero. And if Umno takes him, Umno will be seen as the true Islamic party and PAS as the hypocrites.

It is actually a very interesting situation and I wait eagerly to see how this card is going to be played. And if PAS does sack him and Umno does take him and all and sundry vilify him, then Umno can use this as political capital to ‘confirm’ that DAP is the real power in Pakatan Rakyat and that Islam is being compromised because of this.