MT Letter – Is Malaysia the Israel of Islam?
The end of World War II saw the rise to independence of this diverse region. As leaders of the new country sat to discuss the future, the topic of Muslim and non-Muslim animosity was placed in priority concern. For the leaders, for Muhammad Ali Jinnah, for Jawaharlal Nehru, the prospect of civil war between Muslims and Hindus, if living under one flag, seemed inevitable. Despite objections from the “Great Soul,” the partition of India and Pakistan became a historic finality. Should Malaysia have learned from this? After 57 years of Christians and Muslims residing side by side, has time finally come to accept that the dream of a diverse Malaysia was too outstretched? Is separation of state now imminent? Under the current form of “Islam” in Malaysia, the truth is that boiling tensions have long been destined. Over the years, strive for political gain has sacrificed the logic of Islam. So much so that it is safe to say the religion is extinct in Malaysia.
The first point of contention lies at the heart of legislation. According to the constitution, a Malay is firstly and automatically a Muslim. Under Sharia courts, a Malay has minimal (non existent) rights to leave Islam. In 1998, the government made conversion punishable by leaving ambiguous the point that converts could be seen as defaming the religion. The effects of this seemingly accepted definition comes twofold. For the Muslims and Malays, Islam becomes a legislated and imposed way of life rather than a personal choice. In essence, this forced custom thereby lies vulnerable to be perceived as a public burden. I still remember my mid-teens, sitting in an empty agama class. Of an expected 30, only 3 students regularly attended. I asked my South African ustazah if she’d want me to force the rest to show up. She looked at me plainly and said that 3 students who voluntarily attend is better than 30 who are made to. This is simple logic. Logic that is increasingly discarded by way of mandatory Islam.
By aligning Muslims as constitutionally Malay, non-Muslims are left unjustly to associate the two entities as one. The biggest infortune of this comes as Islam is used to legitimize affirmative action. In an UMNO General Assembly, Tun Dr. Mahathir made clear that “the biggest struggle is to change the attitude of the Malays in line with the requirements of Islam in this modern age…UMNO’s task now is to enhance the Islamic practices and ensure that the Malay community truly adheres to Islamic teachings.” It is ironic that Malaysia condemns Israel for seeing its Jews as the chosen people whilst we constantly see legislation that assumes Malays as the empowered Muslims.
The rise of Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) and UMNO’s reaction to the political competition was fundamental in developing extremist Islam in Malaysia (thereby degrading the religion). The 1990’s saw PAS prove its insistence to impose hudud law over its constituency. In Kelantan 1992, the party required amputation of the hand as punishment for theft, flogging and drinking. Despite restriction on implementation, PAS stayed on course to later propose kharaj tax (land tax) on non-Muslims in Terengganu. I think a side note is necessary here. Not only is kharaj tax (intended to convert non-Muslims) anti-Islamic, the very existence of PAS is deviant from Islam. As a proponent pushing Islamic customs for all, PAS represents a voice no Muslim has the right to undertake. Nowhere does it state that Muslims must seek to convert non-Muslims. Nowhere does it say that we must wake up everyday to impose Islamic law upon those we deem in lack of it. In fact, and contrary to mainstream beliefs, the priority of a Muslim is to take care of oneself, to ensure that our personal pursuits for an Islamic way of life is constantly reaffirmed. A Muslim is someone open to different ideas and religions, someone who isn’t afraid of studying other perspectives because in doing so our own faiths are better placed into context. This is true Islam. In a country where politicians on the right and left both condemn gays, lesbians and transsexuals as a “disease” of society, it is not hard to conclude that the open-mindedness of Islam has been discarded for political gain.
Back to the late 1990’s, after PAS had shown its extremism, UMNO had the option of voicing out morality, of saying that Islam is not about imposing on others. But they didn’t. Instead, UMNO took the easy road and opted to showcase its own extremism. In April 2000, BN controlled Perlis required Islamic rehabilitation for persons accused of heresy. In Johor, canning was provided for lesbians, gays and those guilty of pre-marital sex. The ultimatum of it all came in 2001 as Tun Dr. Mahathir proclaimed Malaysia to be an Islamic state. I am a Muslim. Albeit without an Islamic study degree to boast of, it takes no scholar to recognize that the fundamentals of Islam are absent in today’s Malaysian political culture.
To the 500,000 who yearly flee Malaysia in light that their views are not heard, leave. Get out now while you still can. Unless UMNO revisits morals, unless PAS recognizes its own hypocrisy, unless a new and intellectual party rises, it looks like extremist Islam will long bind Malaysia.
Shamil Norshidi,
Stony Brook University New York
