Most non-Muslims in Malaysia have come to accept the azan as part of life and do not consider it a pain in any way. Indeed, we can accept it as a blessing to be reminded, at the beginning of each day, that we should glorify and thank the Creator for the life He has given us.
However, there has to be a modicum of consideration for those who do not have to get up and pray.
The tolerance accorded by the non-Muslims to their Muslim brethren should not be taken for granted. There is no need to give maximum volume to the call, especially for the dawn prayer.
Nor should anyone politicise the recent controversy sparked by a Pantai Hillpark resident’s complaint about the loudness of the call.
What is disconcerting is that the complainant decided to pick a bone with the call for the subuh prayer, saying it affected the quality of his sleep. He conveniently dismissed the need to inquire from his neighbours whether they too found it disturbing or whether the calls for zuhur, asar, maghrib and isyak were disturbing as well.
He spoke only of his disturbed sleep, failing to consider the possibility that no one else has a problem. Many non-Muslims have in fact come to treat the subuh azan as a wake-up alarm.
If he was indeed serious about wanting to get the mosque to tone down the volume of the azan, why did he not bother to do a little survey before coming to the conclusion that mosques in Malaysia are not sensitive to the resting hours of non-Muslims?
Or was he out to stir the hornet’s nest on someone else’s instruction? It turns out that he is an official of MCA.
Indeed, the complaint does not sound at all like a genuine call for help. The stench of politics is too strong.
Handle with compassion
The controversy has shown that unity is no longer Malaysia’s strongest asset, judging from the sentiments displayed by some residents of Pantai Dalam, who gathered to burn an effigy of the complainant after their Friday congregational prayer.
It is worrying to observe the manner in which the protestors threatened him in particular and non-Muslims in general. By making their threats, they made it obvious that they do not regard the non-Muslims as their compatriots.
They have confirmed that it is a shaky ground on which the different Malaysian communities stand. And no 1Malaysia propaganda can strengthen it.
If indeed the dawn azan disturbs the morning peace of non-Muslims, the solution is to get the mosque to agree to lower the volume. And the move must not be because the powers that be ordered it, but because the mosque officials respect the non-Muslims’ right to peace and quiet.
Problems that tend to touch on religious sensitivities are best handled with compassion and maturity, not with an eye to gaining political mileage. Sadly, this was exactly what PAS Youth did when it took the posture of championing the right of Muslims in the area to be alerted for the morning prayer, never mind the disturbed sleep of their non-Muslim neighbours.
As I write this article, I hear the call for the maghrib prayer. It alerts me to the time of day and does not disturb my peace. So when Mohamad Suhaimi Abdul Aziz of PAS youth said that his party was disappointed with the Prime Minister for his lack of firmness in protecting Islam, it was plain bollocks.
In a typical show of riding on religious sentiments, Mohamad Suhaimi made a most ridiculous statement when he said that the instruction to lower the azan’s volume was an insult to Islam.
For Mohamad Suhaimi’s good knowledge, the image of Islam is tarnished when its followers stop showing compassion towards fellow humans and towards animals (as in the case of the severed cow head).
The image of Islam takes a beating when its followers take the non-Muslims for granted and chastise them under the holier-than-thou guise.
The good name of Islam will rot only when believers abandon the love-thy-neighbour practice preached by the Prophet.
It is precisely because of their misguided anger that the Muslims of Pantai Dalam staged their protest as soon as they had finished their prayer, which, by the way, is always concluded with two recitations of “salam” (peace).
It’s all about priority
It was indeed worrying that the protesters went as far as exposing the complainant’s personal details and threatening to cause him harm.
One can only speculate who furnished those personal details to these angry and irrational residents.
How come no one was rebuked for this gross invasion of privacy?
Islam is not about bullying non-Muslims into subservience, be it through verbal or physical intimidation. Taking the non-Muslims for granted and making an open display of the slaughtering of cows during Hari Raya Haji via national television is not welcomed by non-Muslims, especially Hindus, but they quietly endure it all.
Non-Muslims also tolerate the traffic chaos that happens every Friday afternoon, when Muslims park their cars along the main roads. This too has become a way of life for them.
Nuzul Quran is a public holiday, but Vaisakhi, one of the most significant Sikh festivals, is not.
Asking the government-owned television stations to air the Vaisakhi prayers live would be like asking for the moon. Likewise, asking for live television coverage of Thaipusam would be regarded as being insensitive to Muslim feelings.
At the end of the day, it is all about priority. And there is no denying that when it comes to priorities, the Indians, especially, are near the bottom of the list.
Just how much longer will the “Malay superiority” play continue to be staged? Why are the non-Malays being made to feel inferior and alienated in their own motherland?
In the case of the MCA man who complained about the morning azan, it did not take long for the powers that be to make him stand embarrassed and make a public apology using the most ludicrous escape clause—that he did not know the difference between the azan and a sermon.
He got off with his apology. Not so lucky was Seputeh MP Teresa Kok, who in 2008 went to jail for seven days following a false Utusan Malaysia allegation that she petitioned for the lowering of the azan volume.
It does look like Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has much work to do with his 1Malaysia. - FMT
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