Raja Petra, Stop Living In Denial

I never insulted Islam as you claim, unless insulting PAS is insulting Islam to you. If that is the case, then the Umno you strongly support have done it many more times than I did.

Karamjit Gill

In literally a no holds barred pattern, Raja Petra Kamarudin has dedicated a whole write-up to me explaining about Islam and its way of life. Islam is a wonderful religion and we are all aware of that. In fact, every religion in the world preaches similar essence with regards to the good life.

Dear Raja Petra, the main reason the opposition went against PAS is because of their insistence with hudud. In Malaysia, Muslims are not allowed to gamble, drink, eat pork, indulge in rampant sexual activities, borrow or become loan sharks, running massage parlours, own brothels, participate in paedophilia, etc. When Islamic practices are already being carried on, why insist with hudud? While all of the above is also part of Islamic law, pardon me if I am wrong, but hudud also propagates stoning for adultery, lashing for those who fornicate and consume alcohol, and amputation of limbs for thefts.

If you cared to read my article carefully, I mentioned the extremism of amputation and stoning and connected that with ‘mindset of the dinasour era’. I never insulted Islam as you claim, unless insulting PAS is insulting Islam to you. If that is the case, then the Umno you strongly support have done it many more times than I did. By the way, this same BN government that you rally your support behind has shunned from taking any action on a paedophile that was jailed in the UK.

I bet Raja Petra is one of those who cakap tak serupa bikin. While he defends PAS and speak highly about Islamic laws, when he ran from Malaysia he went to the United Kingdom. Why didn’t he go to a country that practices exactly what he preaches, such as Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Turkey etc.? He would have been much more at home in those countries. Why go to a modern developed nation to hide? Maybe because even he knows the comfortable life is only attainable in a moderate and progressive nation.

The Holy Quran says that one should seek knowledge even unto the ends of the Earth. I am definitely sure that the Holy Quran did not just mean knowledge about religion. When Islam was on its ascendancy, it was knowledge, science, and mathematics that were strongly emphasized. While early Muslims were great scholars that excelled in science and mathematics, many ulamas in PAS are generally backward in most fields of learning. The early Islamic scholars in civilization were also true Muslims who had a progressive mindset. How can you relate PAS to the great successful Islamic civilizations of the past? The majority of Malaysians have time and time again rejected PAS. Just after one term, they were even booted out of Kedah. Most progressive thinkers in PAS have left and formed Parti Amanah Negara that works hand in hand with DAP. In fact, they are true Muslims that strictly adhere to the laws of Islam. Nevertheless, they still oppose PAS.

When the late Tok Guru Nik Abdul Aziz was alive, he outrightly condemned Umno and their ways. Never once there was a question mark about PAS and their ways. It is only after his unfortunate passing away that PAS has gone astray. They was never a problem with the opposition before, but is definitely a problem today.

Dear Raja Petra, when I speak about modernization, I do not just mean the ‘diet’ factor as you have largely spoken about. One can always adhere to the laws of the religion and be moderate in their thinking and action. While you may insinuate that I sound anti-Islamic, you are nowhere near the truth. Stop living in denial and understand my opinion. If you follow my articles, I speak against anything that I deem unjust. I have even spoken against DAP in the past. In fact, DAP supporters think I am an Umno blogger. The truth is I just envision a peaceful, clean, fair, progressive, and modern Malaysia just as every other Malaysian who choose to spend the rest of our lives here. We do not sit overseas in a different country and voice our opinions.