Musings on how wonderful it is being a Muslim in Malaysia with numerous religious departments, even more religious officers, and religious scholars in politics too – all selflessly ensuring Muslims will never have to pull a muscle thinking or go astray.
Painting by Paolo Zerbato
Someone told me I was wrong in thinking that it is difficult being a Muslim in Malaysia. So, I thought about it. He is right. It is wonderful being Muslim in Malaysia.
I realised that we are the only country in the world where we have 13 muftis! Other countries have only ONE mufti per country but we have 13 which mean we Muslims are lucky. We are lucky because more heads are better than one right? We can get more Islamic knowledge and input. Is that not wonderful?
Furthermore, with more heads, we do not have to use our head to think about all the “difficult and complex” shariah laws, rules, exegesis, etc. We can just leave it to the experts and we are left with more time for our lives. Is that not wonderful?
Is it not wonderful that we also have 13 religious departments in every state to constantly remind us of what is Islamic and what is not? This shows how seriously we take our religion, as compared to other countries that do not have this many religious departments. Can you imagine the number in the labour force we would come up with when we total up all the officers and staff in the various religious departments? All this is a worthwhile investment on earth to save our souls in the hereafter.
Thanks to all these religious officers who spend their lives minding us, we will not go astray. Is that not wonderful that we have officers that make sure we behave the Muslim way? This will free even our parents! My faith is forever protected by these officers.
Let us not forget – we also have many other Islamic religious institutions at the federal Government. This is important. We must give meaning to the Constitution that guarantees Islam as the official religion. It is OFFICIAL ok! Is that not wonderful to be officially recognised? This will go a long way in strengthening our faith and reminding us that we are Muslims.
Being a Malay is almost like being saved from the hellfire in the hereafter. The drafters of our Constitution have the foresight to make sure Malays are Muslims. Article 160 defines that a Malay, among other things, is a person who practices and professes the religion of Islam (i.e. a Muslim). I am so proud to say that no other country in the world has the vision to define a race in terms of its religion. They did not have the “religious vision” but we did! Isn’t this wonderful, my Muslim friend?
In Malaysia we have a political party whose objective is to set up an Islamic state. We also have another major political party that does all it can to “protect Islam.” Recently we have a group of religious scholars entering politics. Isn’t that wonderful?
I think we should encourage more and more our young Muslims to forget all other secular courses and take up Islamic studies. That is so important. Hopefully, we can become a nation of ulamas! Would that not be wonderful? We will all be sound and knowledgeable Muslims then. If we achieve this, we can be the main exporter of religious teachings in the world. Wow, we can save many souls!
I love that fact that being a Muslim allows any other stranger in a skull cap or a goatee to advise me, unasked. That is the generosity you enjoy being a Muslim. No where else can you find such generosity and abundance of advise except in the Muslim world in this country. Is that not so selflessly wonderful?
Malaysian Muslims are sensitive people. That is because they care about their religion and respect the religious scholars. Whenever we have a doubt or need an answer, we check with the scholars. When we want to say or write something on Islam, we check with the scholars. We have so many of them in our country. Is it not wonderful to be able to check with experts before you say something?
Lastly, it is wonderful being a Muslim in Malaysia because my identification card says that I am one. So, no one, let me repeat, no one can dispute that!
Peace !
LB: This post was originally published in the author’s blog Rapera.
Jabar tries to walk with God. He has been active in advancing social, national unity and human rights issues for years. He wears many hats and is ever willing to work with any group that promotes the general welfare of Malaysians without any partisan boundaries. Apart from having a busy practice with Messrs Jahaberdeen & Co, he has been active in the various Bar Council committees over the years such the Human Rights Committee, the Syariah Law Committee and the Corporate and Conveyancing Law Committee. He has been passionate in promoting the humanistic face of Islam, and blogs regularly at jahamy.blogspot.com and jahaberdeen.blogspot.com. He thought he could escape the LoyarBurok pull, but instead found himself sucked into larger movements like SABM and UndiMsia!
Posted on 4 July 2010. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0.
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