Rilek1Corner

Tag: Muslim

  • The Hijab Movement: Of hijackers, detractors and the Guidedness of the Jemaah

    AsSalaam’alaikum!

    Some of you may recall that I mentioned in a previous posting on my FB wall some time ago that the issues that the ummah is facing serves to reveal to us the hypocrisy of some Muslims. Well I hate to say I told you so, but this is happening as we speak! If you read and hear the conversations happening in so many places online and off-line, you will find the hypocrites, the foolish, the downright stupid and even the ones who feel sidelined because their agenda is eclipsed by the tudung issue and so are envious of any progress made by the hijab movement.

    The downright stupid would argue that the tudung issue does not make sense as we are in a “secular country”.

    The foolish would argue that there are more pressing issues like education and juvenile delinquency and anyway the government will never accede to our request because we are a minority anyway.

    The hypocrites will cast doubts and even give the anti-tudung elements in the government and those against the tudung among Singaporeans ammunition to undermine the Just cause of going against discrimination against the Muslimah. They are the more sophisticated ones indulging in sophistry and fallacies such as casting red herrings like emphasising etiquette in social media and so making that an issue thereby diverting our attention away from the tudung issue at hand. Others among them will indulge in the slippery slope fallacy of saying things like the Muslims will demand more and more after the tudung and indulge in fear mongering that Muslims in Singapore actually want hudud laws implemented here and are politicising the issue.

    The envious are not happy that due to the attention given to the tudung issue their agenda (which is ill conceived in the first place) takes a back-seat. An example of the envious is the Singapore’s own Murabitun cheerleaders who are peddling their coins for profits and giving spurious fatwas about zakat and paper money. Because their project has not gathered much traction in Singapore and (especially in Malaysia) has all but failed, they will say that the tudung cause is not as important as the fight against the bankers and the so-called war against riba’.

    Please be on guard against the obfuscation of the hypocrite, the foolish, the stupid and the envious ones . They are fueling dissent and divisions among us whether they actually intended to or not.

    As many have already pointed out, we must not let this issue be hijacked. How do you know if is already hijacked? Well there are signs. One, is that a particular group or organisation controls and lead the discourse. Their voice will drown out the others and then suddenly they will determine the parameters and thereby determine what would “satisfy” the Muslims in order to defuse the issue. This will always fall short of what we actually aim for. Another is when some one or some organisation uses the tudung issue by riding on the mass support for the tudung issue to, in fact, forward his/their own agenda.

    The hijab movement may not have any clear leaders but if you think that there are no leaders whatsoever you are wrong. Pay attention to those who express their ideas with Truth and how such ideas actually resonates with the jemaah. InsyaAllah Allah swt will not let the whole of the jemaah to be led astray.

    Wasalaam

    Abdul Halim

    ***********

    Hadith narrated by Abdullah ibn Umar:

    Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said: Verily my Ummah, will not agree upon an error and the hand of Allah is upon the community; he who sets himself apart from it will be set apart in Hell Fire.
    – Transmitted by Tirmidhi.

    Source: http://on.fb.me/1eRMww6

  • Muslims have Special Parking Rights?

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    On the afternoon of 10 January 2014 between 1.15pm- 1.30pm, I parked my car at Geylang road between Lorong 30 to 32, and left my car to run some quick errands. When I returned, I received a summon ticket for parking along a double yellow line. I am aware that it is an offence to park along a double yellow line, and I accept that I will have to pay for the parking offence. However, I noticed that there were many other cars parked along the same road and opposite from where I parked my car. They were all not issued any parking summons.

    I stood there and observed the LTA officer (One female in plain clothes by the name of Phyllis), and another in uniform (Indian guy) summoning a few other vehicles. Phyllis stood there and observed which cars belonged to Chinese owners, before directing her Indian colleague to issue summons to these vehicles. I went up to the LTA officers and questioned why they were issuing summons only to the Chinese vehicle owners and not the Malays.

    Phyllis told me that the Malays who are going to the mosque nearby are allowed to do so. Is there such a rule in Singapore that I am not aware of? If so, why do I see LTA officers summoning cars during festivals where we Chinese are offering prayers to our god? I see no racial equality in this situation. Please help to share around so that this issue will be brought to the relevant authorities attention. Thank you!

    Don Tan

    Source: http://on.fb.me/1ftJtih

  • On Ariel Sharon and his unforgetable legacy

    The passing of Ariel Sharon brought back the memories of the horrors of the Sabra Shatilla massacre of September,’82. I arrived in August that year as a volunteer surgeon to help the war victims of Lebanon. The people in Lebanon were wounded, made homeless and lost precious friends and families as the result of ten weeks of ruthless bombardment. That was the Operation Peace for Galilee launched by Sharon who was then the Defence Minister of Israel in June 1982. No one knew how many were killed as the result of that offensive – the London newspapers estimated a thirty thousand with many times more made homeless. When a ceasefire was agreed with the evacuation of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, Sharon broke that ceasefire and drove tanks under air-cover launching a land invasion into Lebanon’s capitol Beirut. Part of the tanks sealed Sabra Shatilla and prevented the helpless civilian victims from escaping, while sending in Israel’s allies into the camps to carry out the most brutal massacre of defenceless women, children and old people under Israel’s watch. The blame was quickly and deliberately shifted to the Lebanese as perpetrators of the massacres, so that today no one can mention that massacre without blaming the Lebanese Phalange, yet forgetting the Israeli organisers of that event.

    I worked in Gaza Hospital in Sabra Shatilla during the massacre trying to save the lives of a few dozen people, but outside the hospital hundreds were killed. My patients and I knew that Sharon and his officers were in control, and without them the massacre would not be possible. The residents of Sabra Shatilla could at least have escaped. Now more than 30 years later, we know that the killers were brought in by Israeli armoured cars and tanks, obeyed Israeli commands, their paths lit by Israeli military flares, and some of them also wore Israeli uniforms. The mutilated bodies of the victims were thrown into mass graves by Israeli bulldozers.

    This Sharon continued on to be Israeli Prime Minister, and built the Wall which imprisoned the Palestinians in the West Bank. Sharon’s Wall cut through their lands, separating people from their homes, children from their schools, farmers from their orchards, patients from hospitals, husbands from wives, and children from parents. He marched into the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem 2000 with fully armed Israeli soldiers and tried to have the West believe that his intention was for peace.

    He was responsible for other massacres such as in Jenin, Qibya and Khan Yunis just to name a few. The older generation in Khan Yunis in Gaza remembers that he killed all the grown men in the massacre of 1956 and left only the women and children to bury the dead..

    I thought these facts should be publicised. Those who eulogise Sharon in his role of building Israel should also remember that he built his nation over the dead bodies of the Palestinian people, and the continued dispossession of those who are still alive.

    Dr Ang Swee Chai
    Author of From Beirut to Jerusalem
    Published by International Librarie, Beirut
    12 January 2014

  • Perkhidmatan Jenazah

    Persekutuan Kebajikan Islam Telok Kurau Singapura
    Talian: 6741 7144/68443859

    Md Akbar International Islamic Casket – Pengurusan Jenazah 24 Jam
    Tel: 9117 4831

    Pengurusan Jenazah Nur
    Urus dari rumah: $1165
    Urus dari hospital: $1235
    Tel: 82885742/96849186

    Jasa Budi Muslim Casket (24 Jam)
    Hj Salleh: 96574198
    Hjh Jameela: 96935885

    Singapore Muslim Casket (24 Jam)
    Hj A. Aziz Kajai: 96232464
    Iskandar: 96347145
    Tel: 64407259/62919794

    Serbaguna Muslim Funeral Services (24 Jam)
    Tel: 64408471

  • 6 Things Malays in Singapore and Wherever Can Learn from Successful Minorities in America

    NationalDayParade-Esplanade-20070809 Image credit: Wikipedia

    I have been observing and reading about minorities in America. There are of course minorities that are still going through a lot of hardship despite many attempts to reform their situation. But there are also other minorities that are doing well in this country. Those that are succeeding in many fields across the country are the Jews, Japanese, Indians, Koreans and Vietnamese who were once refugees. Why are these minorities doing well? Here are 6 reasons:

    1. Help their own kind first to overcome barriers in the System and in Society

    The minorities that do well have a strong group feeling. They stick together and help one another. They minimize conflict between each other and give their own kind any opportunities they could find.

    2. Minorities that do well invest a lot on Education

    In fact, they try as much as possible to over-achieve in their studies to make it difficult for anyone to deny their importance in specific areas and professions.

    3. Networks

    Successful minorities work with as many people as possible within the country and beyond. They establish ties and relationships with majorities and build trust and confidence in order to gain entry in areas that were previously made impossible for them.

    4. Walk the Talk and Talk only when Necessary

    The minorities that generally do well would usually do their work quietly. They would shun from causing too many controversies in public and work their way up by showing how things ought to be done through their deeds. Hence, when they do talk and raise concerns, people listen.

    5. Sharing

    They share contacts and their paths to success with their own kind. They encourage the young to emulate what their predecessors had done and disseminate strategies of how success could be achieved within the shortest time possible. Little wonder that the most of the reputable self-help gurus are of minority backgrounds. When they share, their communities get inspired and motivated.

    6.  Niche areas to propel Themselves Forward

    Because they know that their numbers are small, these minorities focus on fields such as IT, medicine, finance and the academe and seek to develop Respect and Wield Influence through becoming the Best in these fields. That’s why when people think of Wall Street, the Jews will come to mind and when they talk about Silicon Valley, the Indians would be the celebrities.

    These are some lessons we Malays and Muslims in general can learn from minorities in the USA. I hope we too can become just as successful if not better than our brothers and sisters in here. Let the world know that what we do Matter!

    Original source: http://www.deenrevival.com/6-things-malays-in-singapore-can-learn-from-successful-minorities-in-america/