Thursday, January 28, 2010

Wild boar and mosque

It is becoming more and more obvious there are groups bent on fuelling open religious conflicts in our Malaysian nation. Frustrated by the defusing of potential conflicts in the aftermath of the attacks on churches and Sikh temple, the groups concerned have decided to expand its mischief making to include mosques, in the hope that this could perhaps provide the flare to their earlier attempts. Such groups of anarchists, which thrive only in social and political conditions steep in discord and dissension, amid heightened tension and mutual suspicion, may not necessarily be the direct perpetrators of violent acts themselves, but are nevertheless active as ideational instigators, agitators and strategist at other levels.

The wild-boar head incidents involving mosques is most revealing in some respects and in that regard most worrying. Clearly the act is not calculated for maximum physical damage to the mosque, for we know for this purpose wild-boar head is not quite the best choice of missile or agent. The choice of wild-boar head is not to inflict maximum physical damage but more to desecrate. Through the manipulation of taboos and religious symbols, it is evident that the perpetrators meant the act to be extremely provocative, in the hope that the backlash would be highly emotive.

It is most important therefore that Malaysians resist the manipulation and machination of anarchic groups to sow the seeds of dissension or conflicts among us, be it religious or religiously camouflaged. Let us resolve not to allow our home to be the battle ground for domestic or international conflicts and violence. Knowing of the anarchists desire to provoke and manipulate us towards disunity and discord, we should resolve to move in the opposite direction, towards closing rank and the strengthening of bonds.

We must never take the peace and harmony we have been enjoying for granted. The bonds between us, fellow citizens, must be forged, nurtured and strengthened. We have to live and practice our ideal of peace and brotherhood, for only then can we believe and cherish it collectively. In this regard I must confess I am surprised and somewhat disappointed with the reaction of Malaysians over the wild-boar head incidents. While the incidents of church attacks drew many reaction from Muslim groups expressing condemnation and regret over the incidents, the wild-boar head seem to evoke a very different kind of response. While Muslims seem to choose to remain quiet and muted, rather restrained, there seem to be no widespread expression of regret or condemnation from other quarters. In the midst of social tension, there is a real danger of silence being misinterpreted as acquiescence or indifference, which is of course unhealthy for bonding and nurturing solidarity.

The response of the internet, both local and international, have been interesting and striking too. While the church attacks were quick to draw charges of Malaysian Muslims as’ zealots’, ‘extremists’, ‘racists’, ‘fanatics’, there is no equivalent charges on the perpetrators of the wild-boar incidents ( though we do not know who the perpetrators are, we can still condemn the act itself)

The purpose of this posting is merely to note a kind of distemper or imbalance in our response to issues and challenges of nation-building. We would be more effective in becoming a nation of common interests and destiny if such distemper or incongruence is minimized or significantly changed.

8 comments:

  1. Salam Pak Pandair,

    Ya, saya setuju. Respons yang tidak sama tahap kecohnya antara bakar gereja dan kepala babi dimesjid.

    Hampir tiada respon dari non muslim - hanya menunjukkan their indiference attitude towards other religions. Tapi bila kepunyaan mereka dicabar, riuh satu negara dengan segala macam demand, kutukan dan seruan.

    Respons yang suam2 dari liberals - hanya menunjukkan betapa jauhnya hati mereka dari Islam. Lebih terguris hati mereka bila non muslim terasa hati, kelamkabut beli bunga nak ambil hati. Punyalah nak bodek ...... Kali ni takde pulak bunga balik sembahyang jumaat tadi.. (Aku nak bunga jugak!)

    Respons yang suam juga dari pembangkang. Hanya menunjukkan betapa merekalah yang sebenarnya mempolitikkan isu Herald. Mesjid seperti milik kerajaan, jadi seolah2 mempertahankan kerajaan pula kalau mereka bantah kepala babi. Padahal ia adalah satu penghinaan kepada umat Islam.

    On the positif side, kepala babi ni sebenarnya telah menunjukkan dengan jelas siapa kawan, siapa lawan, siapa berpura2...

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  2. Salam dinturtle,

    Saya setuju. Pandangan tuan amat tepat dan tak dapat dan tak perlu saya tambah atau perbaiki lagi. Elok saya terbitkan saja untuk tatapan pembaca budiman.

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  3. Analisa yang baik dan tepat. Teruskan tulisan anda.

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  4. Anonymous,
    Terima kaseh atas komen dan sokongan Sangat dihargai

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  5. pakpandair,

    Provocative acts they were and must be condemned and damned. At the same time it must be tempered with sane and rational advice, as you you had given, that there must be no reaction that would aggravate the situation.

    I only hope that these are isolated incidents perpetrated by 1-2 persons spurred by personal anger against previous acts on places of worship, and that they are not planned by any group out to make trouble on a big scale. I believe that the Police are hot on their trails and on the watch for other attempts that might worsen the situation.

    I am also hoping that the dialogues that Tan Sri Muhyiddin said are going on between leaders of the religious communities would lead to an amicable and long-term settlement of the issue on the use of the word Allah.

    I'm still grappling to understand the rationale behind the reluctance to form the Inter Faiths Commission. Perhaps you can give your views by way of your response to this comment. Thank you.

    sepadu.

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  6. Sepadu,

    Thanks for comment. For sure, the perpetrators have to be just a few individuals and do not represent significant groups in our society. Probably a few young misled individuals as the group arrested recently. The question really is misled and misguided by whom?As to your question over 'reluctance' to form an interfaith commission by goverment, I can only guess what could be in the mind of those concerned. One reason could be wariness that this could prove to be the creation of another problematic institution, meaning the cure is worse than the disease.

    Given the tendency of undermining the credibility of institutions,eg of the court, anti corruption agencies, police etc, maybe there is concern that the proposed interfaith commission could just turn out to be a new brawling platform. I am merely guessing

    Another ground could be, the proposed commission may be invaded and dominated by those 'more theologically inclined:)to the disadvantaged of those more 'secular' in orientation.

    warmest regards

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  7. Sir,

    I like your statement that the cure may be worse than the disease. Indeed there are so many ills in Malaysian society these days that figuring out the cure is a huge problem.

    But then, as you said, "there is a real danger of silence being misinterpreted as acquiescence or indifference ..". These people who speak so much and so often against the Establishment must speak up against wrongs committed by members of the public as well, irrespective of who the perpetrators may be. It no longer seems a matter of indifference to me. It's more of reacting selectively - only at those they deem will serve their purpose. It's sad for this country.

    You must carry on writing against the wrongs so that they don't become the norms of society, sir. I will support you and echo your words whenever possible.

    Best wishes to you.

    Abu.

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  8. Abu,

    Thank you for your comment and support.I agree with you that all of us have to do our part

    All the best

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