Ak57’s Weblog

It bothers me greatly to hear that many people believe that Dato’ Dr. Hassan Ali has created something new: a moral police that watches Muslims and arrests them for drinking.

JAIS officials have been empowered to ‘nab’ Muslims drinking alcohol and committing adultery for many years. Hassan Ali did not create any new laws – the moral police already existed. Just because you don’t hear about raids does not mean they do not happen, or that the threat does not exist. Maybe this ignorance among the people explains why it’s not hard to find Malay-Muslims drinking outside convenience stores in the wee hours. They have no fear of getting caught.

What Hassan Ali has done is draft more people into the moral police. Empowering untrained persons to monitor the morality of others… it’s a recipe for trouble. There’s bound to be a case of some overzealous chap harassing a Malay-looking fellow drinking beer or worse, starting fights.

Personally I don’t see how PAS/JAIS can implement their moral police. It is not right to enforce Islamic practices on non-Muslims. When a raid is done on a hotel/disco, the very act creates fear among the non-Muslim patrons. They should have the freedom to enjoy their life without being suddenly harassed on suspicion of being Muslim.

I am conflicted on the issue of JAIS keeping an eye on Muslims though. I know alcoholism is a problem among the urban Malay youth. JAIS has the responsibility of ensuring Muslims don’t stray from the path. But I disagree with the methods currently used. I think that finding out the reasons Muslims drink in the first place, then addressing those reasons makes more sense than banning alcohol or having moral police.

JAIS should only advise errant Muslims on why Islam has such rules. Fining, jailing, whipping and shaming are such harsh punishments in comparison. If a Muslim is flaunting the rules of the faith, chances are their faith is weak. Such punishment may then only serve to scare them into pretending to be Muslims; and be more careful when breaking the rules in future. They need to be convinced in their heart, and to reach someone’s heart is a slow and arduous process.

I hope one day that religious officials in our nation remember that Islam’s goal is to help spread peace and harmony. They need to focus on co-existing peacefully with other religions, instead of trying to police their brethren at the expense of non-Muslims’ quality of life.

References

Sultan wants explanation over arrest powers for mosque officials – Malaysian Insider (link)
Crackdown: Breweries not targeted … yet – Malaysiakini (link)
Pegawai masjid S’gor boleh tangkap pesalah serta-merta – Malaysiakini (link)
Selangor mosque officials can detain beer-drinking Muslims – Malaysiakini (link)
Selangor mosque officers can now arrest Muslims drinking in public – Star (link)

This blog post contains my personal views on Islam and may be a bit too preachy for some. Please skip it if that bothers you.

I feel that the time is right for me to do my duty as a Muslim and Malaysian by doing what is right. With this, I swore in the name of Allah at the Federal Territory Mosque this evening in accordance to the teachings of Islam and as advised by religious scholars and teachers that I was sodomised by Anwar Ibrahim.

The oath I’ve taken was done voluntarily and it was done to uphold the truth as a Muslim, a Malay and a Malaysian.

I understand that if the allegations and oath that I’ve taken under the name of Allah are not true, I will be cursed by God and tragedy and curse will come upon my family and the generations after me forever.

I’ve taken this oath to prove that my allegations are completely true. This is the best way for me to attain justice in the world and the hereafter and for me to redeem my pride and dignity as Allah is the only place where I can complain to.

I’ve done this for God and I took my oath in the house of God, that I was humiliated and sodomised by Anwar Ibrahim and I do not wish to lie to the world as he has done.

With this, I challenge Anwar Ibrahim to swear by Islam and do it in a mosque, witnessed by religious scholars, teachers and all Malaysians to deny what I’ve accused him of.

- statement by Saiful to the press, published in Malaysiakini on 15th August 2008 (link)

Saiful’s act of swearing on the Quran and subsequent statement to the press really bothered me. It helps spread misconceptions about Islam to the public and was a pointless move.

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This blog post may be a bit too preachy for some. If talk of Islam bothers you please skip it.

Recently a friend of mine forwarded me some articles Raja Petra had written on Islam which I found comforting to read. Our views are so aligned it’s almost as though we went to the same government and religious schools. It is not easy to talk about Islam in Malaysia without talking about Malays, but the topic of Malays alone would run for pages so I will try and focus on Islam.

In science and religion it is always important to know the principles first before learning implementation and techniques being used. I often feel saddened by the behaviour of Malay Muslims here who have lost sight of what the principles of Islam are.

What I will discuss here is my personal opinion on what these principles are – I am not a religious authority by any means, so feel free to disagree with my view of Islam. A few of these principles are:

1. Helping others (regardless of race or religion)
2. Honesty and justice in dealing with others
3. Maintaining balance in life
4. Pursuit of knowledge
5. Shared brotherhood
6. Society’s needs take precedence

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