…a Catholic newspaper in Malaysia is not being allowed to refer to God as “Allah” as it has always done. I guess the government thinks that Muslims have a monopoly over the word.
The Church has, quite appropriately, sued the government for this absurd pronouncement, arguing that the word “Allah” is merely an Arabic word for God, which has been used by members of many faiths, long before Islam was even founded.
This is yet another instance (do they ever stop?) where Islam is being used by conniving leaders to advance political agendas. Leaders in Malaysia promote supremacist, dominionist versions of Islam, because it makes political sense for them to do so. Sixty per cent of the country is Malay-Muslim; the rest are Chinese Buddhists, Tamil Hindus and animists. So, if you can control the Muslims, you will control the government. Therefore, ever since Malaysia’s independence in 1957, Islamocentric ideas have been utilised by politicians thirsty for political power.
This Islamist programme has gone through two stages.
In the first stage, it simply sought to apply Islamic laws to Muslims, making comforting gestures to non-Muslims that Islamic laws would not be applied to them. In this stage, Sharia courts, which are separate from the secular legal system, were created. This occurred in the 1980s, specifically under an amendment of Article 121(A) of the constitution which said that civil courts (which apply secular law) had no jurisdiction over matters under the control of a Sharia court. This produced some absurd results. I recall a story (via Farish Noor) where at a club non-Muslims were told by the PA system “to enjoy themselves” while the Muslims were told to segregate themselves on the basis of gender.
However, it looks as if the second stage has now taken off. In this stage, Islamist laws are being applied to non-Muslims (the curse of self-replicating fundamentalism). A Christian publication cannot use the word “Allah” for God. A Hindu Muslim couple with six children was forcibly separated on the basis of Sharia (which reminded me very much of the racism of the American South when miscegnation was legally prohibited). A Hindu woman was forced to bury her husband as a Muslim because a secular court judge (who is, surprise surprise, a Muslim) stated that his court could not challenge the ruling of the Sharia court which, in an ex parte ruling no less, had declared the Hindu man a Muslim. Obviously, Islamism wouldn’t be complete without some completely assinine rulings, like when a fatwa targeted genies, mermaids, vampires, phoenix birds and ghouls.
There are, of course, some voices against the spread of Islamism, but as always, they are both under-recognised and under-valued.
A Hindu Rights Force has been created, composed of 30 Hindu organizations. The group Sisters in Islam, is still chugging along having opposed Islamisation for years (though I’m sure they could use some donations).
The writer Farish Noor has been on a tireless crusade (can we call it a jihad?) against Islamism for as long as I can recall, fighting “the fascism in our midst.” Mr Noor’s commentary on the use of the word “Allah” is at his blog.
Anwar Ibrahim, who was previously finance minister for Mahathir Mohammad’s Islamist party and almost became prime minister until he was framed in a sexual scandal in 1998, has gone after the government by challenging the corruption of judges. Ibrahim’s approach might be successful. Recently there was news of a Sharia court judge being sacked for all sorts of corruption (imagine that: a corrupt Islamist). I have been in touch with Ibrahim’s assistants, and they are both western educated and more importantly, liberal-minded.
Even Marina, the daughter of Mahathir bin Mohammad – as he likes to be called in Arab fashion – has discussed the “apatheid” of Malaysian women.
Finally, for the boring, as I am often accused of being, there is the work of Afghan-Malay scholar, Muhammad Hashim Kamali, such as his book, Freedom of Expression in Islam.
In the Malaysian case, theoretical anti-Islamist programmes are useful, but the fundamental point is that there have to be more Malay-Muslims who have to be willing to put aside their racial preference (for Malay), and join the Chinese (Buddhists) and Tamil (Hindus). This is, in fact, what Farish Noor is often agitating for. Historically, this has been difficult to do because Malays have felt resentful towards the wealthier Chinese, and taken out their aggression against the weaker (and smaller) Hindus. Yet, if Malaysia is going to stymie the Islamist push, which – make no mistake – it is clearly suffering from, this reconciliation must happen, and soon.
In this context, I can’t help but think of Naipaul’s book, Among the Believers, from 1980, specifically the section on Malaysia, where he describes meeting some Islamist activists:
“The second document that Mohammad left me with was a pencilled paper he had prepared for our meeting. It was an outline of what he had said about the restructuring of Malaysia; and it was just as abstract [as the first document] …
“Mohammad’s last paragraph, on the ‘political system’ of his ideal state, called for ‘Imam-like leadership: Khalifah is God’s representative on earth’. It called, in fact, for someone like Ayatollah Khomeini. Khomeini ruled in Iran as God’s representative. It was Mohammad’s wish that someone like that should rule in Malaysia. It was his only concrete proposal.
“That was where his Malay and Muslim passion, his knowledge of history, the beginning of self-awareness and intellectual life, had led him. He had no idea of reform or any ameliorative process. It was his only concrete proposal.”
There is something instructive in that passage – about dealing in the concrete – which is an important lesson not just for Malaysians, but anyone who is coming face to face with Islamist supremacism.
“Only in Malaysia, the Muslims claim exclusive rights to the word `Allah’. I am confident the Herald’s permit will be renewed and it will be allowed to publish in all the four languages,” he said.
A junior minister had earlier warned its printing permit, due to expire today, would not be renewed if it continued using the Malay word for “Allah,” which the government says can only be used by Muslims.
In the domestic market, Syed Zainal said the launch of a new sedan in January will help Proton snatch back the No.1 position from local rival Perodua.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said today that the country will become bankrupt if the government reduces oil prices.
Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) plans to produce more programmes in Bahasa Malaysia (BM) that are starred or handled by non-Malays.