EntryPicisan: Finally, My Final Year Begins Here...

Assalamualaikum, Greetings! 

*Huff Huff Huff* 

Akhirnya sampai di sini, esok dah nak mula first day sebagai final year student! 

Bapak ahh cepat sungguh masa berlalu, cliche sungguh ayat itu! Hehehe... 

Dah masuk final year, tapi perangai seko-seko masih macam bebudak lagi. hahaha. Mungkin kematangan tu muncul pada masa-masa yang diperlukan je kot. Masa2 lain gila pun tak pa naa. :P 

Semester belum bermula lagi tapi aku dah ada kerja...tapi bukanla kerja akademik. Sikit-sikit kerja translate dan checking grammar. Ceh, gebang! Padahal mula pun belum lagi. Baru scanned through jee! 

Buat kerja ni pun sebab bayarannya pun bolehlah tahan...nak kumpul duit untuk masa depan ni tau...[Ok la, I'll be honest...kumpul duit sebab nak nikah #eh]. 

Benda baik tak baik tunggu lama-lama..dokk??  Hek Hek. 

Nak tido awal ke tak malam ni? Bergantunglah ye...Nak teman si dia..
*ohh ngadenye tangan atas dada mata pandang ke atas* 

Kbai. 

Book Review: Bangsa Melayu - A book 'banned' by the Malaysian Government

Salam and Greetings! 

During my stint at Penang Institute, [hari ni last day wehhh~] I was given the task to proofread the Malay version of this book and pen an article centered around this book. I consider this as a privilege (Alhamdulillah) as there are only 780 copies around, thanks to the oppressive Press and Printing Act which limited the number of copies of this book that could be put on print. This book was written by my boss, Senator Dr. Ariffin Omar [DAP] and actually buku ni merupakan embodiment thesis Phd-nya.  

Hari-hari mengadap mende nih

This article has been submitted to Penang Monthly and is pending review...tapi tak tau bila keluar. [kalau tak keluar sedih la...hahah]. So, here it is. 

What strikes me the most about this book is that how our Sejarah syllabus tells half-truth and once I thought that those who fought for our independence were really sincere but then again.. *sigh* 

Oh, tak lupa jugak suara-suara progresif sejak pra-kemerdekaan juga sudah ditekan, sedangkan mereka juga merupakan antara pejuang kemerdekaan. Link untuk download buku ni disediakan di penghujung article. Without further ado, silalah membaca artikel saya yang tak seberapa ni: 

THE first thought that would cross the mind of a reader when they are handed the book ‘Bangsa Melayu: Malay Concepts of Democracy and Community 1945-1950’ was that of ‘perhaps this is just another Sejarah book, only with greater details as compared to what was taught back in school’ . Going deep into the contents of the book, the reader will be surprised with the fact that how they were wronged by their previous preconception of the book.  ‘Bangsa Melayu’ actually aims to tell its readers about the political ideology of the Malays post-World War II, when the land in the Malay Archipelago was generally colonized or occupied by foreign powers namely the Dutch, British and Japanese brief occupation of Malaya.

‘Bangsa Melayu’ was authored by Dr. Ariffin Omar who taught history at the School of Humanities, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) up until 2006. The book is actually an embodiment of his doctoral thesis which is now being used as one of the compulsory text for history and political science majors in foreign universities such as Australian National University (ANU) and the University of Tokyo in which besides its contents, they also look at the methodology employed by the author in assembling the contents together for the book.

The author currently is trying to publish the Malay version of the book with the aim of reaching out to a wider audience; especially the Malays since the original English version was only printed around 780 copies, thanks to the Press and Printing Act which limits the number of copies that could be put on print. The Malay version of the book will be published under Penang Institute.

Putting that story aside, ‘Bangsa Melayu’ is divided into eight chapters, with the introduction and the conclusion contributed the first and last chapter respectively. This book envisages the ‘hidden’ part of history that is not told in the mainstream history syllabus as per the public education system in the primary and secondary level.

According to the book jacket, ‘Bangsa Melayu’ is a study of political ideology in two related but distinct Malay communities in Peninsular Malaya and East Sumatra at a time of political ferment in the years immediately after the Second World War.

Prior to this period, the ‘kerajaan’, or monarchy headed by the sultans, had been central to the Malay political culture and identity, but with the rise of nationalism, nation-states and nationality in the Malay Archipelago, new alternatives were available to the Malays.

In Peninsular Malaya, ‘bangsa Melayu’ (Malay ethnic identity) emerged as a focus of loyalty and community, taking precedence over the ‘kerajaan’, while in Sumatra, the emergence of an all-embracing Indonesian republic led to the complete destruction of the monarchical system. In this study, the author focuses on the basic differences in thinking, temperament, and attitude between the two groups of Malays which led to their differing solutions in finding an alternative to the ‘kerajaan’.

What ‘Bangsa Melayu’ reveals is the other side of the coin; the untold part of history of the struggle for independence in Malaya as this book tells a balanced, objective view from both the left and right wing of the struggle - PKMM and PEKEMBAR (UMNO) respectively.

The content presented in ‘Bangsa Melayu’ would be a rude awakening for some  as it points out that the various Malay associations which struggled for independence were actually rooting for the British to stay and continue their colonialism to protect the various monarchies and the elites over the peninsular. Of course, it is also pointed out briefly in the Form five Sejarah text book that the British had chosen UMNO and the Raja-raja Melayu to negotiate with as both only wanted to reject the Malayan Union and not to demand independence.

Then there is The People’s Constitution which was came up by the AMCJA-PUTERA, also shown in the textbook with one of the point; ‘the people of Malaya shall be called ‘Melayu’, having no further explanation in it which is misleading and will show that they are not just as mere leftists but as an agent to divide the people during the volatile period in Malaya. ‘Bangsa Melayu’ rectifies this fact by offering an explanation made by Burhanuddin and Ishak Haji Mohamed that the citizenship of Malaya will be termed ‘Melayu’ and that they wanted the non-Malays to become one (Malay) but without any religious implications in order to foster unity among the Malayan people.

‘Bangsa Melayu’ shows that even in the early days of the Malayan Federation, progressive movements and free speech are suppressed as pointed out by the PKMM, ‘Malay opposition…was considered a threat to law and order’ and that of ‘members of the PKMM were threatened and were warned not to take part in progressive activities’. The author then pointed out that ‘This shows that genuine patriotism of the Malays is greatly feared and fake patriotism is encouraged to cheat the people and to lead them astray.’

The author also provides to his readers a comparison between the struggle for independence between the Malays in Indonesia and their counterpart in Malaya where the former got caught up with Indonesian nationalism (bangsa Indonesia) while the latter clings heavily onto their old concept of ‘kerajaan’ – where the political system revolves around a raja and his subjects and Malay rights as they rejected the concept of a ‘Malayan citizenship’ i.e. equal opportunities for all (sama rasa dan sama rata).

Examining further on how democracy got its way into the minds and hearts of the Malays in Malaya, ‘Bangsa Melayu’ shows that after the Japanese occupation, society viewed equalitarianism as the way forward along with the suggestion that the Malay monarchies should be replaced with a democratic system that gave the people some degree of participation in politics. The world trend post-World War II was moving towards a democratic system and the author had inferred that if the world had not undergone the change, Malay society too would have remained as it was. Therefore, the impetus for change arose from an external factor and not from internal contradictions within Malay society.  Even Dato’ Onn Jaafar himself had coined the slogan ‘Raja Jadi Rakyat dan Rakyat Jadi Raja’ (the Raja Is the People and the People Are the Raja) as a rallying point for the Malays at that time.

It is unfortunate that a proper review for Dr. Ariffin’s work could not be found locally as it should be as this thesis may provide a new niche in the study of the Malay political ideology in order to understand them even better in terms of how they acquire, retain or adapt themselves to new ideologies following the challenges posed towards them in this globalized world.

 All in all, ‘Bangsa Melayu’ provides a good insight into the political ideology adapted by the Malays in both East Sumatra and Malaya post-World War II and how the Malays in the now two different nations cope with the rise of democracy after being colonized for generations. 

[DOWNLOAD HERE] 

Ends. 

Shi'a Sunni Conflict: How a Shi'a could explain himself | Konflik Syiah-Sunnah: Bagaimana seorang Syiah memberi penjelasan

Assalamualaikum and Greetings!

Khutbah Jumaat semalam di Mesjid Negeri prompted me to write this entry, in a post-haste manner, since the sermon revolves around the subject of Shi'a (Syiah) in Malaysia, besides the usual in-conjunction-with-Merdeka sermon which I thought was a bit redundant.

I hope with this entry it should shed some light to the issue of the Shi'a-Sunni conflict (which has occurred too long a time, mind you) to both my Muslim and non-Muslim friends, and for this sharing to benefit both the readers and the writer, Inshaa Allah.

DISCLAIMER: Should there be any discrepancy or misinformation in this entry, please notify me asap and it'll be rectified immediately. Jazakallah.

       A bit of background information for those who have been fed with what the Western media has presented to the world;  the Western media such as ABC News has labeled the Syrian conflict as a "civil war" and the FSA (Free Syrian Army) as rebels when it actually is a power struggle between the Sunnis and the Shiites. A point to note is that Sunnis and Shiites are never considered as brothers in Islam as the difference between these two are so great that both consider each other as kuffars (infidels) and the dispute between the two has been going on for hundreds of years since the days of the Caliphs.

With that cleared, we shall proceed to the sharing session.

From the left: YB Steven Sim (moderator), Prof. Mohsen Kadevar.  

     Entry ini mengetengahkan dua sumber maklumat yang didapati yakni satu Public Talk anjuran Penang Institute [tempat intern gua! :D] oleh Prof. Mohsen Kadevar (Iranian exile, currently residing in US) bertajuk, "Shi'a Sunni Integrity: Against Sectarianism" held last Friday, Aug 23 and another source was yesterday's Friday sermon, just bits of it.

This entry will be divided into two parts; the first one will cover the contents of the public lecture by Prof. Mohsen Kadevar and the second one will talk a bit about the Friday sermon which prompted this entry.

The public talk aimed to establish a better understanding between Sunni and Shi'a sects by providing a platform for an open discussion (in a closed-door session), and the speaker was harping on the possibility of a Sunni-Shi'a co-existence as Muslim brothers regardless of their sects. 

*actually the venue was changed in the last minute due to the risk of having anti-Shi'a demonstrators, possibly rendering the event to be a failure*

There are three branches of Shi'ism: 

i. Ja'fari 

ii. Ismailies 

iii. Zaidies 

- The Ja'faris makes up 92% from the total number of Shi’a population

- The Hanbali (5%) and Ja’fari (15%) from the total number of Muslim population globally

- 40% local Muslim population in the Middle East comprises of Shiites

- Pakistan and India is the home for the largest group of Shi’a Muslims.

- The Sunni in Lebanon and Iraq are more accepting towards Shi’as (probably due to the larger number of Shiites there; information sources from the Q&A session)  

In response towards the hostility towards the Shi’a Muslims, Prof. Kadevar pointed out a fatwa by Shaikh Mahmud Shaltut, head of Al-Azhar University. He pointed out two main points from the fatwa:

1. Islam does not require Muslims to follow a particular mazhab (school of thought). It is the choice of Muslims & the government shall not choose for them. The Ja'fari school of thought (12 Shi'a Imaams) is a school of thought that is religiously correct to follow in worship as other Sunni schools of thought. 

2. There shall be no crime for a Muslim to transfer between the schoolf of thoughts. We (Muslims) cannot enforce them. 

In his effort to promote unity between Shi’a and Sunni Muslims, Kadevar pointed out five common issues of Shi’a & Sunni (persamaan antara Syiah dan ASWJ)

1. Shahada: he alleged that both Shi’a & Sunni utters the same one without any additions (Ali's name) for the former's. 
2. Tawhid: both believe in Allah as one god, the afterlife, etc.
3. Muhammad's Prophecy: both believe he was the last messenger
4. Koran as eternal miracle of the prophet; no part(s) omitted. It is as it is.
5. Pillars of Islam/rituals: Prayers, fasting, pilgrimage (Hajj); both parties believe in the same way.

Regarding the common misconceptions about Shi’a Muslims from the Sunni perspective, he explained during the questions & answers session:

• “They believe that Gabriel (Jibrail) made a mistake the prophecy is given to Muhammad when it was supposed to be given to Ali (one of Muhammad's companions).”  To this, Kadevar explained that he never heard of such thing and said that this line of thinking is not in the mind of any Shiites
• Regarding the issue that Shi’a alleging the Koran is not yet complete, that there are some chapters missing, he said that Shiites use the Mushaf Uthmani (standard version of the Koran)
• Insulting the prophet’s companions are not allowed for Muslims. Radiallahuanhu is used to refer to all companions of Muhammad. Inilah jawapan Kadevar bila ada terdapat peserta bertanyakan tentang isu pengikut Syiah mencerca sahabat-sahabat nabi.
• When opined about taqiyyah, Kadevar asserted that it is allowed in Islam to do so in order to save one’s aqidah and he put forth a hadith (which I’m not sure it is genuine or not) that it is not a crime/sin for a Muslim to do so.

          As for me, after opening my mind and also giving him the benefit of the doubt to explain himself as a Shi’a scholar and I could conclude that he or other Shi’as are not to be trusted. He even went flat out as to accuse that most of the hadiths narrated by the likes of Bukhari and Muslim, Abu Daud, etc. as unauthentic. A thought ran across my mind, “Who are you to deny the authenticity of the hadiths even though you claim that you’ve spent half of your life studying about Islam??” [Ko sape doh nak cakap hadis-hadis tu palsu??]  and as far as I’m concerned, he may be spreading falsity about Shi’a ‘Muslims’. He may be carrying out taqiyyah throughout the whole session.

Ada juga masa Q&A session tu, sekumpulan wanita (yang aku boleh assume sebagai Muslim, sebab dia Melayu, cakap Melayu orang puteh, tapi pakaian langsung tak menggambarkan seorang Islam...oops!) bertanyakan yang "If I were to hypothetically say that I don't want to be either a Sunni or a Shi'a, and to follow the prophet's teachings as it is without binding myself to any mazhab, can I considered to be a good Muslim?" --- jawapannya: susah kalau tak ikut mazhab sebab ada ritual dalam Islam yang spesifik, yang ditunjuk caranya, diajar dalam mazhab seperti menunaikan Haji...jadi seorang Muslim mesti memilih mazhab yang dia perlu pegang. And he told the woman to observe and follow Islamic teachings (maknanya suh tutup aurat le tuuu). 

*Benda basic pun ko tak cover, ada hati berkeinginan untuk tidak memilih mazhab? #facepalm*
**Doakan je la dia...mungkin dia tak tau tutup aurat tu wajib. Husnuzon, bro. 

To top that, Dr. Yusuf Qardhawi, a well-known influential Islamic scholar and theologian has issued the fatwa which stated that Sunni Muslims are not to trust Shi’as as they too, had deceived him (link here) and had labelled Hezbollah (a Palestinian political party) as a party of Satan for defending Bashar Al-Assad’s Shi’a government.

As for yesterday’s sermon, it has been gazetted by the National Fatwa Council that Shiites are considered as non-Muslims as their teaching is diverted from the aqidah of Ahli Sunnah Wal Jamaah (diverted from the Prophet’s teachings). *tengok…aku tak tido masa khutbah ok! :P

To those who want to argue about freedom of religion, here’s your crux: you can say that it is a basic human right to believe in anything they want, to worship whatever deities/idols… BUT, as long as the Shi’as want to be labelled as Muslims, WE Sunni Muslims have the RIGHT to prevent them from ever spreading the ideology to our Muslim brothers as it has been CONFIRMED THAT THEY ARE NOT FOLLOWING THE PROPHET’S TEACHINGS. 
There are also some quarters saying that the government have no rights at all to determine what the people choose to have faith in. Well, in Islam we believe that it is the obligation for a Muslim leader to take care of his subjects especially regarding aqidah as they will be asked about it during the Day of Judgment. Therefore, please…let us deal with this matter without any intervention before it evolves to a stage four cancer in our country.

Ends.

Nota kaki:

1. Please note that anything that is being shared here is taken verbatim (all of the contents are from the public talk and there was no further research/clarification that I have made after the event.)
2. Fatwa: A ruling point of Islamic law given by a recognized authority e.g. Ulamas, Muftis.
3. ASWJ: Ahli Sunnah Wal Jamaah
4. Secara umumnya Sunni Muslim sedia maklum yang pengikut Syiah sangat mengagungkan Saidina Ali sehingga ke tahap mencerca para sahabat yang lain, memasukkan nama Ali ke dalam kalimah syahadah mereka sampaikan ke tahap mendakwa Jibril tersalah hantar wahyu kepada Muhammad untuk menjadi nabi. Na'uzubillah!
5. Shahada: the Muslim profession of faith (there is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah)
6. Tawheed: Concept of Monotheism in Islam (konsep tentang adanya hanya satu Tuhan dalam Islam)
7. Jangan tuduh aku Syiah pulak. Aku cuma menulis berdasarkan apa yang disampaikan ok.