Rilek1Corner

Tag: Muslim

  • #Haul-loween: Behind The Traditions Of Haul

    #Haul-loween: Behind The Traditions Of Haul

    # Haul-loween – Behind the Traditions of Haul

    History of Halloween

    Saints

    The Roman Catholics typically celebrate the anniversaries of their saints. Saints who have been officially recognised by the Church are people who are considered purified or holy and is therefore believed to be in Heaven.

    According to their beliefs, the worship of saints is a show of devotion so that they can be asked to intercede or pray for those still on earth.

    Calendar of Saints

    Early Christians commemorated the day of the death of their Saints by having an annual feast. The number of recognized Saints increased until eventually every day of the year had at least one saint who was commemorated.

    To deal with this increase, some dates were moved while others were completely removed from the calendar. These Feast Days were also ranked in order of importance of the respective Saints where some commemorative feasts became obligatory while others remained optional.

    All-Saints’ Day

    With the huge deluge of Saints, a day was selected to commemorate all the Saints (the remainders who were not afforded a day to call their own) in a single swoop. This day was named All-Saints’ Day and falls on the 1st of November.

    All-Saints’ Day was also known as All Hallows’ Day (“Hallow” means “Saint”) and is considered a Holy Day of Obligation for the Roman Catholics.

    Halloween

    The term Halloween was derived from “Hallows’ Eve” which is the eve of All Saints’ Day (All Hallows’ Day).

    The celebration was basically adopted from Pagan rituals called “Festival of the Dead” when it is believed that the border between this world and the other world becomes passable to spirits of the dead.

    Haul Commemorations in Islam

    Similarly, there has never been remembrances of death anniversaries (haul) in Islam. If there were, the death anniversaries of Prophet Muhammad & his Companions would have been of utmost importance.

    However, following in the footsteps of the Shi’ites who commemorate the death anniversary of Hussayn among others, many amongst Sufis have adopted the Pagan ritual to commemorate the death anniversaries of their own revered shaykhs whom they glorify and consider infallible.

    May Allah give us His Taufeeq and Hidayah so that we may be among those who seek knowledge to ascertain the truth.

    #haul #pagan

    Channel Telegram – https://telegram.me/islamIQsg
    YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/IslamIQsg

     

    Source: Islamic Sg

  • Syed Farid Alatas: Against The Grain – Arabisation And The Malay Identity

    Syed Farid Alatas: Against The Grain – Arabisation And The Malay Identity

    *This article first appeared in Forum, The Edge Malaysia Weekly, on October 24 – 30, 2016.

    There has been much resentment expressed recently towards what is perceived as the Arabisation of Malays. This Arabisation is said to be manifested in a number of ways, the most common being the adoption by Malays of Arabic words in their vocabulary and the donning of Arabic dress such as the thobe, an ankle-length garment similar to a robe.

    In the past, for example, Muslims in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia would use the term “buka puasa” for the breaking of the fast during the month of Ramadan. These days, however, the Arabic word, iftar, is often heard.

    After the end of the fasting month, the common greeting among Muslims was Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri, but this has increasingly given way to the Arabic eid mubarak.

    More and more male Muslims in the region are using the Arab thobe rather than the sarong or kain pelikat. In fact, a variety of thobes originating from the United Arab Emirates, Oman and other countries in the Arab world can be seen in our mosques and at religious functions.

    Many have lamented the fact that things Malay have been substituted by things Arab and fear that this is the beginning of a trend of the Arabisation of the Malay identity and culture. Indeed, this phenomenon of Arabisation must be properly understood and distinguished from an earlier process of the Islamisation of the Malays, when Islam arrived in the Malay world of Southeast Asia.

    When a religion spreads from one region to another, it is quite normal that elements of the culture of the society of origin of that religion would be adopted by its new adherents. This can be said to have happened with the spread of Islam to the Malay world.

    When the Malays adopted Islam as a religion and way of life, the Malay language was influenced in significant ways. Not only was the Arabic script in a modified form adopted by the Malays, but many Arabic words also found their way into the Malay language. This was the case not only with religious vocabulary but also with words used in other areas of social, cultural and political life.

    Some words in Malay are obviously of Arabic origin. Examples are tadbir (administer), had (limit) and mustahil (impossible). Other words, however, are less obviously of Arabic origin. Examples are kuat (strong), derived from the Arabic quwwah, and pasal (paragraph, section), derived from the Arabic fasl.

    This process of acculturation is something normal that takes place whenever there is contact between two different cultural areas. Aspects of the Arabisation of the Malays that had accompanied the Islamisation of the Malays since the early days of the coming of Islam to the Malay world must be distinguished from what is being referred to as Arabisation today.

    What is referred to as Arabisation today is in fact a worrying trend. This is because the adoption by some Malays of certain elements of Arab culture would result in the gradual erosion of Malay culture and practices. If more and more Malay men were to adopt the thobe, this would mean the marginalisation of the kain pelikat and baju Melayu and their possible demise as a cultural artifact. Indeed, it is already the case that there is hardly a Malaysian kain pelikat industry to speak of, as this is dominated by a few Indonesian manufacturers.

    An even greater concern as far as the trend of Arabisation is concerned is the adoption of a way of life that is not only contrary to Malay culture but is also inappropriate for our society. The example I have in mind is the adoption of the niqab, the part of the hijab that covers the face. The niqab is a tradition of many Arab societies but is foreign to Malay culture. Still, it is increasingly seen on the streets of Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Jakarta.

    Arabisation in this sense is really a reflection of the influence of certain understandings of Islam originating from the Arab world. For example, there is the phenomenon of Malaysians and Indonesians going to the Hadhramaut region in Yemen to study and returning home with Hadhrami Arab practices such as the donning of the niqab, gender segregation and so on.

    Those Malays and Indonesians who adopt such ways perhaps imagine that they are practising a more authentic version of Islam. In doing so, they set themselves apart from the larger Malay society, contribute to the erosion of Malay traditions and practices, and could be a party to the infusion of extremist interpretations of Islam.

    When Islam arrived in the Malay world centuries ago, it adapted itself to the culture of the region and did not marginalise the culture of its people. Take the zapin, a musical and dance genre. Zapin (Ar. zafin) was introduced to the region from Hadhramaut centuries ago.

    In each part of the Malay-Indonesian archipelago, zapin was indigenised to suit local conditions. Among the Malays of Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula, for example, the language of the song-text of zapin became Malay and the dance was not gender-segregated, unlike in Hadhramaut.

    Furthermore, the introduction of zapin throughout the region did not result in the marginalisation of the music and dance genres that were already thriving in the Malay world. This is unlike the situation in Malaysia today in which some Malay music and dance genres, such as wayang kulit (shadow puppetry) and mak yong (dance drama), are said to be unIslamic and proscribed.

    If elements of Arab culture blend in with Malay traditions and practices without eroding or eliminating things Malay, then such “Arabisation” can be said to be a creative process.

    On the other hand, if Arabisation is founded on the idea of the greater Islamic authenticity of Arab culture, it would result in the erosion and marginalisation of Malay culture and the adoption of inappropriate practices.

    It is this sense of Arabisation that has come under attack in Malaysia recently. The same can be said of the influence of any other culture such as Westernisation.

    Syed Farid Alatas teaches at the National University of Singapore’s Department of Sociology

     

    Source: www.theedgemarkets.com

  • Faisal Tehrani: Sasterawan Melayu Berperanan Pulihkan Kerencaman Cara Fikir Masyarakat

    Faisal Tehrani: Sasterawan Melayu Berperanan Pulihkan Kerencaman Cara Fikir Masyarakat

    Para sasterawan Melayu berperanan memulihkan kerencaman cara fikir masyarakat menerusi karya mereka.

    Pandangan itu disuarakan oleh penulis prolifik dari Malaysia Dr Faizal Musa atau lebih dikenali sebagai Dr Faisal Tehrani. Menurut beliau, kebanjiran jalur fikir yang sama akan menjejas kehidupan beragama umat Islam.

    Dr Faisal diundang untuk menyampaikan satu ceramah anjuran The Arts House dan Pusat Pengajian Melayu NUS baru-baru ini.

    Edisi Cita Seni kali ini menampilkan penulis yang sudah menghasilkan 24 novel sepanjang dua dekad kerjayanya.

    INGIN TEROKA KEPELBAGAIAN PEMIKIRAN ISLAM

    Namun namanya juga sering dikaitkan dengan kontroversi. Beberapa novel Dr Faisal Tehrani diharamkan di Malaysia kerana dianggap mengandungi unsur-unsur penyebaran ajaran Syiah.

    Bagaimanapun Dr Faisal menegaskan tujuannya adalah untuk meneroka kepelbagaian pemikiran Islam sebagai cara mengatasi masalah masyarakat.

    “Terdapat pemikir-pemikir yang terdahulu seperti Syed Naquib al Attas, Profesor Burhanudin al Helmy – mereka semua cuba melakukan percambahan atau persenyawaan di antara pelbagai cara fikir, mazhab dan sebagainya untuk membantu menyelesaikan masalah masyarakat kerana itu yang sebenarnya perlu dilakukan oleh ahli falsafah juga seniman ataupun pelukis. Tetapi itu dilihat sebagai sesuatu yang mengancam,” kata Dr Faisal.

    TEKAD PERJUANG HAK GOLONGAN TERPINGGIR

    Dr Faisal berkata langkah untuk mengharamkan novel-novelnya menguatkan tekad beliau untuk memperjuangkan hak golongan terpinggir.

    Selain mengetengahkan tema-tema agama dan penentangan, karyanya juga menyentuh isu sosial dan keadilan. Misalnya, novel beliau berjudul “Bagaimana Anyss Naik ke Langit?” menyorot tentang jenayah rogol terhadap wanita kaum Penan di Sarawak.

    Dr Faisal kini berada di Singapura sebagai penulis undangan NUS-NAC.

    Source: http://berita.mediacorp.sg

  • Ang Swee Chai: The Christian In Me Brought Me Closer To Palestine

    Ang Swee Chai: The Christian In Me Brought Me Closer To Palestine

    KUALA LUMPUR: Until sometime in 1982, a Malaysian woman living in exile in London with her Singaporean husband was all but oblivious to the Palestinian plight.

    Penang-born Dr Ang Swee Chai, like many non-Muslims, could not relate to the suffering of the Palestinians owing to the highly charged religious sentiments of their supporters. She grew up supporting Israel.

    “My church celebrated when Israel won the Six Day War,” Ang told FMT, referring to the 1967 war that Israel won against Arab forces.

    The petite orthopaedic surgeon was in Kuala Lumpur to attend the launching of a new edition of her memoir of the events of September 1982 in Lebanon.

    From Beirut to Jerusalem is her eyewitness account as a young volunteer during the Sabra and Shatilla massacre in Lebanon. The killings, blamed on a pro-Israeli Lebanese Christian army, was condemned as an act of genocide by the United Nations General Assembly in December that year.

    Ang began to question her beliefs after watching news reports on British television of Israelis flushing out the Palestine Liberation Organisation from Lebanon, sparing neither civilians nor hospitals.

    “The Christian in me knew this was wrong,” she said. “God’s commandment to us is to love, not to kill.”

    Ang is now 67. Five years ago, she lost her husband, Francis Khoo, a devout Catholic whom she married in 1977 and whose political activism in Singapore made him a target of the Internal Security Act.

    Following their marriage, Ang was also sought by Singapore authorities, who hoped to use her to lure back her husband who by then had sought refuge in the United Kingdom.

    But Ang managed to reunite with him. For the next three decades, both lived in exile in London.

    To Lebanon

    In 1982, moved by the humanitarian crisis in the Middle East, Ang responded to appeals for international aid. She left for Beirut, thinking she would volunteer for only a few weeks.

    But the extent of the death and destruction she saw shocked her. She ended up in a refugee camp and soon learnt first-hand the plight of the Palestinians and how they had been driven from their homes by the Israeli army.

    “They have a country, and homes they cannot go back to. They are not terrorists. They are kind, loving and generous people,” she said of the Palestinians, with whom she maintains close ties until today.

    Her life changed when, three weeks into her volunteer work, the Sabra and Shatillah massacre took place.

    “Every dead body was found with a Palestinian refugee card,” she said. “That’s when it hit me that they were the victims of terror.

    “I realised that my church got it wrong, the press got it wrong and that justice had not been done and that the truth was not being told.

    “Some 3,000 people were killed in three days. I remember standing over dead bodies. I asked for God’s forgiveness for being prejudiced and blind, and for taking sides without understanding the side of the victims.”

    It was at this point, she said, that she sought repentance and vowed to offer herself to helping Palestinians for the rest of her life.

    When the British government wanted to repatriate British aid workers, she refused to go back.

    Ang founded Medical Aid for Palestinians with a committed group of friends. In 1987 she was awarded Palestine’s highest civilian award, the Star of Palestine, for her service to the people of Palestine.

    For all the inhumanity she witnessed, Ang said the indomitable spirit of the Palestinians was what gave her hope.

    “Bombs cannot destroy their spirit,” she said. “When they lose their homes, they build and rebuild time and again.

    “Their children see so much – death, mass graves, destruction. Yet, they are unafraid. This gives me hope to continue serving the people of Palestine.”

    —
    Article was first published in Free Malaysia Today. Republished with permission.

     

    Source: http://theindependent.sg

  • Damanhuri Abas: I Protest Benjamin Netanyahu’s Planned Visit To Singapore

    Damanhuri Abas: I Protest Benjamin Netanyahu’s Planned Visit To Singapore

    I read with great consternation that Singapore will be hosting the Israeli PM, Benjamin Netanyahu as a state guest.

    The Israeli PM is directly responsible for the current continued oppression of the Palestinian people through its illegal occupation of Gaza and the West Bank as stated by numerous UN resolutions which Israel continuously ignores with the shameful backing of the US government. Its occupying forces conducts numerous crimes against Palestinian civilians and its forces have conducted many agressions in occupied Palestinian territories that are culpable to war crimes, as recent as the last Gaza incursion in 2014 that claims thousands of Palestinian lives through excessive use of powerful bombs on densely populated Palestinian residential areas.

    The Singapore government may seem to think that it is acceptable to host the Israeli PM afterall the Israelis are the pioneering country that provided military assistance in terms of training and guidance to the Singapore Armed Forces when Singapore first setup its nascent military defence unit after independence.

    It serves as no great solace to know that we had relied on Israeli military advice and guidance in the formation of our Armed Forces. This is especially so as a Malay/Muslim Singaporean who has felt direct discrimination towards his race in the Singapore Armed Forces.

    This discrimination has most probably arisen from the advice and guidance of the Israeli military consultants who may have sowed distrust towards the Malay/Muslim citizens serving the Singapore Armed Forces likely rationalized and justified by their own experience and paranoia towards the Palestinan people (and the Arabs too) that they have kept under siege for 60 years encounting with no end to hostility nor nearing any peaceful settlement to the last remaining illegal occupation to exist on God’s earth.

    Such inhumane treatment that the Israelis imposed upon the Palestian people in the occupied territories has resulted in extreme distrust between them and the Palestinians and overtime have led to a toxic unsustainable relationship based on fears and suspicion with no end in sight.

    Likewise, a toxic relationship too may have emerged in our own land caused by our own policies for the last 50 years that blankets the entire Malay/Muslim population as suspicious and not to be fully trusted to be given full access to all military positions, especially so-called ‘sensitive areas’ in the Singapore Armed Forces. This unjustified and unproven fears that have shaped and colored policies preventing Malay/Muslim citizens full meritocratic access to all possible ranks and files in the military must end immediately.

    Only when this happens will the process of correction and rapprochement begin to eradicate the poisoned perceptions that have developed overtime by the majority towards Malay/Muslim trustworthiness in and beyond the Military into other aspects of society. This disriminatory policy must stop for the sake of fairness, justice and a true harmonious multi-racial/multi-religious Singapore that we intend to build for this nation.

    For all the above reasons, as a Malay/Muslim Singaporean I protest the coming of Mr Benjamin Netanyahu to my country. He is also an alleged war criminal.

    I forward below an email from our very own Dr Ang Swee Chai from Medical Aid for Palestinian, a London based NGO, in support of my involvement in previous protest effort against the brutal acts of the Israeli government towards the Palestinian people that the invited Isreali PM is currently heading.

    —— Forwarded message ———-
    From: SWEE ANG <[email protected]>
    Date: Fri, Nov 23, 2012 at 3:08 AM
    Subject: In support of your work
    To: “[email protected]” <[email protected]>
    Cc: AimeeShalan <[email protected]>, stevenjames <[email protected]>

    Dear Damanhuri Abas and FMSA,

    Thank you for emailing me so that I can support what you and the Fellowship of Muslim Students Association are doing. As you know a ceasefire is in place after 150 Gazans were killed and nearly a thousand injured. As you know Gaza is half the size of Singapore and home to 1.7 million people, 80% of them refugees from the rest of Palestine. They were forced out from the rest of Palestine in 1948 and took refuge in Gaza. Since 2007 Gaza’s people are under constant military blockade. All her borders with Israel are sealed by the military and none can move in or out, except through Rafah which until recently was also closed by President Mubarak. The sea of Gaza is manned by Israeli warships and no one from Gaza can wander beyond 3 nautical miles. The targetting of fishing boats and killing and injury of fishermen by warships firing at them even with the 3 nautical miles are all too often.

    Even before this recent assault, military helicopters regularly fly into Gaza and kill and injure civilians. When you hear the word targets mentioned by the BBC and the Western Press, you do not hear the cries of the mothers who lost their babies, who are sometimes just called collateral damage. The skies of Gaza are patrolled by drones and the whole of Gaza is under surveillance and drone attacks are frequent.

    Electricity is scarce, many of the 21,000 homes and buildings destroyed from Cast Lead four years ago not rebuilt since there is also a blockade on building materials. The schools destroyed during Cast Lead are also not rebuilt and children are now crammed into whatever school buildings which are still functional. Many people are still living in tents or in temporary buildings. Unemployment is high since factories and workshops cannot function and even if they function the military siege makes it impossible to export their goods and import raw materials. It is the same with agriculture produce – all forms of trade is made impossible by the blockade. Hospitals are starved of medical supplies.

    Water is also a problem in Gaza since Israel has dug deep wells and siphoned off the natural water from Gaza. The water from Gaza now is heavily polluted and contains high nitrates and unfit for washing and drinking.

    You can find more facts from various sources including from the website of Medical Aid for Palestinians and Palestine Solidarity Campaign – I have only given you a very sketchy description.

    So when F16s bomb Gaza the last 9 days, hitting hundreds of “targets” daily, those of us who know Gaza well can only cry out in shock and anger against this atrocity and injustice. Yet many of us are astonished by the courage of people in Gaza in resisting the assault. The ceasefire is agreed on mainly because Israel knows it cannot beat down Gaza despite pounding it incessantly with bombs. They had planned a land invasion but did not go through with it not because they are humane, but because they know they cannot win and do not have the stomach to go through with it. Hilary Clinton got to turn round from her visit to Burma to fly Cairo to support a truce called by the new Egyptian Government.

    Your supporters need to know the following:

    Israel is the sixth largest military power in the world. In 2009 it has –

    200-300 nuclear warheads
    300 F16s
    60 military helicopters
    60 warships
    3650 tanks
    Plus daily military aid of eight million dollars from the USA ( as opposed to non-military aid) and the huge support of the Western Press and governments.

    Palestine has none of the above. Gaza has home made rockets.

    But Palestine has truth on her side. Despite the killing and the suppression of truth, people from all over the world are beginning to find out. And I hope your meeting will help others understand what is going on. Up to 1982, I was the victim of lies against the Palestinians until I went out to work in Sabra and Shatilla. By God’s grace I have seen the truth and may this never depart from me.

    I hope one day your Association will have the chance to visit Gaza and West Bank, and meet the people there. But until then take it from me that it is a great honour to be able to support them. For me it is a personal privilege that Medical Aid for Palestinians have been able to be partners to the humanitarian Palestinian institutions in Gaza, West Bank and in Lebanon. I hope your institution will be the same.

    Best wishes
    Dr Ang Swee Chai.
    22 November 2012

     

    Source: Damanhuri Abas

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