So much has been said recently on the alleged trend of Arabisation among the Malays. This fear of Malays becoming Arabized has become so chronic (ironically even among Arabs here who want Malays to still respect them as Sayyids) that there are calls for Malays to become less “Arab” . What these people are actually calling for is quite superficial.
1. Don’t dress like Arabs. (Most of my Arab friends actually prefer wearing Tshirts and track pants).
2. Avoid using Arabic words. (Eid Mubarak must not be replaced by Selamat Hari Raya. Funny because my Morroccan friend said Hari Raya is preferable because he can celebrate for a month when Arabs do it for only a day).
3. Keep away from Arab versions of Islam, aka strict, rigid and literalist sort. (Try asking an Arab friend out with a Malay dude to tag along. You will realize the Arab one won’t look for Halal signs and check ingredients for E227).
So what is actually the issue here? At the heart of this Arabisation scare is actually two things. First, it works to the advantage of close-minded secularized folks who cannot accept that Muslims are becoming more cosmopolitan in their adoption of other cultures, blending Arab, Western, Indian and Malay motifs in the things they wear, eat and in their speeches. They just want Malays to be Western. Full stop. They don’t fancy Malay culture of respect for the elderly and are in utter disdain of age-old Malay customs which the Arabs who brought Islam here didn’t actually change.
More crucially, these people actually look down at the Malays. They feel that Malays are easily swayed by the many influences that bring them away from their pure and authentic culture, which in reality, is a product of interactions with so many civilizations. For them, Malays cannot think for themselves. They will do the thinking and the way forward is to remove Arabic traces in Malay thought, language and traditions, and finally Islam.
So the next time you read stuff about Malays getting more Arabized and meet people who advocate such shallow thinking, sit back and have a good laugh. These people know very little about what they are talking about. It makes it worse when their names are Ahmad, Ismail and Faridah. And yet, before you head off (which you should) to leave them to their devices, spare a thought to say the Arabic word, Salam. Because that’s what the Arabic-language Quran teaches us when dealing with the ignorant.
The spate of terrorist attacks and the attendant violence witnessed in the last couple of months, including the recent attacks in Dhaka, Kishoreganj and Ektarpur in Bangladesh, and Nice in France, brings home the truth that something perverse is happening within Islam and Muslims alone can fight that scourge.
Analysts attribute the growth of Islamist radicalism to Muslim grievances about their culture and way of life not being given what they consider their rightful place in their own societies; transnational links with organisations like Al-Qaeda and now an even more dangerous phenomenon called the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria or Daesh; hostility towards the policies of the West, in particular the United States and its support of Israel’s policies towards the Palestinians, the occupation of Iraq and now intervention in Syria; and opposition to crackdowns on domestic militancy like in Bangladesh.
These factors have, undoubtedly, contributed to a sense of growing alienation and feeling of victimisation and oppression among certain Muslim groups, and to an attempt to redress their grievances and frustrations through violence and terror.
More importantly, a fundamental transformation is taking place within the Muslim community all over the world – an identity formation based on a world view taken from early Quranic precepts and a code of conduct resembling a way of life that was prevalent in the Arab world in the mediaeval period during the formative stage of Islam.
This form of identity is premised on an understanding and belief that to be a true Muslim, one has to be different from “others” in every aspect of life and that there cannot be a meeting ground between Islam and other religions. Adaptation to other customs, traditions and cultures in its path towards the expansion of the religion had only led to aberration and corruption of original and pristine ideas of Islam. It is only through the practice of mediaeval Arab traditions and way of life that the evil eyes of other religions can be kept at bay.
A group of Indonesian women with their children offering morning prayers during Eid al-Fitr celebrations in Tangerang, Jakarta, earlier this month. Since the first Muslims were mostly Arab, everything associated with them has been associated with Islam, even though the vast majority of Muslims today are not Arabs. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Such an exclusivist world view may not be the most predominant among the Muslims of the world yet, but is surely gaining slow and steady ground. The external manifestation is the wearing of Middle Eastern clothes by men and women. Strict observance of fundamentalist Islam is also a means of asserting identification with reform and protesting against upper-class corruption in many societies, which might somewhat explain the fundamentalists’ prescription for an austere way of life free from temptations and pleasures.
Since the first Muslims were mostly Arab, everything associated with them – their culture, names, and family structures – has been associated with Islam, even though the vast majority of Muslims today are not Arabs. The niqab ( face-veil) was rarely seen outside the Arab world until most recently. Most Muslims see the niqab as a by-product of Arab culture. The practice of wearing veils can be traced from a Quranic prescription given at the time of Rasullulah, who saw Arab women wearing veils – not due to any religious motives but rather due to the harsh and dusty desert climate – but leaving their bosoms wide open. He then urged the women “to wear their veils over their bosoms” for modesty, but this was not necessarily a particular dress code. It is only recently that the veil has been interpreted as religiously authentic, instead of a cultural expression, and therefore a must for all Muslim women.
Arabisation and Islamisation are inseparable parts of a single cultural ideal that now pervades the Arab world. In their drive towards authentication and uniformisation of Islam, the transmitters (Saudi Arabia and other Arabic countries) and the recipients (non-Arab Islamic societies) are equally emphasising “Arabisation” as the norm of the pure and ideal form of Islam to be followed by Muslims all over the world.
The Hadith, or records of the sayings of Prophet Muhammad, is the basis for the development of notions of syariah (Islamic law) that are heavily influenced by early and mediaeval Arab cultural norms.
Arabisation poses a threat to all Muslims who believe in Islam’s divine character and universalism, and can be combated only by them.
It is not a crisis between civilisations as Samuel Huntington noted, but a crisis within civilisation, and it needs to be fought from within.
Arabisation’s major appeal emanates from Islam’s millenary expectations and the unfounded utopia of a just and prosperous society under Islamic rule. This is also fed by the silence of the moderates in the face of the more vocal minority trying to hijack Islam for their perverted gain.
Christianity has passed through this phase and the contradictions between the sacred and the profane were resolved by separating the Church from the State during the period of renaissance and reformation.
If the powerful, modern ideas of “jihadi” Islamism are not met in the marketplace of ideas with an equally vigorous, contemporary articulation of peaceful, syncretic and inclusive Islam, then “the centre of gravity” of public discourse will inevitably slide towards those ideas that appear most powerful and relevant to the modern world.
The progressive interpretation of Islam developed by the late Nurcholish Madjid and former president Abdurrahman Wahid in Indonesia, Anwar Ibrahim and Dr Chandra Muzaffar in Malaysia, Dr Surin Pitsuwan, the former secretary-general of Asean, in Thailand, and progressive intellectuals from India and Bangladesh, represent a powerful alternative to “jihadi” Islamism.
The need of the hour for Muslims in Asia is to de-Arabise Islam from its exclusivist mould and promote a more inclusive Islam based on their own indigenous cultures and traditions blending with the universal message of Islam, as was the case in Indonesia, Malaysia, India and Bangladesh in the period before the inroads made by the Islam of the desert.
There is also an urgent need for the moderates to break their deafening silence against the tyranny of the small minority who are bringing shame and a bad name to the religion, and shed their inertia and fear of being branded as not “good Muslims” by the perverted radical minority.
In this project, Indonesia and India, the two largest Muslim countries in the world, can make a positive contribution in projecting their composite culture manifested in Borobudur and Prambanan in the former and Ajmer Dargah Sharif and Fatehpur Sikri in the latter.
The writer, Baladas Ghoshal, is secretary-general of the Society for Indian Ocean Studies based in New Delhi, India.
The mid day prayer time was about to end and I quickly took my wudhu at T2’s airport toilet this afternoon and was rinsing my feet at the sink when the cleaner, a PRC, gestured me to not do that. Wait ah people. Hold on to your horses. Before the word PRC starts to tingle your inner racism, please read on.
All this while he was smiling, doing signs that the sink is for washing hands and faces not your stinking feet. Ok the last part was from me. ?. Granted. He was right but I still went on with it as I was about to finish. I apologised “Tui Pu Chi ah pong yu”. (Sorry my friend)
And tried to tell him I need to do this as it’s obligatory before I pray. To somewhat educate and let him intergrate into our multiracial and multi religious society. But knowing little mandarin I don’t know how I could relay my message.
After saying “Tui Pu Chi” I told him “Wo de kowtow lau pan” which literally means I bow big boss man whilst doing the praying motion. He stopped everything he was doing and immediately apologize profusely. Which I replied “mei shi” (it doesn’t matter) and we bid our goodbyes and I went on to pray lah.
So my closet racist friends, (yes I know quite a handful of them), treat everyone with respect. Don’t yaya papaya ask them to learn English if you encounter with them refusing to speak the universal language. Now no excuses not to communicate with ease. Use google translator. No need to sulk. Suprise them. Be the bigger person. And earn akhirat points abundantly, In Shaa Allah. ?
Quran 49:13
O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted.
Just when you thought Daesh (so-called IS) militants couldn’t add anything more gruesome to their image, they proved us all wrong again on Tuesday when they targeted the Prophet Mohammad’s Mosque in Madinah. The Mosque (known in Arabic as Al-Masjid Al-Nabawi) is one of two holy shrines the Kingdom hosts, and was one of three locations in Saudi Arabia targeted by terrorists on the same day.
Internal investigations are under way to reveal the identity of perpetrators and whether or not the attacks were coordinated. Until then, it is safe to say that all three cases carry Daesh-like fingerprints, both in terms of execution and motives.
More importantly, and contrary to what some may think, Daesh does declare the Kingdom an enemy, and only a few weeks ago, a Daesh leader called upon his horrid clan worldwide to launch attacks against their foes throughout Ramadan (the Muslim holy month of fasting which concluded Tuesday).
The first attack, which occurred near the American Consulate in the coastal city of Jeddah, may have not only been meant as a jab at the West; but had it not been prevented it would have definitely ‘poisoned the water’ between Saudi Arabia and the United States.
The second attack targeted two Shiite mosques in the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia. The Shiite sect are a minority in the Kingdom and have previously had their own issues with the government. However, they (Shiites) are also a declared enemy of Daesh. As such, had this attack been successful it would have also managed to achieve two things: kill Shiites while also creating tension between this minority and the government by making it seem as if they weren’t properly protected by the Kingdom’s security forces.
Yet, the most significant of all three attacks was definitely the attempt on the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah. There are no words that could describe the horrific impact this attack — had it been successful — both in terms of symbolic significance and the potential number of casualties.
So far, media reports have carried the following scenario: the bomber arrived to the mosque from the southern side during the sunset prayers (the time of breaking the Muslim fast). He was then stopped by Saudi security forces, who informed him that he was attempting to enter a restricted area which is only meant to be used as an exit passage for the people praying inside the mosque.
Assuming that he (the bomber) was there to pray and break his fast, the officers offered him to join them for iftar. However, the bomber ran towards the mosque before he was stopped by the guards.
Surrounded with nowhere to run, the terrorist detonated the bomb killing himself and the officers whose bravery and sacrifice prevented the attack from harming tens of thousands of innocent worshipers.
As expected, the Madinah attack resulted in a wave of solidarity and condemnation across the globe. However, just because it was foiled, we shouldn’t simply move on or ignore its significance.
Indeed, this is an attack that — literally — targeted the heart of Islam itself. As such, it must serve as an eye-opener to any remaining Daesh sympathizers among us who may still believe that their evil creed has anything to do with humanity, let alone Islam.
And to those who are not Daesh sympathizers, but remain silent or indifferent… now is the time to speak up. Most definitely, if this horrid attack doesn’t stir unprecedented worldwide protests, then we — Muslims — deserve to be called nothing less than ‘hypocritical’.
Why do protests only occur only when ‘the West’ is perceived to have humiliated Islam with, for example, a Danish cartoon or by something as trivial a British schoolteacher innocently agreeing that her Muslim students call their teddy bear Muhammad?
Isn’t an attack on a holy mosque, which contains the prophet’s resting place, a far bigger insult to Islam? Or does an insult become acceptable if the perpetrator was “one of us?” (Obviously, the answer is ‘no’)
However, it could also be argued that what is needed now is not anger nor protests. All we need is to apply and accept common sense; after all, it wouldn’t be logical to believe that someone would attack the prophet… in the name of this same prophet!
Apakah kita harus berasa malu yang teramat sangat setiap kali ada jenayah yang dilapurkan sebagai dilakukan oleh orang Melayu atau orang Islam?
Apakah Nabi Muhammad saw berasa teramat malu apabila pakciknya sendiri dan kaum kerabat yang lain tidak memeluk agama Islam, malah ada yang menentangnya dengan begitu keras sekali?
Apakah Nabi Nuh as berasa teramat malu apabila kaum keluarganya sendiri tidak mahu beriman kepada ALlah swt?
Apakah Nabi Lut as berasa teramat malu apabila isterinya sendiri yang mengkhianati dakwahnya?
Apakah penganut Buddha berasa teramat malu apabila para Sami di Myanmar membakar madrasah dan masjid serta membunuh ramai orang Islam di sana?
Apakah penganut Kristian berasa malu apabila pemerintah mereka membunuh ribuan ummat Islam saban tahun di merata tempat di bumi Ambiyaa?
Pokoknya, kita tidak seharusnya berasa teramat malu dengan tindakan orang-orang yang melakukan kekejaman atas nama Islam. Sesiapapun boleh melakukan onar dengan menggunakan nama Islam kerana memang mahu mencemarkan nama Islam.
Kita harus lebih bijak untuk tangani lemparan-lemparan najis yang datang dari pelbagai arah dan rupa bentuk terhadap Islam dan Ummahnya.
Tiada apa yang kita harus terasa malu sekiranya kita yakin bahwa agama Islam adalah agama yang sempurna dengan nilai-nilai yang membangun lagi membawa kedamaian untuk setiap insan, tidak kira warna kulit mahupun kepercayaan.
Apa yang seharusnya kita lakukan adalah untuk bangkit dengan lantang menolak segala tindakan dan tohmahan itu sebagai ANTI-ISLAM dan ANTI-MUSLIM.
Dengan tegas kita juga harus katakan yang tindakan dan tohmahan itu adalah najis-najis orang lain yang sengaja dilemparkan kepada dunia demi merosakkan, merapuhkan, melemahkan, menjatuhkan dan membinasakan Islam dari luar dan dalam.
Seharusnya kita usah berasa teramat malu tetapi sebaliknya berdiri dengan tegas untuk menolak segala tindakan dan tohmahan itu sebagai ANTI-ISLAM dan ANTI-MUSLIM, serta melihat itu semua sebagai strategi pihak-pihak tertentu untuk melemahkan kita sebagai Ummah Nabi Muhammad saw.
Bahkan kita seharusnya terus menyebarkan dakwah dengan kemurnian dan kesucian Islam kepada seisi alam.
Buang jauh-jauh sikap apologetik yang menjadikan kita lebih lemah kerana berasa malu yang tidak bertempat.
(Nota: Kita dapat lihat sendiri betapa semakin banyak tohmahan yang dilemparkan kepada Islam dan Muslim, semakin berbondong-bondong orang masuk Islam, alhamdulillah. Itulah sebabnya juga kuta tidak seharusnya berasa bersalah atau malu dengan tindakan orang lain yang bertujuan mencemarkan nama Islam dan Muslim.)
