Category: Agama

  • Singapore Muslims Must Embrace Change

    Singapore Muslims Must Embrace Change

    zulfikar

    For those interested in political science:

    I have discussed the concept of path dependence in government institutions several times. Basically, in historical institutionalism, a policy, structure or rules tend to be retained from its founding or initial development. Because stable institutions have defined their characteristics, decisions today are based on the choices made before it.

    B. Guy Peters argues that path dependence develop into local optima. In relating economics to policy, he stated:

    “These inefficiencies produce numerous local optima and firms, once they find such a local optimum, seize it and that local optimum becomes the dominant solution to the problem. Phrased more in terms of the operations of government programs, a particular program addressing a policy problem may not be the best in the abstract but once it has been shown to produce some positive results it will dominate other solutions that may in principle, be superior but which will require movement from that existing and seemingly functional program”.

    Path dependence and the adoption of local optima is not confined to government policies. In Singapore, we see a similar behavior with Muslim organizations.

    These organizations have taken an approach in political engagement and regardless of its inefficiencies, have remained within the engagement model. While there are better models to adopt, they are unable or unwilling to change from the way they have always engaged because it appeared to have worked before.

    Thus, the inability for the Muslim community to solve their problems cannot be viewed simply from the government’s refusal to respond or change. Our organizations have been caught in an engagement inertia. Until we acknowledge that the model we have utilised all these years are not the best or most appropriate, we will always remain in this situation.

    We have taken a specific model that has not worked for decades and expect a different result. Either we change our goals, change those we engage with or change how we engage.

    Authored by Zulfikar Shariff

  • Ulama: Petik Selfie di Tanah Suci Boleh Rosakkan Ibadah

    Ulama: Petik Selfie di Tanah Suci Boleh Rosakkan Ibadah

    haji

    RIYADH: Mereka dilihat merakam video berjalan mengeliling Kaabah, mencium al-Hajar al-Aswad, bertenggek dekat Bukit Safa atau Bukit Marwah, atau berdiri dekat kubah hijau Masjid Nabawi.

    Demam selfie “kini menjangkiti” jemaah dan pengunjung Masjidil Haram dan Masjid Nabawi sejak beberapa hari lalu, hingga menimbulkan kekesalan ulama dan jemaah lain yang mengutuk “tingkah laku seperti pelancong itu”, menurut Arab News semalam.

    “Di Madinah, saya lihat satu keluarga menghadap matahari, mengangkat tangan seolah-olah sedang berdoa.

    Saya tidak pasti apakah yang sedang mereka lakukan. Namun kemudian saya lihat seseorang di hadapan mereka sedang mengambil gambar,” kata Cik Zahra Mohammad, 27 tahun, seorang guru Pendidikan Islam di Riyadh.

    “Saya juga melihat jemaah di Masjidil Haram yang mengambil selfie dengan Kaabah sebagai latar belakang dan selfie ini kemudian dimuat naik ke laman Facebook menjadikannya sebagai kegiatan media sosial dan merosakkan ibadah mereka seolah-olah memegah diri,” tambahnya lagi.

    Keinginan merakamkan setiap pergerakan di masjid-masjid suci di Makkah dan Madinah dan berkongsi detik-detik berharga ini dengan rakan-rakan dan keluarga di media sosial menyebabkan lebih ramai jemaah menggunakan telefon mereka berbanding sebelum ini.

    Ramai percaya tingkah laku itu boleh menjadi penghalang mencapai kerendahan hati dan ketenangan ketika melakukan ibadah haji, terutama kerana ibadah haji merupakan perjalanan sekali dalam seumur hidup.

    Seorang ulama yang berpangkalan di Jeddah, Sheikh Assim Al-Hakeem berkata: “Fotografi tanpa sebab yang wajar merupakan isu yang dipertikaikan di kalangan ulama.

    Namun walaupun timbul perbezaan dari segi pendapat, tidak harus timbul pertikaian mengenai maksud sebenar Haji.

    “Ia berdasarkan keikhlasan dan mengikuti Sunnah. Nabi Muhammad saw bersabda: “Agar kamu sekalian sentiasa mengambil (mencontohi) tata cara mengerjakan ibadah haji dari aku”. (H/R Muslim).

    “Mengambil selfie bukanlah contoh yang baik seperti yang dianjurkan Nabi,” jelasnya lagi.

    Dalam pada itu, ketika dihubungi Berita Harian semalam mengenai tren tersebut seperti yang dilaporkan Arab News, seorang asatizah setempat, Ustaz Azmi Abdul Samad, turut menasihatkan masyarakat supaya tidak terbawa-bawa dengan kecanggihan alat teknologi sehingga boleh menjejas atau mengganggu kekhusyukan ibadah mereka.

    “Kaabah dan Masjidil Haram adalah kawasan yang sangat diberkahi dan para jemaah seharusnya memanfaatkan masa berada di sana untuk insaf dan mendekatkan diri kepada Allah swt serta meninggalkan seketika urusan-urusan dunia yang tidak mendatangkan kemanfaatan,” jelasnya lagi.

    “Sebaiknya, janganlah terlalu disibukkan dengan perkara-perkara yang boleh mendatangkan kelalaian atau urusan keduniaan.”

    Sumber: http://beritaharian.sg/dunia/ulama-petik-selfie-di-tanah-suci-boleh-rosakkan-ibadah#sthash.heSzpS1n.79eJyI7d.dpuf

  • Jihad al-nikah Atau Jihad Seks Bertentangan Dengan Ajaran Islam

    Jihad al-nikah Atau Jihad Seks Bertentangan Dengan Ajaran Islam

    hasbi hassan

    MEREKA sanggup menggadai jiwa dan menjual maruah sebagai wanita demi memuaskan nafsu anggota militan IS di medan perang di Syria.

    Itulah pengorbanan segelintir wanita, termasuk tiga wanita warga Malaysia, kononnya bagi ‘berjihad’ dengan memenuhi keperluan batin anggota militan itu.

    Mereka dikenali sebagai wanita penghibur atau comfort woman.

    HAMBA SEKS

    Namun, perbuatan yang dipanggil jihad al-nikah atau jihad seks itu sebenarnya bertentangan dengan ajaran Islam.

    Pengerusi bersama Kumpulan Pemulihan Keagamaan (RRG), Ustaz Ali Haji Mohamed, yang juga pengerusi Masjid Khadijah, berkata bahawa perbuatan itu sebahagian agenda IS bagi memenuhi keperluan pejuang mereka.

    “Selain itu, ia juga sebahagian rancangan IS melahirkan lebih ramai penjihad dan menarik lebih ramai orang bagi mengembangkan kumpulan itu,” ujar Ustaz Ali.

    Menurut presiden Persatuan Ulama dan Guru-Guru Agama Islam Singapura (Pergas), Ustaz Mohamad Hasbi Hassan, yang turut memimpin RRG, hubungan antara lelaki dengan perempuan dalam Islam hanya sah dengan pernikahan yang sah dan halal. Oleh itu, tiada istilah ‘wanita penghibur’ dalam Islam.

    Imam eksekutif Masjid Darul Aman, Ustaz Suhaimi Hassan, pula menarik perhatian tentang zaman Sayidina Umar Al-Khattab di mana beliau pernah membenarkan pejuang Islam nikah mutaah atau nikah kontrak kerana sudah lebih empat bulan tidak berjumpa dengan isteri.

    Namun, katanya, Sayidina Umar sendiri memansuhkan hukum itu selepas perang berakhir dan sehingga kini ia diharamkan bagi ahli sunnah wal jamaah.

    FATWA JIHAD SEKS

    Sebelum ini, IS juga mengeluarkan fatwa mengarahkan orang ramai menghantar wanita tidak berkahwin berjihad untuk seks.

    Namun, apakah kesahihan fatwa itu sedangkan ia bukan dikeluarkan ulama yang diiktiraf?

    Ustaz Mohamad Hasbi berkata dalam Islam fatwa disyaratkan dikeluarkan oleh ulama yang mempunyai tahap ilmu yang tinggi sahaja.

    “Mereka harus menguasai Al-Quran, hadis Rasulullah saw, tahu pandangan ulama yang berbeza dan dapat menentukan ketepatan sesuatu pandangan. Seandainya beliau belum memiliki tahap ilmu itu, fatwa yang dikeluarkan akan menjadi tidak sah.

    “Contohnya di Singapura, kita ada jawatankuasa fatwa dan bukan mufti seorang sahaja yang keluarkan fatwa. Ini bagi memastikan fatwa yang dikeluarkan itu betul, tepat dan dikehendaki agama,” ujarnya.

    Oleh itu, fatwa yang dikeluarkan IS berkenaan jihad seks tidak boleh dituruti dan harus ditolak.

    Malah menurut pengurus Masjid Assyafaah, Ustaz Mustazah Bahari, istilah ‘jihad seks’ langsung tiada dalam Islam.

    JALAN PINTAS KE SYURGA

    Selain wanita Timur Tengah, beberapa wanita warga asing dari Britain, Australia, Norway, Jerman dan Filipina juga telah ke Syria menyertai konflik di negara Timur Tengah itu.

    Malah baru-baru ini, tiga wanita Malaysia dikatakan menyertai kumpulan militan IS dipercayai menawarkan diri bagi mengadakan hubungan seks demi menenangkan anggota IS itu.

    Menurut Ustaz Mustazah, wanita terbabit itu melakukan demikian mungkin kerana ingin peluang cepat masuk syurga, kononnya sebagai syahid.

    “Mereka juga mungkin rasa simpati terhadap anggota militan itu tetapi sebenarnya tidak tahu erti sebenar perjuangan itu.

    “Wanita harus ingat, mereka mempunyai banyak tanggungjawab kepada ibu bapa atau suami bagi mereka yang telah berkahwin, daripada ke sana,” ujarnya.

    Malah menurut Ustaz Ali, keinginan masuk syurga dengan mudah serta kekosongan ilmu agama dan pengaruh pendakwah yang tidak diiktiraf juga antara sebab yang mendorong wanita itu menyertai kumpulan militan IS di Syria.

    Kekurangan ilmu agama itu jugalah yang membuat wanita itu gagal membezakan antara yang baik dengan buruk, kata Ustaz Mohamad Hasbi.

    Tambahnya, wanita itu juga mungkin dipengaruhi atau terpaksa dek keadaan.

    “Contohnya, mereka rasa terdorong menyertai perjuangan itu kononnya kerana ingin menegakkan agama Islam tetapi sebenarnya mereka tiada ilmu.

    “Mereka juga mungkin telah jatuh cinta dengan pejuang IS dan terpaksa ikut mereka ke sana,” katanya.

    TREND MEMBIMBANGKAN

    Semangat kuat segelintir wanita itu untuk berjuang bersama IS dan melihatnya sebagai ‘tiket’ masuk syurga bukan sahaja membimbangkan pemerintah negara mereka, bahkan turut mencetuskan keresahan keluarga yang mendesak agar mereka kembali ke pangkuan yang tersayang.

    Ini lebih-lebih lagi kerana mereka pergi ke Syria tanpa izin keluarga.

    Menurut Ustaz Suhaimi, perbuatan itu menunjukkan betapa ceteknya ilmu pemahaman agama mereka sehingga tergamak ke sana tanpa izin bapa yang merupakan satu dosa besar.

    “Masalahnya, wanita yang ke sana untuk berkahwin dengan anggota militan IS mesti diiringi wali, kecuali beliau janda.

    Kalau tiada, siapa yang menjadi kadi bagi mengesahkan pernikahan mereka? “Ini menjadikan pernikahan mereka syubhah (meragukan) atau barangkali boleh berlaku zina,” katanya.

    Ustaz Mohamad Hasbi tidak menafikan akan kemungkinan wanita Singapura turut menyertai kumpulan militan IS di Syria kerana pengetahuan agama yang cetek atau pengaruh lain.

    Namun, beliau menggalak masyarakat Islam setempat supaya menghubungi asatizah atau ulama di sini serta Pergas, Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (Muis) atau badan Islam lain bagi meminta pandangan, bimbingan atau nasihat sekiranya tidak pasti atau mempunyai masalah.

    Ustaz Ali turut menggesa asatizah di sini menggiatkan lagi usaha mereka berdakwah serta berkongsi pandangan dan nasihat mereka dengan orang ramai.

    HAMBA SEKS ZAMAN DAHULU

    Wanita kini juga seharusnya belajar daripada sejarah, lebih sedar dan berhati-hati supaya tidak menyertai IS dan menjadi hamba seks anggota militan kumpulan itu, kata Ustaz Mohamad Hasbi.

    Ini kerana wanita hari ini tidak dipaksa menyertai militan IS di Syria, yang setakat ini hanya menguar-uarkan tentangnya.

    Malah, pihak mereka yang mendatangi pihak asing daripada pelbagai negara di seluruh dunia.

    Ini berbeza berbanding zaman Perang Dunia Kedua di mana askar Jepun memaksa wanita di beberapa negara, seperti Korea, menjadi hamba seks atau wanita penghibur atau tempat mereka melepaskan nafsu.

    Sekiranya wanita itu tidak menuruti permintaan askar Jepun itu, nyawa mereka terancam. Sekitar 200,000 wanita dianggarkan telah dipaksa mengadakan hubungan seks dengan askar Jepun.

    Kebanyakan mereka merupakan wanita Korea, manakala bakinya termasuk wanita China, Indonesia, Filipina dan Taiwan.

    Menurut Ustaz Suhaimi, konsep wanita penghibur tidak harus dikaitkan dengan Islam kerana ia langsung tiada dalam hukum syariah Islam.

    “Kumpulan militan IS mengaburi wanita ini dengan slogan agama Islam, kononnya inilah cara terbaik dan perbuatan itu dibolehkan dalam Islam tetapi sebenarnya ia bertentangan dengan ajaran Islam,” jelas beliau.

    Source: http://beritaharian.sg/wacana/hidayah/tiada-konsep-wanita-penghibur-dalam-islam#sthash.VbQrewmL.SAaEfWkt.dpuf

  • Turkey Lifts Ban on Hijab at High Schools

    Turkey Lifts Ban on Hijab at High Schools

    President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who co-founded the ruling Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP), has long been accused by opponents of eroding the secular values of the modern Turkish state.

    Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc, a close Erdogan ally, said that an amendment was made to the dress code regulations for female students to say they will not be forced to keep their heads uncovered.

    “I know that some female students were longing for (this amendment) to high school regulations,” Arinc told reporters after the cabinet meeting late on Monday.

    Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu welcomed the amendment as an effort for “democratization.”

    “This should not only be seen as the lifting of the ban on the wearing of headscarf,” Davutoglu told the private NTV television Monday.

    “There has been an effort for freedoms and democratization in every sphere.”

    Kamuran Karaca, head of the Egitim-Sen education union, said that the measures would provoke a “trauma” in Turkey.

    “Turkish society is heading back to the Middle Ages through the exploitation of religion,” he said.

    Last year, Turkey lifted a long-standing ban on women wearing the headscarf in state institutions as part of a package of reforms to bolster freedoms and democracy — which drew the ire of secularists who denounced the move as an attempt to Islamize the staunchly secular country.

    Women can already wear the Islamic headscarf — known as the hejab — in universities. The wives of most AKP ministers wear the hijab, as does Erdogan’s wife Emine.

    The founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, based the post-Ottoman republic on a strict separation between religion and state.

    Critics accuse Erdogan, who last month moved to the post of president after over a decade as prime minister, of seeking to undermine Ataturk’s legacy, charges he denies.

    Source: http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2014/09/139845/turkey-lifts-ban-on-headscarves-at-high-schools/

  • Malaysian Woman Shares Life Story on Being Married to ISIS Fighter

    Malaysian Woman Shares Life Story on Being Married to ISIS Fighter

    marriage ISIS

    KUALA LUMPUR: A 26-year-old doctor from Malaysia who claimed she has travelled to Syria to join the jihadist movement revealed the realities of being married to an Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (Isis) fighter on social media accounts, which have since gone viral.

    In a report by Buzzfeed, the woman known as Shams, has been using the moniker ‘Bird of Jannah’ to share her experience of joining the insurgents since she left home in February 2014.

    Sham, who also blogs at  ‘Diary Of A Muhajirah’, said that she thought it was her duty tohijrahor pilgrimage to join the fight in Syria since she is a doctor.

    In her posts, Shams indicated that she flew to Turkey and then crossed the Syrian border, all done without the knowledge of her family.

    Although upset at first, her parents eventually supported her decision, Shams revealed.

    “I never spoke to them before I made thehijrah. I told them only after I have reached Turkey. They were quite upset at first but then they are very supportive and happy,” she responded to a question on social networking website, ask.fm. The account has been deactivated.

    After two months in Syria, Shams revealed that she had entered in an arranged marriage with an Isis insurgent from Morocco, who both agreed to be married without having met each other.

    “I made little steps. I was trembling. Nervous. Scared. My emotions were mixed. Upon seeing me, he gave salam and introduced himself, so did I. Then, it was a long awkward silence. A few minutes later, I flipped my Niqab. He looked at me, our eyes catches each others’. I had palpitation that is faster than the speed of light,” she said in a blog post.

    “He smiled. And he asked a question that I shall never forget for the rest of my life.

    “Can we get married today? After Asr?”

    Deep inside my heart shouted, no. But I have no idea why I answered “Yes”.

    Shams further revealed that she had called her father on the same day to obtain his consent for marriage.

    “On the same day, after Asr prayer, my friend, her husband, an English speaking brother and I went to the nearest internet cafe and made call to my father. Again, I spoke about this matter to him and I could hear my mother was shouting in joy at the back.

    “Later, I passed the phone to the English speaking brother for him to take the consent from my father, as my father is mywali.”

    In her postings, Shams also shared the harsh realities of being married to an insurgent and the loathing fear of losing her husband each time he heads out for the ‘battlefield’.

    She relayed a story of a friend named Umm Habiba, who lost her husband in ajihad. Instead of grieving, the widow was happy and celebrated her husband’s death because it means that that he has ‘become asyahid.

    “We entered the house where I saw almost 20 sisters. Nobody cried. Everyone was smiling. The house smells good. The kids seemed happy and there were plenty of foods strewn on the floor. I was astonished, puzzled.

    Shams described the widow as joyful, wore nice clothes and had makeup and jewelleries on when she visited her.

    “Umm Habiba..” I hugged her. The tears began to flow on my cheeks. I cried like a baby. She took her hand and wiped my tears and hold my cheeks. She said something that amazed me.

    “Umm al Baraa ya Habibty. My husband is a  He is In sha Allāh in the garden of Jannah, married to Hoor-al Ayn. Today is the day of celebration. Today is the day of joy. No one shall cry! Especially you. You’re a new bride, you should always smile,” she said in another one of her blog post.

    “I pulled Habiba closer to me and asked her how she’s doing. She said she’s happy because her mother told her that the father has bought a house in paradise and waiting for them.”

    A week and a half into the marriage, it was Sham’s fear turned a reality. Her husband, Abu al Baraa was preparing himself to leave home for a militant operation.

    Jihadis my first wife, and you’re my second. I hope you understand” he told Shams.

    Shams, who is now pregnant, admitted that it was tough being the wife of an insurgent and sometimes post poetry on her Facebook page, begging her husband to not leave her ‘too soon’.

    The doctor, in her Twitter postings, has also defended Isis for carrying out killings on Western journalists and aid workers.

    Her Facebook account has been taken down on several occasions – as it went against Facebook’s policy that do not permit ‘terrorist groups’ to use the social networking site.

    In August, Special Branch (Operations/Counter Terrorism division) assistant director-general Datuk Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay confirmed reports of Malaysian women who travelled to Syria for certain purposes.

    However, there is no proof that they are involved with ISIS by offering sexual jihad orJihad Al-Nikahto date.

    According to a Malaysian Insider report last month, senior intelligence officials confirmed that three Malaysian women have journeyed to the Middle East to join up with Isis forces.

    Source: http://english.astroawani.com/news/show/we-shall-meet-in-jannah-malaysian-woman-reveals-married-life-with-isis-militant-44247