Small things for small minds

So, do you think these people are really that godly or pious? They think only of themselves. They don’t care about others. And these people are the people who condemn gays because they imagine themselves as saints. Yet they don’t care whether their car is obstructing other cars when they go to the church or mosque.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

A number of Christians and Muslims are angry with me. They are angry for various reasons and one of the reasons is the ‘Seksualiti Merdeka’ issue. I suppose my article ‘Way to go!’ riled them up a bit.

These religionists want to know whether I support homosexuality. Why must it always be about ‘if you are not with me then you are against me’? That is the way of President Bush. Either you are with the US or you are against the US. And if you are not with the US then they have every right to attack your country and cause millions to suffer.

This ‘either you are with me or you are against me’ is the root cause of this world’s ills.

Either you support Ketuanan Melayu or else you are an enemy of the Malays. Either you support Hudud or else you are an enemy of Islam. Either you support the protest against ‘Seksualiti Merdeka’ or else you are a gay lover (or maybe even gay yourself).

So, what else?

Either I support a female prime minister of Malaysia or else I am a male chauvinist? Either I support a Jewish prime minister of Malaysia or else I am anti-Semitic? Either I support the building of more churches or else I am anti-Christian? Either I support the building of more temples or else I am anti-Hindu? Either I support Bahasa Malaysia or else I am anti-Malay? Either I support polygamy or else I am insulting Prophet Muhammad? Either I support the keeping of slaves or else I am anti-Quran? Either I support sex with female slaves or else I am anti-Hadith?

What happened to live and let live? And why must everyone live according to your value system?

The trouble with both Christians and Muslims is: 1) they always think they are right and everyone else is wrong; 2) they always think they are pious and take on a righteous attitude; 3) they refuse to live and let live and everyone must live according to their standards; 4) they do not tolerate differences of opinion and regard those who disagree with them as the enemies of Christianity/Islam.

How can both be right? Christians say they are going to heaven and the rest are going to hell. Muslims also say they are going to heaven and the rest are going to hell? How can both black and white be the same colour? One definitely must be right and the other wrong. And what makes you so sure that you are right and all the rest are wrong?

What if I believe otherwise? And why can’t I believe otherwise? You Christians are so sure that you are right and everyone else (especially gays) is a sinner bound for hell. Yeah, sure, it says so in the Bible.

But which Bible? What makes you think I believe in your Bible? To start off with, what makes you think I even consider you a follower of Christ?

What if I consider you a deviant? What if I consider the Nestorian (Persian) or Coptic (Egyptian) as the true Christian? What if I consider you Paulists who are practicing Paulism, which later changed its name to Christianity?

Just because the Catholics are the majority does not mean I must regard them as true Christians. It is up to me which sect I want to consider true Christians. That is my right. That is not for you to tell me.

If the Catholics had not killed so many non-Catholics over almost 1,000 years then probably the Nestorian or Coptic would be the majority today. If people had not been forced to become Catholics at the point of a sword, would there be so many Catholics around today?

So might does not make it right.

Yeah, sure, I know, you don’t agree with me. You dispute what I say. But then that is your right. I also do not agree with you, which is also my right. So you believe what you want to believe and I will believe what I want to believe. And I believe that we should live and let live. You live your life and let others live their lives as long as they do not infringe into your space or violate your rights.

It is the same with the Muslims, the twin brothers of the Catholics. They too have certain beliefs and they demand that everyone else comply with their beliefs.

What if I don’t believe what you believe? What if I believe that you are following the Abbasid version of Islam, which is a deviation from the Umayyad version of Islam? You might disagree but then that is your prerogative. You believe what you want and let me believe what I want.

In Malaysia, Shias are considered deviants and will suffer arrest. In Iran, Malaysian Muslims are considered deviants. So who is right? Who is the real deviant? Of course, Malaysian Muslims will say that they are right and all the rest are wrong. How do you know? Where is the proof?

So you see, whether it is Christians or Muslims, they all live in this illusion that they are right and all the rest are wrong. But they really don’t know. They have no evidence. They only have the word of the priest, imam or ustazthat this is so. And based on what they believe is right and wrong, they will moralise and pass judgement on others.

So, the religionists are up in arms against what they perceive as the immoral lifestyle of gays. And if we were to tell them to leave the gays alone and allow them whatever lifestyle they want to lead without any hassle from self-righteous moralists, they accuse us of being bad Christians/Muslims.

Gays are immoral or wrong only because you think you are so moral and right. Morality and right, after all, is relative. Yes, I am a moral relativist. So what? So sue me.

Some say it was immoral for Prophet Muhammad to marry an underage girl. And certainly Muslims will foam at the mouth if people start labelling Prophet Muhammad as a paedophile (yes, I have read some anti-Islam websites that say this).

But then, more than 1,000 years ago, marrying off a five-year old boy to a three-year old girl was politically correct, even in Europe, as long as the marriage is not consummated until the children reach the age of puberty. It was widely practised as a means to seal political alliances between powerful families and to end feuds (with marriage ties). In fact, they even married off 13-year old girls to 50-year old men. That was quite normal.

Sure, we need to fight against crime, sin, immorality, etc. But how many of you have NOT sinned (paid a bribe, accepted a bribe, cheated on your income tax, stolen a paper clip from the office, falsely declared on a form, lied to a friend, lied to your boss, etc.)? You speak as if you are so saintly.

My car once got stuck in the Assunta Hospital car park because inconsiderate church-goers had parked indiscriminately. My car also always used to get stuck in the Bangsar mosque car park because inconsiderate mosque-goers park indiscriminately, as they always do.

So, do you think these people are really that godly or pious? They think only of themselves. They don’t care about others. And these people are the people who condemn gays because they imagine themselves as saints. Yet they don’t care whether their car is obstructing other cars when they go to the church or mosque.

Podah!