Self-Appointed MALAY Defenders of Islam Need a Reality-Check on Themselves

Read here full article by Art Harun in "ARTiculations" Blog

Quote

"...These people (and this person) declare that THEY are the defenders of Islam.

As if Islam is NOT so great WITHOUT THEM . As if God would retreat into oblivion WITHOUT THEIR help and undying assistance.

In the name of Islam they would do things. And sometimes, in doing so, they smear the good name of Islam.

THEY reduce God into a creature of hate, prejudice and intolerance.

On Friday, 28th August 2009, right after Friday prayers, they carried a severed head of a cow – complete with blood and all – and walked all the way to the State Secretariat building, protesting against the Government’s plan to relocate a Hindu temple to their area, which according to them, is a Muslim-dominated area. (They said) the temple would disturb them and the noises from the temple would disturb their prayers, et cetera. They then stomped and spat on the cow head.

All in the name of Islam. In the name of Allah the Almighty, the Compassionate, the Merciful. Allah the Provider and the Giver.

Isn’t Islam great?

Isn’t Islam so wonderful that it has defenders ever ready to defend itself?

This wholly seditious act was done just after they performed the Friday prayer and in the holy month of Ramadan is an irony not missed by all Muslims and non-Muslims alike..."
-Art Harun

"... The Hindu temple concerned was built 150 years ago at the time when that part of Selangor was still just a jungle.

The temple was built long BEFORE Shah Alam ever became a residential area, let alone a Malay residential area.

The houses that came along 100 years or so LATER encroached on the Hindu temple.

It was NOT a case of a Hindu temple being BUILT in a housing area, or a Malay housing area.

It was a case of the houses being built IN the Hindu temple area. So the HOUSES were ‘disturbing’ the Hindu temple, rather than the other way around.

But the Hindu temple was asked to relocate because it was accused of disturbing the housing area.

It should have been the HINDUS who should have protested against the houses that were NOW ‘disturbing’ their TEMPLE ...."
-Raja Petra Kamarudin

Of Islam, churches and temples

by

Art Harun

1. Shouldn’t WE , Muslims, ask ourselves whether WE are not to blame for the ridicule that has befallen OUR great way of life known as Islam?
   
   
2. Are WE blind or too much blinkered by what WE believe to be the ways of Islam so much so that WE are unable to see the signs before us?
   
   
3. Or is it a fact that WE just could not care less?

Many of us Muslims nowadays have become uptight about Islam.

Malays as Wannabe-Defenders of Islam

And to make matters worse, in our country, Islam is tied up to our race, – by a Constitutional provision, no less – our Malayness, so to speak.

Thus, it comes as no surprise that Islam and Malayness are almost interchangeable.

Say something which could be remotely perceived as against Islam, and you would be challenging not only Islam, but the whole Malay race. And vice versa.

And THESE people declare that they are the defenders of Islam. The Caliphs. Defenders of the faith.

• As if Islam is not so great without THEM .
  
  
• As if God would retreat into oblivion without THEIR help and undying assistance.

In the name of ISLAM, THEY would do things.

And sometimes, in doing so, THEY smear the good name of Islam.

Sexually Vulgar Insult at DAP in the Name of Islam

THEY reduce God into a creature of hate, prejudice and intolerance.

Why? Just look at the picture. (I am sorry for the language. But I have to publish it verbatim to make my point).



These people were apparently angry with DAP for insulting Islam (or what they perceived as DAP insulting Islam).

And so these very good Muslims spent some money on banners and gathered to show their displeasure.

All in the name of Allah and Islam of course. Very Islamic indeed.

The Cow Head Protest

On Friday, 28th August 2009, right after Friday prayers, it is now well known to the whole civilised world, that a group of people gathered in front of the mosque. They then carried a severed head of a cow – complete with blood and all – and walked all the way to the State Secretariat building.

Apparently, they were protesting against the Government’s plan to relocate a Hindu temple to their area, which according to them, is a Muslim-dominated area. That was the apparent reason. The real reason or motivation, we will never know, of course.

The who’s who of that group promised bloodshed if that plan is not changed. He said that the temple would disturb them and the noises from the temple would disturb their prayers, et cetera.

They then stomped and spat on the cow head.

All in the name of Islam. In the name of Allah the Almighty, the Compassionate, the Merciful. Allah the Provider and the Giver.

Isn’t Islam great? Isn’t Islam so wonderful that it has defenders ever ready to defend itself?

I have just one question for them.

If all of you are so pious and God-fearing, how is it that some noises from a temple could disturb you and your prayers?

And what’s with the cow head? You spat on it. You stomped on it. What was the whole purpose?

To revile and mock another faith? Well, don’t I have news for all of you.

God – and this OUR God, not any other God – says:

“And We have not sent you but as a mercy to the worlds.”
(Surah 21 ‘The Prophets’, verse 107. Translation by Shakir)

Our Prophet Muhammad – peace be upon him – was sent as a mercy to the whole world. Not just to Muslims, to me or to you, but to the whole world.

And Prophet Muhammad – peace be upon him -, in his last sermon, said:

“People, hear that your Lord is One, and that your father is one. You must know that no Arab has superiority over a non-Arab, no non-Arab has superiority over an Arab, or a red man over a black man, or a black man over a red, except in terms of what each person has of piety. Have I delivered the message?”

Yes, all human beings are the same, regardless of whether they are Muslims or non-Muslims, Arab or non-Arab, Malay or Indian, section 23 residents or Kampung Buah Pala dwellers. The Prophet said so.

And as if to ensure that his followers had understood what he had just said, he ended that message by asking,

“Have I delivered the message?”

Quite obviously, to some so called defenders of the faith – whose faith may be easily disturbed by some noises from some temples – the message has not been so clearly delivered.

And what about this:

“Revile not ye those whom they call upon besides Allah, lest they out of spite revile Allah in their ignorance. Thus have We made alluring to each people its own doings. In the end will they return to their Lord, and We shall then tell them the truth of all that they did.”
(Surah 6, “The Cattle” Verse 108. Translation by Yusuf Ali).

(Isn’t it an irony of sort that the above verse is from Surah Al-An’aam, which means “the Cattle”?).

Did YOU ALL read the Quran?

God prohibits us, Muslims, from reviling others who do not believe in Allah.

Lest they would, out of spite, revile Allah. And what were you doing with the cow head? If that was not reviling the Hindus, I do not know what is.

In fact, in all His wisdom, God had seen it fit even to defend some churches, monasteries and synagogues:

“They are those who have been expelled from their homes in defiance of right – (for no cause) except that they say, “our Lord is Allah”. Did not Allah check one set of people by means of another, there would surely have been pulled down monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques, in which the name of Allah is commemorated in abundant measure. Allah will certainly aid those who aid his (cause);- for verily Allah is full of Strength, Exalted in Might, (able to enforce His Will).”
(Surah 22, ‘The Pilgrimage’, Verse 40. Translation by Yusuf Ali).

God creates all of us human beings. Of different colours and races. And also religions. Had He wanted all of us to be His followers, He could have.

“If it had been thy Lord’s will, they would all have believed, all who are on earth! wilt thou then compel mankind, against their will, to believe!”
(Surah 10 ‘Jonah’, verse 99. Translation by Yusuf Ali).

That is His way. Because as oft said, there is no compulsion in Islam.

And what will be the punishment for all of you who marched last Friday, spat and stomped on the cow head, all in the name of our faith, Islam and our God, Allah? God bless you all. Because this is what the Prophet – whom I believe is also your Prophet – said:

“Beware! Whoever is cruel and hard on a non-Muslim minority, curtails their rights, burdens them with more than they can bear, or takes anything from them against their free will; I (Prophet Muhammad) will complain against the person on the Day of Judgment.”
(by Abu Dawud)

Yes, you will get some personal attention from the Prophet himself on the day of judgment.

Congratulations, guys.

It is interesting to note, what Sheikh Yusuf al Qaradawi said about these kind of people. Strange. Because while he was saying the following, he could have been talking about those people who were involved in that despicable act last Friday.

This is what he said:

“A clear separating line should be drawn here between the teachings of Islam, which prohibit attacking non-Muslim places of worship, and the acts of some Muslims who possess a narrow-minded view of Islam.

Those people harm Islam and Muslims with their wrong behavior; as the threat they pose to Islam is much more than that of the enemies of Islam.

Along the same line, a traditional Arabic proverb reads, “A wise enemy is better than a foolish friend.”

The fanaticism we see in some certain people is often due to reasons that have nothing to do with religion, even if it takes the form of religion.

In fact, its reasons may turn out to be social, economic, or political, after thorough study. That is why we see it appearing in certain areas and not others; as some social circumstances and inherited traditions sow the seed of fanaticism and help it grow.

Therefore, it is unfair to accuse religion of being responsible for such fanatic acts.

To top it all off, that this wholly seditious act was done just after they performed the Friday prayer and in the holy month of Ramadan is an irony not missed by all Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

Well done.


RELATED ARTICLE

Shah Alam Malay Housing Area ENCROACHED the Hindu Temple, NOT the Other Way Round !

Excerpts

Read here article "Selamat MOOdeka" in Malaysia Today for more

The recent development in Shah Alam has changed the entire landscape of the National Day celebration. What used to be known as Merdeka Day has now been renamed Moodeka Day.

That will be the day all Malaysians will remember as the day a cow’s head was dragged (by some 50 Malay-Muslims) to the Selangor State Secretariat building as a mark of protest (against the relocation of a Hindu temple to Section 23 from Section 19 in Shah Alam).

The Hindu temple concerned was built 150 years ago at the time when that part of Selangor was still just a jungle. Then the jungle was cleared and turned into a rubber estate and, soon after, the temple emerged to serve the needs of the Indian estate workers.

So the temple was built long BEFORE Shah Alam ever became a residential area, let alone a Malay residential area.

In that sense the houses that came along 100 years or so later encroached on the Hindu temple. It was NOT a case of a Hindu temple being built in a housing area, or a Malay housing area.

It was a case of the houses being built in the Hindu temple area. So the houses were ‘disturbing’ the Hindu temple rather than the other way around.

But the Hindu temple was asked to relocate because it was accused of disturbing the housing area whereas it should have been the Hindus who should have protested against the houses that were now ‘disturbing’ their temple.

One thing that all Malaysians unanimously agree on is that 2009 will forever be remembered as Hari Moodeka in the spirit of the cow’s head that was dragged to the Selangor State Secretariat building in Shah Alam in an attempt to duplicate a coup in Selangor like what they did in Perak not too long ago.

Selamat Moodeka everyone!
-Raja Petra Kamarudin