This is not about, dare I say it, pigs

 

Mohsin Abdullah, fz.com 

 

WE all know that Alvin Tan and Vivian Lee did with the “bak kut teh” invite and all. So I’m not going to drag everybody through all that nonsense again. And we all know the anger they triggered among Muslims and non-Muslims. So I’m not going to repeat the angry words and the calls for them to be “lynched”.

 

Instead let’s take a look at Mohamad Hanipa Madin, the lawyer-cum-PAS MP for Sepang. Rather what he said recently about the couple via a statement carried by The Malaysian Insider. 

 

To Hanipa, the couple should be given a chance to “redeem”  for their mistakes. “Any act of insulting religion, any faith for that matter, is despicable,” said Hanipa. But in this case both have apologised and should be given a chance and not repeat what they had done.

 

Islam, said Hanipa, is a about compassion and also “agama rahmah” or religion of mercy. “So I feel there’s nothing wrong for Muslims to accept their apology.”

 

He is suggesting a “soft and delicate” approach be used so that negative thoughts the couple have towards the religion can be removed. He cited a case of a non-Muslim poet in the days of Prophet Muhamad.  

 

The poet, said Hanipa, would often insult the prophet until one of the prophet’s companion, Umar al Khatab, could not take it anymore that he wanted to pull off the teeth of the poet.

 

“The prophet prevented Umar from doing so. Finally the poet embraced Islam and put his skills to good use in propagating the religion,” said Hanipa, quoting Islamic history.

 

“Islam will not be weakened by the insulting act of the couple and Islam will not be strengthened by our loud call for action to be taken against them using draconian laws such as the Sedition Act,” Hanipa was quoted as saying.