A few days ago a Malay blogger MENJ posted an article saying something like ‘destroying Christianity’ blah blah and thus created a whirlwind debate in Malaysia blogosphere. [summary of details here, from Kamigoroshi]
Some bloggers decided to strike back with their ideology, some reported to the webhost, some wanted to report to the police, some go to the extend to send memorandom to the prime minister; while some came into the defence by the name of freedom of speech.
I never like anyone making any racist or hatred statements, especially in Malaysia where we stay in a multi-race/culture/religion environment. Stupid ideas can easily spark up some unintended events which could make everyone regret for life.
What MENJ did was stupid and inconsiderate, but believe me he is not the only Muslim that hated Christianity in Malaysia, vice versa. Despite the outer potray of harmony in Malaysians, racist and religious issue in Malaysia are in a turmoil.. there are people from different races that HATED each other, and probably not just a few.
Point is there are many misunderstanding between Malaysians, and staying quiet is never a good solution for the situation. People like MENJ at least spoke out what he’s thinking, and we got a chance to know that there might be A GROUP OF PEOPLE thinking the same way.. and by knowing it at least we have a chance to communicate and hopefully create better understanding.
Our government and society provided too few places for us to involve in this kind of discussions, lets not let the blogging community fall into this kind of hierarki and restriction. Getting authorities involved in the blogosphere is absolutely ridiculous.
No I am not an entire guardian for Freedom of Speech, I always believe that that’s a limit on how far we can speak freely.. and in this case, I am not implying the rights for free speaking, I just hope that people can see things in a bigger picture.
Even if MENJ decided to apologize, got his blog shut down or even arrested whatsoever.. nothing is achieved. That’s still plenty of misunderstanding, and probably even more hatred created.
When everyone is critizing MENJ or defending him for freedom of speech.. anyone ever asked why MENJ got the idea of destroying Christianity at the first place? What trigger him to have that kind of fantasy? Did his education or family background created that kind of hatred?
May 24th, 2006 at 1:33 am
Hi there! You’ve made a very good observation about the whole MENJ saga. I cannot agree with you much more than I already do.
Whilst I do not agree with quite a few things that he has said, I have constantly commented in his blog for many months. I asked many questions and found some answers (when he does answer). But what was important was the discourse we had going back and forth.
Your question of his family background and education is a good one. Education does miracles to a person’s mind and changes many perception one has.
I do not even feel that it is necessary for MENJ to apologize. What is crucial is that he realises that many people are disturbed by what he writes. He needs to know that there are many others that are not like him and will never be like him. He has to learn to sit down for mamak sessions with the rest of us… and learn to accept diversity that is found in Msia.
No, I do not condone the police knocking on his door. Maybe the police should keep a tab on him (just in case) but that’s about all. He is entitled to his words but he has to learn to be responsible for them.
No, I do not condone lodging a complaint to his college. That would defeat the whole entire process of educating his mind. He would benefit greatly from higher education.
No, I do not want his blog to shut down. He needs an outlet to voice his opinions and in turn, respect the opinions of others. And perhaps be a little more sensitive to those who has passed on and women.
There are lots more to comment but I’d like to keep my 1st comment here short.
Thanks for allowing me to clear some things up. Cheers and thanks again!
May 24th, 2006 at 10:59 am
education about the affair is very important lohh….last year there was a few incidents where purported racists were charged in Singapore. I guess its the insufficient education of religion among the people that causes this. Singapore is a secular nation and certain folks were kind of angry when a Malay and presumably Muslim lady wrote in to the ST forum to complain about a dog being on a taxi.
Even small things like this would be blown up to epic proportions because on one side the secular people would wonder why pet owners should be ostracized and on one side the Muslim community would wonder why their rights are not being upheld(i think dogs are considered haram?)
I only hope that people can understand much more about each other and that has to start from the government, making a climate of fear out of such events isn’t gonna help.
May 24th, 2006 at 12:55 pm
Nicely said Otto.. MENJ however decided to apologize on his blog, and banned Malaysia IP again. I do feel that his apology was much to fear of possible legal action against him rather than an act of sincere and understanding. Things probably got worse than before.
Joshy.. in Islam teaching dogs are seen as ‘impure’, Muslims don’t keep dogs inside the house and the lady is probably rightful to raise her concern of having a dog in a taxi.
Many non-Muslims perhaps understood the critical Islamic issue, but lots of other smaller things are often neglected in creating understanding.. vice versa.
May 24th, 2006 at 12:56 pm
oy…no wonder i dont like controversial stuff, be it religious, political or otherwise coz …THIS is why. *sigh*
May 24th, 2006 at 2:00 pm
Yvy.. like it or not, controversial stuffs are all around.. :SIGH:
May 24th, 2006 at 9:34 pm
Although impure, Muslims are taught to love all of God’s creation. Muslims are free to touch a dog with its wet parts being the only exception. This means that a Muslim man can pet a dog but not touch its tongue, nose or when it is wet. He will have to perform a ritual “samak” to cleanse himself, if he touches any of these wet parts.
The fact that many Muslims in Msia consider dogs to be haram is more of a practicality = don’t touch at all, then no problem with samak etc.
The only reason why I am bringing this issue up is because we really need to educate those around us with relations to animal rights and pet care. I hate seeing dogs abused unnecessarily and knowing this simple fact will help many Muslims overcome their fear of dogs.
Through the years, I have many Muslim friends who kept dogs are guard dogs. Yes, Muslims are permitted to keep dogs in their compound but not in the home (for angels are believed not to visit homes with dogs).
The same goes for neutering/spaying issues. Jabatan Haiwan and JAIS have issued ciculars and posters educating the public of the benefits of neutering their pets as a mean to control the stray population/unwanted pets. Please visit the Jabatan Haiwan for further details, if in doubt.
Many thanks.
May 25th, 2006 at 11:25 am
Thanks for the details Otto, it’s enlightening.. I only knew that Muslim don’t like dogs, most of them have cats as pets instead.
That just showed how much understanding we have with other religion and believes..
May 25th, 2006 at 1:06 pm
yeapzz man..that is why i only know about haram. Its really very important that education, no matter self education or govt education, to instil in people tolerance and understanding of each other’s religious faith.
Yeah man thanks a lot also Otto, that is one of the reasons why i like to bloghop, it helps to enlighten me in a lot of ways.
May 25th, 2006 at 3:19 pm
thanks for that info, otto! truly appreciated…
October 15th, 2006 at 5:11 pm
Hello there.Can you please do me a favour by sending a Selamat DeepaRaya card to me:-
Jorami Ibni Karakhani
D-9, Jln Pendas Empat,
Leisure Farm,
81550, Gelang Patah,
Johor, Malaysia
Next time, you can leave a message at my voicemail! To Be Continued…
October 16th, 2006 at 11:25 am
ermm Jorami.. you can’t be serious..