Why Chinese are ignorant

Sun Tzu’s very basic teaching is to know your enemy. For 20 years I have been telling the Chinese they need to know the Malay-Muslim mind if they want to engage the Malays-Muslims. But the Chinese ignore this very basic teaching of Sun Tzu. Instead of trying to understand the Malays-Muslims, the Chinese want the Malays-Muslims to understand them. But it is you who needs the Malays-Muslims so you need to understand them. The Malays-Muslims need nothing from you so why should they understand you?

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Why Chinese are ignorant. That is not a question. That is a statement. I am making a statement as to why Chinese are ignorant. And I am going to tell you why I think Chinese are ignorant.

Chinese ‘own’ Sun Tzu. Sun Tzu is supposed to be 2,500 years old and Chinese are proud that they ‘own’ Sun Tzu. Chinese used to think (maybe they still do) that they are the superior race and that China was the centre of the world. Chinese call all non-Chinese ‘barbarians’. Even the more advanced whites are called ‘barbarians’. And that is because if you are not Chinese then you are inferior and hence a barbarian. A Chinese who marries a non-Chinese will become a pariah.

However, in spite of all that superiority, in spite of ‘owning’ Sun Tzu, the Chinese are still ignorant. They did not learn from the very basic teaching of Sun Tzu, which is to know your enemy.

‘Enemy’ here can be anything that you wish to face, overcome or defeat. It need not be an enemy in the real sense of enemy. It could be an adversary. It could be a challenger. It could be situation. It could be a sickness or disease whether life-threatening or not. The enemy could even be yourself, the demons within you or the fears that haunt you.

Let us take one situation that Malaysia is currently faced with — the Sharia, or Hudud, as some people insist on calling it. Let us say that the Sharia or Hudud is the enemy of the Chinese or the non-Muslims — which, according to DAP, it is the enemy of the Chinese and all non-Muslims, Chinese or otherwise. So that makes the Sharia or Hudud your enemy. How do you face it, challenge it or defeat it?

Yes, this is where Sun Tzu comes in. Chinese ‘own’ Sun Tzu. Chinese are proud of Sun Tzu. Chinese are superior because they have people like Sun Tzu. But Chinese do not learn from Sun Tzu or learn the very basic teaching of Sun Tzu, which is to know your enemy.

I have written about Islam, the Muslims, the Sharia, Hudud, and so on, so many times. I have written so many articles regarding this subject that many can even remember by heart what I wrote. Some are even tired of reading about this same thing again and again. However, in spite of being inundated with an information overdose, many still do not understand one word I have said.

Many also say they refuse to read what I write. They consider me the enemy. So they refuse to read what I write because I am an enemy. But then this is their loss, not mine. If they do not read what I write then they will not know what I am saying. More importantly, they will not know what I am thinking. And Sun Tzu’s golden rule is to know your enemy. And yet these people do not want to know me, their enemy.

So this makes the DAP Chinese and all those other Chinese who consider me their enemy very ignorant. They want to fight the Sharia or Hudud and yet they refuse to read what I write. If they had been following what I had been writing all these years then they would know how to handle this issue concerning the Sharia or Hudud.

I, however, follow what my enemies say and do. I follow what they say and do because I want to understand them. I want to learn what they are thinking so that I will know how to handle them. I want to know what makes them tick, where they are coming from, and where they are going. And this is why I am smarter than my enemies.

My enemies close their eyes and ears while I keep mine open. My enemies shut their minds while I keep an open mind. And that is why I fear none of my enemies. I know I can finish them off easily while they will not be able to come close to me let alone touch me.

If you had been following what I have been saying all these years since 1995 (yes, that is how long I have been talking about this matter: 20 years now) then you will understand the Muslim mind. You will know what they think and how they think. You will know the Malay-Muslim mind in and out and you will know how to handle them and twirl them round your little finger.

And the fact that when I talk about the Malays and Muslims I refer to them in the third party means I am telling you what they think rather than what I think. And this is the very important part of my message that appears lost to most Chinese. They do not comprehend that I am trying to teach them how to manage the Malays and Muslims because everything, even perception, needs to be managed.

Alas, you refuse to listen to what I had to say because you hate me and regard me as your enemy. So you missed out on a lot of things these last 20 years. And now you are lost as to what to do regarding Islam, the Sharia and Hudud. Is that not your loss, as I said?

First of all, you keep saying that religion and politics should not be mixed. I have been telling you for 20 years that Islam is not a religion as much as it is a way of life or adeen. Even Anwar Ibrahim has been saying this since 40 years ago back in the 1970s before he joined Umno.

To understand Islam you need to first study Prophet Muhammad. Even Muslims do not do that. There are about 1.4 billion Muslims but more than one billion do not speak modern Arabic. And the Qur’an is written in archaic Arabic that even Arabs find difficulty understanding. And if you do not understand Muhammad you will never understand Islam. And did Sun Tzu not ask you to know your enemy?

That is why the west is making a mess of the Middle East. They think they know Muslims and therefore know how to handle them. But they do not and they are blundering and making things worse. And that is the same with you people who want to face the Sharia and Hudud. You do not know Muhammad so that means you do not know Islam. If not you would have known that Muhammad was not a religious leader like Jesus or Buddha but he was the political and military leader of Medina.

So how can you tell Muslims that politics and religion should not mix when Islam is politics? There is no such thing as separation of church and state in Islam. The church is the state. And unless you can understand this very fundamental concept of Islam you will never be able to engage Muslims in any dialogue, especially in a dialogue involving the Sharia or Hudud.

I have told you time and time again that Muslims look at the Sharia as a religious issue. The Sharia is part of Islam. Malays calls it Syariat Islam. And this is what Syariat Islam is all about:

Syariat Islam adalah hukum dan aturan Islam yang mengatur seluruh sendi kehidupan umat manusia, baik Muslim mahupun bukan Muslim. Selain berisi hukum dan aturan, Syariat Islam juga berisi penyelesaian masalah seluruh kehidupan ini. Maka oleh sebahagian penganut Islam, Syariat Islam merupakan panduan menyeluruh dan sempurna seluruh permasalahan hidup manusia dan kehidupan dunia ini.

That basically means that the Sharia is a way of life or adeen. It covers every aspect of your life. You cannot separate the Sharia from Islam. And there is no such thing as separation of church and state in the Sharia or in Syariat Islam.

And this is the major mistake you are making in challenging the Sharia or Hudud (which is due to your ignorance and for not following Sun Tzu’s first lesson: to know your enemy). You are talking about separation of church and state. You are talking about Malaysia being a Secular State. You are talking about the Federal Constitution of Malaysia.

Muslims, however, reject all those as western concepts (meaning Jewish or Christian) or kafir (infidel) concepts that have no place in Islam. None of that is in the Qur’an and if it is not in the Qur’an it has no place in Islam.

In short, you regard the Sharia or Hudud as a legal matter. So you discuss it from the point of view of the law or the Constitution. Muslims regard the Sharia or Hudud as a religious matter. So they discuss it from the point of view of Islam and the Qur’an.

It is a non-starter debate. It is a discussion doomed to fail even before it takes off. You are speaking Greek while the other person is speaking Dutch. And that is why you both do not understand each other. If you want the other person to understand you, or you want to understand the other person, you must both speak the same language. But then when discussing the Sharia and/or Hudud, you are not speaking the same language. And that is the reason why for 20 years you still have not been able to communicate.

It is futile to speak to a Muslim about the legal system or the Constitution when discussing the Sharia and/or Hudud. It is like trying to convince a Muslim that pork should be halal and should no longer be haram because pigs are reared in more hygienic conditions than in the past and hence are not dirty (najis) like they were 2,000 years ago. Or like trying to convince a Muslim that it is okay for dogs to lick you because in these modern times dogs do not have rabies like they did 2,000 years ago.

As far as Muslims are concerned pork is haram and dogs must not lick you. That is what Islam says and the reason why is not important. And if those reasons now no longer exist that is also not important. What is important is that pork is haram and dogs must not lick you and that will apply till the end of time. There will be no amendments to that rule even if times have changed.

And when a dog licks you, you must clean that spot with earth or sand. If not you would not be clean. Maybe 1,300 years ago they did not have soap so they needed another form of cleansing agent such as sand (which is actually a good filter to purify water). Today you have all sorts of cleansing agents and detergents, even some with antiseptic, which is better than earth or sand. But Islam says you use earth or sand so stop trying to convince Muslims that times have changed so you must also change with the times.

With that as your backdrop how far do you think you will get with the argument that times have changed so the Sharia and/or Hudud needs to be reviewed because much of it may no longer be relevant, applicable or viable in today’s modern world? Do you think Muslims will accept your argument that the Sharia and/or Hudud is a thing of the past? Yes, as Sun Tzu said, know your enemy. You fail to know your enemy and you are puzzled as to why you are not able to communicate with Muslims on the same wavelength.

And telling Muslims that the Sharia or Hudud is a thing of the past and is no longer relevant in this modern day and age is like telling Muslims that Islam and the Qur’an are outdated and can no longer be applied in this day and age. Should they also then stop praying, fasting or go for the Haj since all those are also outdated practices?

Yes, we have a wavelength problem here. You and Muslims are trying to discuss or debate an issue using different wavelengths. And you wonder how come Muslims cannot seem to understand what you are trying to say. It is you and not Muslims who are the idiots. Muslims have no wish to make you understand anything. They are quite happy with their beliefs and practices. It is you who is trying to reach the Muslims. The Muslims have no wish to reach you. So it is your job to make them understand you and not their job to try to understand you.

Sun Tzu would be turning in his grave when he sees that his teachings have been wasted on the Chinese. A simple thing like know your enemy and still the Chinese cannot understand. And in spite of knowing nothing about Islam and about how the Muslims think, you try to teach the Muslims about matters such as the Sharia and Hudud. And when Muslims look at you as if you are an idiot, you think it is Muslims who are the idiots instead.