I am sad and disappointed about the ban. To me, this is not the way – to close discussion among Muslims, as we need the space to hear about different views of Islam.......It is creating a culture of fear among Muslims. It is not healthy for Muslims....We need a culture of healthy dialogue to overcome radicalism. Radicalism grows faster and stronger in a closed system - Dr Ulil Abshar Abdalla Dr. Ulil was banned from entering Malaysia to prevent him from speaking at an IRF seminar. We Christians complain much about how the government is treating us, yet I see the same heavy handededness, perhaps even worse, on our Malay Muslim brothers and sisters. It grieves me that they have so little freedom - almost living in a gilded cage thats getting smaller and smaller and squeezing them into submission. I feel for IRF and Sisters of Islam -- the moderates and progressives who are also being pounded into submission, just like the Shias in this country. It grieves me to see pictures of Shias detained. It grieves to know that Imams are given one message from Putrajaya to preach in the mosques across the nation every Friday. What good would that do, I wonder? Dr Ulils warning is real. The government must start moving into a culture of healthy and open dialogue. At least learn from history, and not repeat its mistakes. There is a direct correlation between religious freedom and economic vitality. Look at what the church did in the 1600s when religion came to power, and look where it is today. Look at the price Middle East nations are paying now, and see the pyrrhic victories of top down closed systems. If we do not learn from history, we will make the very same mistakes. Malaysia is a young nation, and we can learn from the mistakes of the others. Let us hope and pray that the quiet voices of Saifuddin and Azmi Shahrom will continue to stay brave and strong, and will overcome the louder extremists voices of Perkasa and Isma, who are savvy at playing the religious politics of fear and entitlement. One careful observation is that Malaysia is not being Islamised, but Arabised. It is not Islam but Arab culture that is seeping into the practice and system of Malaysias multi-racial society. The Malays are quickly losing their heritage of kebayas and selendangs, their kurungs, their batiks and their songkets. (I blame Anwar Ibrahim for that.) The highly intelligent Malays are being subtly coerced and seduced into conforming so that a few can stay in power. And very soon, the nation will be susceptible to importing dangerous extremist ideologies that will further alienate the young. I hope the government is listening. Change the course for Malaysia, before it is too late. Let us keep praying that Malaysia will not go down the path of what we see happening now in the Middle East and in Pakistan. - See more at: themalaysianinsider/malaysia/article/why-ban-me-now-when-you-welcomed-me-before-asks-indonesian-muslim-scholar#sthash.ZvZUWmXL.dpufthemalaysianinsider/malaysia/article/why-ban-me-now-when-you-welcomed-me-before-asks-indonesian-muslim-scholar
Posted on: Tue, 14 Oct 2014 03:08:03 +0000
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