Tag: Islam

Former Law Professor: Arab Culture Integral To Islam, Johor Sultan Advised

The Johor sultan should realise that Arabic culture and norms are an integral part of Islam, said constitutional law expert Abdul Aziz Bari.

“I think the sultan of Johor should consult the menteri besar or the mufti before shooting from the hip, or else he would embarrass everybody including himself.

“He needs to realise that he is the head of Islamic religion for the state, apart from being the state head.

“There is no question of turning the society into an Arab one; the fact remains that Arabic culture and norms have become an integral part of Islam,” the former law professor said in a statement today.

He was responding to the Johor Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar who had called on Malays to be proud of the Malay culture and not try to emulate Arabic culture.

Abdul Aziz pointed out that the term sultan itself is Arabic and rooted in the Quran.

“Perhaps the sultan of Johor ought now to be thinking of coining a new term to replace the term sultan,” he said.

Arabic term

Noting that Johor was the only state to use the term ‘ahlul hal wal aqdi’ to denote the members of succession council in the Johor Constitution, he also pointed out that it is an Arabic term and that the sultan should also consider replacing it.

Jawi is also an aspect of Arabic culture which the sultan should think about, he said, adding that jawi is very much the culture of Johor as well.

Abdul Aziz also responded to the crown prince of Johor Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, who had recalled the incidents during the 1992 constitutional crisis and reminded the government not to repeat such greed-driven episodes.

It was the prince’s grandfather who presented then Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad with the opportunity to “whack the rulers”, Abdul Aziz remarked.

“Some of the rulers, in fact, complained that they have been embarrassed by the incident provoked by the late Sultan Iskandar, which started with the alleged beating of the Johor state hockey coach,” he said.

Source: www.malaysiakini.com

March 26, 2016
Almakhazin: Did MUIS really want to praise LKY during khutbah Jumaat?

Last year, after Lee Kuan Yew’s death on 23rd March, a lot of Muslims in Singapura were shocked and disgusted by MUIS.

Prior to his death, we saw how mass grieving was “encouraged” by the government and the media.

Muslims spoke of making doa for him and referred to him as their father or grandpa.

When he died, some Muslims prayed that he would be placed with the solihin.

Muslim organisations fell over themselves singing his praises and declaring their sadness.

And MUIS, as the authority for the Muslim community, led the way. They used the khutbah Jumaat to praise Lee Kuan Yew:

“Saudara-saudara sidang Jumaah yang dirahmati Allah,

Pemergian Perdana Menteri Pertama, mendiang Encik Lee Kuan Yew, telah menyentuh setiap rakyat Singapura, termasuk kita para anggota masyarakat Islam. Amat besar sekali kesan yang beliau tinggalkan kepada kehidupan berbilang agama dan bangsa negara ini. Di peringkat antarabangsa, beliau telah memimpin sebuah pemerintah yang membangunkan Singapura menjadi negara maju yang dikagumi dan dicemburui dunia. Ini tercapai, antaranya melalui kesungguhan beliau memastikan keharmonian hubungan antara kaum, kemajuan ekonomi dan kecemerlangan pendidikan.

Marilah kita merenung dan mengambil iktibar daripada kehidupannya. Beliau telah pergi meninggalkan warisannya.”

A lot of Muslims felt that for MUIS to use the masjid, the mimbar to praise someone who has discriminated and oppressed Muslims for decades was not only in poor taste, but an abuse of their management powers.

Especially when they do not show such love and admiration when our ulama passed away.

But after the khutbah, some information came to light.

According to sources inside MUIS, the khutbah praising Lee Kuan Yew was not part of their plan.

Instead, they were told to say it. And we believe that this situation will happen happen again whether this year or in the coming years.

From the information we received, MUIS was told to do three things for Kuan Yew during solat Jumaat:

1. A minute silence during khutbah to honour his death

2. Make a congregational doa for Lee Kuan Yew

3. Praise him during the khutbah.

MUIS tried to reject the demands but was not able to. They needed to show their loyalty to the government.

But the first two demands were too much. They compromised and agreed to praise him during khutbah Jumaat.

These are the information that were relayed to us and we welcome MUIS clarifying it.

If these information are true, then it shows that while there are a lot of systemic problems in MUIS, the abuse of the mimbar, of the masjid to praise Lee Kuan Yew may not be due to them.

They were powerless to reject the demand.

But that they are powerless is also the very problem we need to resolve.

They are powerless because MUIS staff, their leaders, are government servants.

They are compelled to support government policies and demands, even when it goes against Islam.

Whether it is the denial of hijab, the destruction of masjid, the taking of wakaf land or the use of khutbah to praise a politician, MUIS is unable to stand up against the government.

Because they have to listen and follow government demands, they not only affect their organisation…

But also how we practice our religion.

Source: Almakhazin SG

March 25, 2016
Why is There a Refusal To have An Honest Discussion About Terrorism and Extremism?

As expected, the condemnation machinery that went missing during the Ankara and Istanbul attacks reappeared, expressing vociferous condemnation and massive grief for Brussels.

Yet people still ask me why i am skeptical towards politicians.

And again, the refusal to have an honest discussion about terrorism and extremism is stark.

Let’s not kid ourselves, one’s (selective) condemnation of terrorism will not reduce terrorism. But a critical appraisal of the issues surrounding it, might. So when one engages in the former but not the latter, then ultimately, we know one’s interest is not in getting to the heart of the matter.

And when it is all said and done, let us not forget the role of Tony Blair in all of these: the man who basically sold the Iraq War to the world, the devastating war, the ramifications of which we still feel today. Yes, Bush started it, but Bush could barely pronounce ‘Iraq War’, let alone sell it. History must eventually be honest about the role of Blair and Bush in destabilizing Iraq and the entire Middle East, creating a vacuum in which Daesh and other terrorists have thrived.

Let us be honest, and not be selective in our condemnations, our analyses of the causes of terror, and our reading of history.

Source: Walid J Abdullah

March 24, 2016
May The Deceased SMRT Staff Be Granted Paradise For Their Jihad In Providing For Their Family

Do you know that going to work to seek nafkah was described as “jihad” by our Prophet s.a.w?

Nabi S.A.W was once asked by his companion regarding a man who was physically strong and was working tirelessly on a heavy labour: the companion of Rasul asked : “Ya Rasulullah if only this strong man joins us for Jihad in the way of Allah”

Nabi s.a.w answered: “If he works hard to feed his kids, he is in Jihad.. if he works hard to feed his old parents he is in Jihad.. and if he is working to feed himself, to exalt himself from begging then he is also in Jihad in the way of Allah”

We hope that those who lost their life in the accident yesterday attained husnul khatimah as mujahidin in the way of Allah.. and most importantly i think it also reminds us of our daily struggle at work, our own jihad.. and to always reallign our niat so that we truly are upon Allah’s way da-iman wa abadan..

wallahu’alam..

Source: Khairul Anwar

March 23, 2016
Some SMRT Staff Upset Over Apparent Disregard For Workers’ Safety

In the aftermath of the two SMRT employees’ deaths, some of their colleagues are upset by what they see as an apparent disregard for workers’ safety over the need to assuage commuters’ grouses about train breakdowns. Others said they were kept in the dark about the tragedy on Tuesday (March 22) even as they had to continue performing their duties.

Speaking to TODAY on the condition of anonymity, an SMRT engineer said: “We are very angry and sad that such a thing has happened. It was an accident that could have been avoided. Safety should always come first and not be compromised, even when the management wants problems to be fixed fast to avoid delays to the train service.”

While “technicians on the ground are essential for the reliability of operations”, the engineer said, he was “devastated” when he heard the news that they were killed on the tracks.

“When the machines on the track are malfunctioning, it is sometimes necessary that we have to send people down to fix them. But safety should never be compromised in the process,” he stressed.

Another SMRT employee, who declined to be named, said that ground crew personnel were not given much information after the accident. He himself was not told about what was happening at the accident scene, or about when the station may be re-opened: “(At that time), people were asking how long the delay would last, and I said, ‘I’m not sure’.”

He recalled that the signal light “turned to red” at around 11.20am at the station, “indicating that something had happened”. “After that, my officer gave me instructions saying that people from the platform were coming down. He said, ‘Just open the gates and let the people go out; (to) just clear the crowd’.”

Another SMRT ground staff member said she heard that the maintenance workers were from another station and were at Pasir Ris to check on the tracks, and some of the ground crew had to leave with the police for investigations.

Train services between Pasir Ris and Tanah Merah stations were suspended for about three hours on Tuesday afternoon when two maintenance workers were hit by an oncoming train about 150m from the train platform.

Singaporeans Nasrulhudin Najumudin, 26, and Muhammad Asyraf Ahmad Buhari, 24, were trainees who had just joined SMRT in January. The two were part of a 15-member technical team, including a supervisor, who went on the tracks to check on a reported alarm from a condition monitoring device for signalling equipment.

When TODAY arrived at the scene around 12.30pm, the gates to the station were closed, and SMRT officials were handing out information flyers and diverting commuters to Pasir Ris bus interchange for free bus services.

Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) personnel and family members of the deceased entered and exited the train station even as it was off-limits to the public at that point, while members of the press and some bystanders lingered at the station entrance.

A 55-year-old Pasir Ris resident, who asked to be identified only as Mr Yong, said he was walking to the MRT station at around noon when he saw SCDF personnel guiding passengers — about 20 — from the stalled train to the station.

A homemaker in her 50s, who wanted to be known only as Madam Foo, said she had gone to the upper floors of a nearby apartment block to find out “why the train is just (stuck) on the tracks like that”. “I saw a body on the track. It was already wrapped up. I got a shock, of course,” she said.

One commuter, technician Timothy Hoong, 53, told TODAY that such an incident “shouldn’t have happened in the first place”.

“When the train is operational, nobody should be on the tracks for safety reasons … It’s all right to delay the train service than to just go ahead with the maintenance (and resulting) in somebody getting killed.”

Mr Hoong believes the accident may have been prevented if “proper communication” took place.

Source: www.todayonline.com

March 23, 2016