Write an article about Fundamentalists and bigots: two sides of the same coin .Organize the content with appropriate headings and subheadings (h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6), Retain any existing tags from
Recently we heard about PAS-led Terengganu flexing its muscles, by threatening fines or jail terms for Muslim males in the state who have no good excuse for missing consecutive Friday prayers.
Boring, you might say, we have heard this song many times before. But the enthusiasm that brought this into state law, and the indignant self-righteousness that finds enjoyment in punishing people, is real, and very scary.
People claiming to be working on God’s behalf, as the Terengganu politicians do, get more ridiculous, but also more dangerous, as time passes.
The danger comes from the claim that their “correct” interpretation of religion forces them to use secular power to punish others not in agreement with them.
The reality is much simpler. Often these are just different masks of bigotry hiding behind the untouchable R that’s one of Malaysia’s sacrosanct 3Rs – no, not the Reading, ‘Riting and ‘Rithmatics which are supposed to be found in schools, even if I can’t vouch you’d find them in many schools nowadays, especially religious ones.
These are just naked attempts to control people using our democratic processes. Admittedly there are still some guardrails around: the Terengganu state government’s wishes cannot be forced upon other states, however much they might want it. For now, anyway.
Education as a tool
It’s difficult to control people if they’re educated or have rights. So any efforts to control them usually starts with dumbing down the populace by tinkering with their education.
This usually means inserting more and more religious aspects into it until one day it’s difficult to tell between secular and religious education. This would mean Job #1 is done – people are dumbed down by withering away critical thinking skills and replacing them with just barely adequate training for them to be able to function.
Job #2 comes next. This involves stripping away the legal rights of others that interfere with the running of a state or nation according to personal religious beliefs. This often means punishing people who don’t believe things the way they do, especially given they already believe they’re privy to all the secret knowledge the other mere mortals do not.
After they’ve made people stupid, it’s usually not that difficult to take away their rights by using religion and God, again often through the democratic process. Job#2 is also done now.
Nothing new to this sorry charade. I can only pray, to the same God these people also pray to, that at some point sanity will come back, and we all can go back to doing what’s really important – how to live a good and honourable life and help each other in these very challenging times.
The commentariat
But the madness and challenges we face also come in other forms. The bigotry of the Islamic fundamentalists gets the headlines and many talking – perhaps writing – heads such as myself would chime in with comments of varying quality and cogency.
And why not? I personally hate anything that I deem as hateful or discriminatory or unethical exercise of power. These often come from our leaders, whether those elected by us, or those who claim divine guidance, or worse – those who are elected and claim divine guidance.
But they are not the only ones. While they’re easy to point fingers at and while they deserve it more because they betray the oath they take to the people they govern, they aren’t the only ones.
A reaction to this Terengganu flex from one corporate boss in a commercial organisation is a case in point. Said person posted a snarky social media comment against the action of the Terengganu state government, comparing it with Iran’s theocratic government.
What a lazy comment, especially the part about Iran. Has he been to Iran? Has he witnessed the supposed cruelties that the Iranian theocratic leaders have perpetrated against their people? Is he an expert on the various societal issues of that country?
I doubt it. I’ve been to Iran, though I still wouldn’t claim any special knowledge about their situation. My antipathy towards religious leaders, whether elected or not, who claim divine approval to rule using their own harsh ways applies to all such leaders, whether in Terengganu or Iran or even the supposedly enlightened west.
Western tropes
What irks me is that the snarky comment was just another repetition of anti-Islamic western propaganda that has been a staple of much of the western mindset and attitudes over the last century or so.
I call it what it is – anti-Islamic, rather than plain Islamophobia, which is merely an irrational fear of Islam.
But surprisingly, because of the genocide currently being perpetrated in Gaza, much of the world, including much of the western world too, even if not their leaders and politicians, is rethinking who are the real evil and destructive forces.
And no, they don’t think it’s Iran. On that count, Iran and much of the Islamic world, which didn’t wage World Wars 1 and 2 or the pogroms and the Holocaust and the various acts of wars and invasions – Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Libya, Ukraine and many more in the recent past alone – as well as colonialism that is happening even now, are just about at most mid-table in the league table of noxious nations.
And in the league table of hypocritical nations, they’re even lower down, because the top of the table is taken up by those Iranians called the Great Satan and their cohorts and enablers and cheerleaders.
Lazy narratives
I would not belabour this defence of Iran: I just want to point out the lazy narratives used by these seemingly smart westernised and worldly folk. Iranians can take care of themselves, even if at times it seems like the whole world is against them.
By the way, saying that Sunni Terengganu wants to be like Shiite Iran is like saying the Christian Zionists of America want to be like the Catholics at the Vatican.
A little learning wouldn’t have hurt before making such “cool” comments.
Next on the list of things that are taking my blood to boiling point is the sheer insanity of making such inflammatory comments in our multiracial, multi-religious and multi-cultural society Malaysia.
I’d like to think I know where important lines are drawn, and that I’m smart or wise, or perhaps just scared enough, not to cross them.
Malaysian formula
We live in such a volatile mix, and except for perhaps one occasion in the past, our Malaysian people have shown remarkable restraint in making sure the country doesn’t go over the edge.
The comment by this person, who’s now fired from his big fancy job by his employers either out of conscience or perhaps just smart politics, has shifted the focus away from examining and critiquing and perhaps even condemning the acts by Terenganu’s state government.
That’s a real shame.
As is now common in social media, this person – jobless and shamed and perhaps chastened – is apologising for what he did. I’d like to give him the benefit of the doubt, but I won’t.
His apologies, including seemingly heartfelt pleas for the rest of us to educate him, seem to have come straight from the script of many others who have been similarly outed and shamed on social media. I don’t buy them.
Please, no pleas. Let some better people than I educate him just enough for him to understand a little bit more about his responsibilities, apart from his long-held iron-clad belief and joy and celebration about his rights.
Looking ahead
This is what we face in Malaysia nowadays – increased radicalisation from parties on all sides who seem to think they have mastery and special insights, and hence the right to say or do anything they want without fear of consequences.
But should we be afraid and pessimistic about the future of Malaysia? No, we shouldn’t, and we mustn’t. There are many reasonable Malaysians who must make their voice heard, but with the understanding that caring about only your rights and not about your responsibilities can get us into serious trouble.
Another reason I’m not so afraid is the more I look around us in the world, the more I think that we in Malaysia, imperfect as we are, are still miles ahead of others in terms of finding a middle way that works for most people.
The religious extremists of the fundamentalist version of Islam still remain a minority in Malaysia, albeit an active and noisy one. We must not stop trying to educate the rest to be vigilant and to think critically and fight for their rights, because our future depends on them.
Similarly, to those who feel they are superior because they are the “modern” westernised and civilised ones: stop and take a hard look at yourself. Your lazy arguments and equally bigoted perspectives are just as noxious and harmful, even if you don’t wear robes and turbans on your head.
I would love to have both sets of people crawl back to the dark corners from where they came, but that can only happen if those of us in the middle come together to force them to do so.
I can only pray to God that this will happen.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.
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