Many of the Muslim groups, however, seem to display Malay supremacist tendencies instead of Islamic mores in their pursuits. Some even seem to be asking for incentives from the powers that be to do more of their good work. In this, their motivations can be questioned. More suspiciously, they seem to grow out of the woodwork like mushrooms after the rain after their big brother, Malay rights NGO Perkasa, made a splash. Many consider them to be but outsourced extremists in Umnos service, to throw the extremist stone and hide the hand that actually threw it. Indeed the same groups also appear to defend Umno leaders and Malay royals as sacrosant to the race and cannot be questioned. Some even have a fondness for defending the spouses of national leaders. In Islam, no mortal is sacrosant except those named by God like the Prophet Muhammad himself. Interestingly enough, it should be noted that ultra-defenders of the religion like lecturer Ridhuan Tee Abdullah always claim to defend Melayu using the word almost synonymously with Islam. This tendency to equate Melayu with Islam stems from the artificial construct of the term Melayu in the constitution which defined the race not by gene markers but by practices. In short, constitutionally speaking, a Malay is a person who habitually speaks the Malay language, practises Malay customs and professes to be a Muslim. The provision is mostly quoted when self-appointed crusaders coin the phrase that Melayu is Islam and Islam is Melayu. The phrase may not be entirely true as Malay cultural practices may not be totally in accordance with Islam and not all Malays follow the tenets of Islam as they profess. But more importantly in Islam, no race or creed can be put above any others, as all are peers in the eyes of Allah, differentiated only in their commitment to the faith. For Jihad or the struggle for Islam in Malaysia, the question of whether it is for Allah or Melayu, is perhaps one that must be considered by all Muslims carefully. It is important to make the distinction between groups fighting to promote racial hegemony behind the guise of fighting for Allah and those truly fighting for Islam, for it draws the line between right and wrong. This is something which could spell doom or salvation for a Malaysia that is being drawn into possible sectarian conflict, as the powers that be seem more tolerant to provocations by groups it allegedly sponsors, in order to cow the populace and maintain its grip on power. - TheAntdaily
Posted on: Fri, 07 Mar 2014 01:59:58 +0000
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