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A Young Mother’s Lament: Malay Parents Must Be Fair, Treat Daughters And Sons Equally

My apologies if you feel that I’m talking about you but I’m not so please refrain from negative feelings.

I honestly, am sick and tired of our Malay parents whom are gender biased.
(I say ours cuz majority are doing this to their children and I hate it. I hate it to the bones.)

Yes, I dare say it cuz I’ve a son now, and it totally opened my eyes and mind as well, as to how badly our girls are treated in families where there are mixed gender siblings.

The sons are treated well and parents give them face and MANJA them too much.
The son is placed on a pedestal and feels like a KING no matter what he does.

Don’t talk about religion to me cuz I know damn well what a son is supposed to do in the family.

You give so much to your son, treat him like he’s a freaking prince, yet your daughter is treated like a freaking maid having to be responsible for paying the bills, clean the house & whatever else they are supposed to do.

You let your son escape his responsibilities and act like a hooligan, yet you condemn your own daughters when they make a slight mistake?

You mollycoddle him til he can manipulate your freaking mind, until one day he starts to be so rude to you but you don’t have the heart to piss him off cuz you’re scared, then when it’s too late, end up your daughter has to clean up his crap?

So when you, as a parent, pass on, have you equipped your son with the preparations of your death?
Does he know what needs to be done?

Or is everything supposed to be settled by your daughter AGAIN.

Yes, you can manja and give alot of support for your son.
YES, he will be the Imam for the family and other very important duties of which I do not wish to mention.

But please remember that you have other daughters whom are in need of your attention and love.

Please don’t forget that they have feelings, too.

Respect your daughters.
Be firm with your son or sons and raise them to respect women.
Don’t let them learn to manipulate and have control over women JUST because of their gender and status.

Don’t EVER let them abuse their authority as husbands and fathers.

I am nursing my son as I type this down.

It saddens me to hear tons of stories about selfish sons and abusive sons..

Also, daughters being neglected cuz they’re just..
Daughters.

Had enough of this crap.

Really.

Just..stop it, please.

Source: Siti Nur Aisyah

June 6, 2017
Group of 130 Imams Condemn London Bridge Attacks, Refuse To Perform Funeral Rites

A group of 130 imams and religious leaders have refused to perform the traditional Islamic funeral prayer for the London Bridge attackers.

The leaders said they would not carry out the ritual that is normally performed for every Muslim, regardless of their actions.

In a statement on social media, the group said: “Consequently, and in light of other such ethical principles which are quintessential to Islam, we will not perform the traditional Islamic funeral prayer over the perpetrators and we also urge fellow imams and religious authorities to withdraw such a privilege.

The statement added: “This is because such indefensible actions are completely at odds with the lofty teachings of Islam.”

Religious leaders of all backgrounds have condemned the attack which killed seven and injured 47 on Saturday evening when three men rammed a rental van into pedestrians then randomly stabbed revellers in bars and restaurants near Borough Market.

A panel of speakers at the East London Mosque said they would work to combat extremists’ “twisted narrative and their perversion” of religion.

Source: www.independent.co.uk

June 6, 2017
Mohd Khair: Don’t Forget Essence Of Iftar, Iftar With Non-Muslims Is Encouraged, Halal Food Is A Must

“Potluck Iftar”

Someone shared this photo in one of the comments to a posting on my wall.

We certainly applaud the move to encourage neighbourliness in the month of Ramadhan among residents regardless of race, language or religion to have dinner together, which in this case was done in conjunction with Iftar by Muslims neighbours.

Nevertheless, there is a need to also recognise that Iftar is not just dinner, ordinarily.

Iftar is the time when Muslims break their fast. And Muslims who fast, break their whole-day fasting with only halal foods.

Having a potluck Iftar event is acceptable. In fact it is very much encouraged in Islam to share foods with others, what more during Iftar.

However, the inclusion of non-halal foods in the Iftar could have been an oversight on the part of the event organisers. Appropriate advice should have been given earlier.

Iftar is not just another dinner. Iftar has its special meaning to Muslims, and there is decorum associated with that special meaning.

And decorum associated with certain terms is nothings new. There is decorum in the way the National Flag is to be handled, for example.

The National Flag is not just a piece of cloth having red and white colours with a crescent and 5 stars on it. There is a Statute governing conduct with regards to the National Flag [See SINGAPORE ARMS AND FLAG AND NATIONAL ANTHEM ACT (CHAPTER 296, SECTION 2) and SINGAPORE ARMS AND FLAG AND NATIONAL ANTHEM RULES].

Hence, just like the National Flag, there are certain decorum that needs to be accorded to Iftar too. And one of them is the provisioning of halal foods.

Non-Muslims are free to join in Iftar with Muslims. We see that happening in Singapore at many Iftar events organised by Mosques and other Muslim organisations throughout Ramadhan. Nevertheless, since it is an Iftar event, decorum for the event should also be observed. Halal foods should be presented to all in any Iftar event because Iftar is for Muslims to break their fast. Non-Muslims are always welcomed to join in the Iftar, where only halal foods are served.

Perhaps more needs to be done to help our non-Muslim neigbours understand the meaning of Iftar, and the associated decorum that needs to be observed when Iftar is organised as part of neighbourliness for all to come together regardless of race, language or religion.

Ramadhan Mubarak

Source: Mohd Khair

June 6, 2017
Iftar With Prince Harry: We Even Forgot Prince Harry Was A Royal

With just half an hour to spare, 32-year-old Nazhath Faheema was told that she would be sitting beside Britain’s Prince Harry when he broke fast with young Muslims at a much-anticipated iftar meal in Singapore.

“I was confused how to behave and how to act. I even started rehearsing what to say,” said the council member of Singapore’s Muslim Youth Ambassador of Peace (MYAP).

“I kept reminding myself to call him by his formal title ‘Your Royal Highness’. But once we broke the ice, it felt like talking to a friend,” she said.

The graduate student at Nanyang Technological University was photographed sharing a joke with the prince, also 32, in pictures that were widely picked up by international media.

Prince Harry asked her about the significance of breaking fast with dates, and she told him that this was something Muslims practised generally.

“I explained how Prophet Muhammad did this, and how we Muslims followed in his footsteps. There is a health benefit to breaking fast with dates and porridge and he was fascinated to know about that,” said Ms Nazhath, who reminded him to remove the seeds in the dates as they tucked into the fruit and porridge that were served at sunset.

“WE EVEN FORGOT HE WAS ROYAL”

Prince Harry also had praise for the performers of a sychronised silat demonstration just before the iftar session, when he found out how they endured physical training even while fasting, Ms Nazhath said.

“He talked to the performers and was pleasantly surprised that they put themselves through rigorous training without consuming food or water for the entire day,” she said.

“And that was thing that struck me about him – he was royalty, but he spared a lot of time and effort talking to people. Be it silat performers, activists or just everyday people, he wanted to speak to all of us if he could.”

Initially worried about being a good host to the British prince, she said she was pleasantly surprised that it was he who made her feel welcome.

“He was so casual, cool and dapper – we even forgot that he was royal,” Ms Nazhath said.

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

June 6, 2017
Presidential Hopeful Inspired To Run For Office By Lee Hsien Loong’s Encouragements

Whether he qualifies as a candidate in the upcoming Presidential Election is based on the discretion of the Presidential Electoral Committee (PEC), but Mr Mohamed Salleh Marican has already gone about recruiting people for his campaign.

The 62-year-old chief executive officer of Second Chance Properties told TODAY that he has assembled three out of 10 people for his campaign team, and he aims to complete the search by the end of the month.

He now has a campaign manager, a communications in-charge, and an election agent, who will be his brother, Mr Mohamed Hasan Marican, who is deputy CEO at Second Chance, an investment holding firm that also retails garments.

The September election is reserved for the Malay community, and has a tightened criteria for candidacy.

For example, those contesting, who have private-sector experience, must have a company with at least S$500 million shareholder equity.

Mr Salleh does not automatically qualify, because his company’s shareholder equity registered between S$254.3 million and S$263.25 million over the last three financial years.

Collecting the application forms Monday morning (June 5), Mr Salleh said that he is “optimistic” that he can convince the PEC he is a deserving candidate, adding that he “can’t be worried if he will fail” before he starts.

He also said that he was moved to run for presidency by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong who, at an Association of Muslim Professionals event last November, expressed hope that candidates would step forward and contest.

“I was moved by (Mr Lee’s) speech, and that triggered my intentions,” Mr Salleh said.

“After that, my friends, business associates, suppliers and even some of my employees urged me to step forward and serve the nation (because) this is a noble cause. (With) 100-per-cent support from my family members, I made a decision to contest.”

The entrepreneur, who set up the first company owned by a Malay to be listed on the Singapore Exchange, sees this as a way “to do good”, to give back to society, and as a challenge to see “how much better I can do compared with other presidents”.

Mr Salleh singled out Speaker of Parliament Halimah Yacob as a formidable contender should she contest, as she is “very popular” and someone who “takes her responsibilities very seriously”.

Applications for Singapore’s first reserved Presidential Election opened on June 1, and at least two presidential hopefuls had been seen collecting forms from the Elections Department.

The writ of election is expected to be issued in late August, ahead of the September polls.

Source: www.todayonline.com

June 6, 2017