Category: Agama

#MuslimWomenCrushWednesday – Which Muslim Woman Inspires You Most?

#MuslimWomenCrushWednesday

I’m gonna start off with the first Muslim woman that popped into my head. She’s a Speaker of Parliament, lawyer, unionist, daughter, mother, wife, mozlem, patron for the destigmatization of the mentally ill, hijabi (very confidently with her own unique style yo!), makcik bungkus2 (always spotted at a void deck happily helping fellow makcik and auntie grassroots with menial but necessary tasks like packing food), yishun-er (yes despite it’s increasingly ghetto status, she still lives in a humble hdb there), and most of all, i is so #fangirl over her cos she is a #sayitasitis-er!

“And then she said, set your own goals. If not, other people will set your goals for you, and you will become just a tool for other people to achieve their own goals. And don’t expect people to give you extra points just because you are a woman. Life is not golf; it doesn’t and shouldn’t work that way. #sayitasitis”

#MWCW
#yourturn

*We’re starting a hashtag movement! 1. Entitle your post “Muslim Women Crush Wednesday”. 2. Write (read: fangirl) about your favourite inspiring woman (Singaporean or otherwise) and 3. End it with #MWCW. Simple. You’ve got 24hours before Wednesday ends, go! And by you i mean YOU! Yes YOU, including the brothers who love their mothers.*

#Fangirling
She said that in Islam, women get to keep their own property after marriage, while under the common law, women’s property goes into the common property of the marriage. And then she said, so ladies, you don’t have to contribute a single cent to the household if you don’t want to. You are not obliged. But don’t go home and tell your husband that Mdm Halimah said this; this is what Islam says. But if you redha and you want to give to help your family, then Alhamdulillah, i think this is good. #truth

And then she went on to talk about Prof Ying and Mdm Zuraidah before talking about her own accomplishments. Well sort of really because she talked more about the work rather than HER accomplishments. #humility

And then she said, set your own goals. If not, other people will set your goals for you, and you will become just a tool for other people to achieve their own goals. And don’t expect people to give you extra points just because you are a woman. Life is not golf; it doesn’t and shouldn’t work that way.#sayitasitis

And then she said, actually ustaz, i had hoped more bapa2 come for this conference. Maybe next time if you have such a muslim women conference, we can get more of the men to come. (…) And i hope there will continue to be more women on masjid boards. And don’t just have the women there to tolong buat kopi…give them more diverse and significant roles. #amikkau

(Ok so it seems like fate has it that my fb (and hence perhaps your newsfeeds) will continue to be filled with awesome Muslim women this week. Enjoy! *and yes, i generally truly enjoy sitting behind pillars*)

#MuslimWomenConference

Source: Nur Khairiana

January 25, 2017
Muslims Must Find Allies Among Non-Muslims In Fight Against Islamophobia

Possible lessons from the Linda Sarsour episode:

(For those who are unaware, she is a Palestinian-American and a social activist who participated in the women’s march held a few days ago. She gave a rousing, inspiring speech. Unfortunately, but predictably, she was slammed by many people; those on the far-right, but also, some Muslims.)

1) Some men just cannot stand strong women, who have loud voices and are not afraid to articulate their opinions. This is regrettably still true, and it is really futile to pretend that it is not.

2) As long as Muslims do not conform to certain expectations held by others, there will be efforts to ‘reform’ Islam and ‘modernize’ it. Can’t help but feel there would be fewer criticisms if she had not donned the hijab, or if she was a self-styled Muslim ‘reformer’.

3) We should always challenge terminologies that are put forth by others. When others use the term ‘moderate’, or ‘progressive’, or ‘conservative’, do not let that slide, or worse, embrace them uncritically. This is not a matter of being an ‘academic exercise’; rather, it could have real-life implications.

In this case, the term ‘anti-Semite’ was bandied about casually. Is she anti-Semitic because she is Palestinian? Aren’t Arabs Semites in the first place???

Do not let others define the terms of discourse for us.

4) Muslims should be aware that many of those who are defending Linda are those from other/no faiths. Yes, in the Western world, there are plenty of Islamophobes who wish to see Islam disappear from the face of the earth, and/or want Islam to be changed wholesale.

At the same time, there are many who are allies and potential allies, who have stood up and will continue to stand up for us. It is crucial to recognize this.

Muslims hate it when people paint us with the same brush. We, of all people, should know not to do that with ‘people in the West’, ‘Jews’, ‘the right’, and the like.

Source: Walid J. Abdullah

January 24, 2017
Myanmar Minta Diberi ‘Masa Dan Ruang’ Untuk Huraikan Krisis Rohingya

Timbalan ketua pertahanan Myanmar pada Isnin (23 Jan) menggesa dunia supaya memberi “masa dan ruang” kepada pemerintah negara itu untuk menghuraikan krisis yang melibatkan Muslim Rohingya di tengah-tengah kebimbangan bahawa kumpulan militan mungkin akan mengeksploitasi keadaan yang bergolak itu.

Laksamana Muda Myint Nwe memberitahu satu forum keselamatan di Singapura bahawa pemerintah Myanmar “cukup sedar akan keprihatinan yang kian meningkat mengenai laporan-laporan tentang keadaan di wilayah Rakhine”, yang didiami orang Rohingya dan komited untuk menangani isu tersebut dan menghukum mereka yang bertanggungjawab.

Sejak Oktober tentera Myanmar sudah melancarkan “operasi pembersihan” di utara wilayah itu untuk menghapuskan para pemberontak yang dituduh menyerang pondok-pondok polis sempadan.

Sekurang-kurangnya 66,000 orang Rohingya yang sudah melarikan diri ke negara jiran, Bangladesh, mendakwa bahawa pasukan keselamatan Myanmar merogol, membunuh dan mendera kaum itu.

Myanmar sejak sekian lama berdepan dengan kritikan masyarakat antarabangsa berhubung layanannya terhadap kaum Rohingya. Kebanyakan rakyat Myanmar yang beragama Buddha menyifatkan orang Rohingya sebagai pendatang haram dari Bangladesh.

Laksmana tersebut berkata demikian sebagai respons kepada ucap tama yang disampaikan oleh Menteri Pertahanan Malaysia Hishammuddin Hussein di Forum Fullerton yang dianjurkan oleh Institut Antarabangsa bagi Pengajian Strategik.

Hishammuddin memberi amaran bahawa keadaan di Rakhine – jika tidak ditangani dengan betul boleh dieksploitasikan oleh kumpulan ISIS untuk mengukuhkan pangkalannya di Asia Tenggara.

Myint Nwe berkata bahawa Yangon dan masyarakat antarabangsa harus menumpukan perhatian kepada usaha untuk mencari “huraian yang berkekalan” bagi masalah tersebut.

Hishammuddin berkata bahawa ASEAN – sebuah perkumpulan serantau yang dianggotai Malaysia dan Myanmar – harus memainkan peranan penting dalam mencari huraian bersama para pemimpin Myanmar.

Source: BeritaMediacorp

January 23, 2017
Dr Maliki Osman: Cari Jalan Sederhana Dalam Agama Supaya Dapat Saling Memahami

Perpaduan dalam masyarakat berbilang agama tidak akan dapat dicapai dengan berkesan jika masih ada isu-isu dalam sesuatu agama itu.

Antaranya pandangan yang berbeza dalam mengamalkan ajaran agama.

Menurut Menteri Negara Kanan Pertahanan dan Ehwal Luar Dr Mohd Maliki Osman, ia merupakan satu perkara yang perlu diteliti dengan serius dan ditangani jika kita mahu mengekalkan keharmonian dalam kehidupan.

“Sering kita dengar satu bangsa mengatakan sama ada kita boleh melakukan sesuatu perkara dan ada yang mengatakan boleh dan ada yang mengatakan tidak boleh. Bangsa yang lain mungkin tidak faham. Langsung ia akan menimbulkan masalah kepada mereka jika mereka ingin mengaitkan dengan sesuatu kaum tersebut. Jadi saya rasa apa yang penting ialah dalam sesuatu agama itu kita cuba cari jalan sederhana supaya ramai di antara mereka yang bukan dalam agama tersebut memahami apa yang dipraktikkan dan difahami oleh agama tersebut. Ini mungkin akan dapat meningkatkan lagi hubungan antara kaum ataupun antara agama di Singapura ini,” kata Dr Maliki.

Dr Maliki yang juga Datuk Bandar CDC Tenggara berkata demikian di sesi dialog antara kaum anjuran CDC itu petang tadi (21 Jan).

Ini merupakan sesi kedua daripada satu siri dialog bertujuan meningkatkan kesedaran dan pemahaman tentang pelbagai agama dan budaya di negara ini.

Dialog kali ini berkisar tentang peranan dan erti sesuatu warna dalam kehidupan berbilang kaum di negara ini.

Menurut Dr Maliki, sebagai rakyat Singapura, di samping tidak mengamalkan diskriminasi
kita juga perlu mengambil langkah-langkah proaktif dalam membina wadah bagi pertukaran pendapat yang berkesan tentang masyarakat majmuk Singapura.

Dialog ini disertai sekitar 170 orang dari pelbagai latar belakang termasuk pemimpin agama dan belia.

Sesi selanjutnya akan diadakan pada 4 Mac.

Source: BeritaMediacorp

January 23, 2017
‘Regrettable’ Malaysia Called For Extraordinary Session Of OIC On Rohingya: Myanmar

In a statement released to Channel NewsAsia on Friday (Jan 20), the Myanmar government said Malaysia’s decision to call for an Extraordinary Session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday was “regrettable”.

During the session, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak called on Myanmar to stop all discrimination and attacks on Rohingya Muslims, and urged the world’s Islamic countries to act to end an unfolding “humanitarian tragedy”.

“It is regrettable that Malaysia, a fellow ASEAN Member disregarding the basic norms of the Association, feels it fit to call and muster (an) Extraordinary Session of OIC to take on Myanmar’s Rakhine Issue,” said the Foreign Ministry statement.

“Myanmar understands that Malaysia’s concerns sprang from salacious media news portraying dire human rights situations without any factual analysis. It is more regrettable that this complex and sensitive issue has been exploited to suit a certain political agenda.”

It added that Malaysia’s action is also tantamount to total disregard of the genuine efforts being made by Myanmar government to resolve the issue.

“No one is more concerned about peace, security and stability of Rakhine State than the government and the people of Myanmar.

“Therefore, the Government is genuinely committed to resolving this issue. The government has put into place many mechanisms to comprehensively resolve the issues – such as the Central Committee on Implementation of Peace, Stability and Development of Rakhine State with four work committees focusing on all relevant areas, including the citizenship verification process.

“This was followed by establishment of Rakhine Advisory Committee headed by Kofi Annan, to give balanced, credible and just international perspectives into the resolution of the Rakhine issue. The Investigation Commission was also formed to immediately look into the causes of recent incidents.”

The statement concluded by saying that the interests of the two communities “will be best served by focusing on finding lasting solutions to the issue rather than asserting undue external pressure and interference that would add more complexity to the already” complicated issue.

Source: CNA

January 20, 2017