Malaysia – the Islamic state

A dark humour piece on a perceived puritan Islamic state which PAS is insistent on championing one day in the future.

COMMENT

The Muslims in this country have certainly come of age. Lovingly protected by the government against the pitfalls of sin and eternal damnation, today a growing majority of Muslims are attracted to the beautiful notion of being governed by the hudud penal code and becoming a true Islamic nation.

It is wonderful to know that a Muslim NGO has called for the banning of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s “My Name Is Khan” movie which confuses Muslims as it promotes liberal Islam and religious pluralism. It has also warned Malaysian broadcasters against airing the hit film and called for the blocking of the distribution of the film CD.

Malay right-wing group Perkasa also called for Muslims nationwide to boycott award-winning singer Jaclyn Victor for singing the Malay-language Christian song “Harapan Bangsa”.

PAS Youth has done its bit to ban Valentine’s Day, a well-known Western celebration and live concerts which promote a loose lifestyle. And now it wants to meet the King, because the MCA president refuses to apologise for purportedly insulting Islam.

PAS is also ready to hold a discussion with former Perlis mufti Prof Madya Mohd Aszri Zainul Abidin on the “Ayatollah” issue should it ever come to power.

Malay bibles have been banned in the Peninsula and the government is serious to disallow Allah’s name to be uttered by non-Muslims.

Maybe, the time is ripe for the Muslims in this country to have an Islamic state.

Umno and PAS

Umno has been instrumental in the past to Islamise this nation, and it is satisfied that Malaysia is already a thriving Islamic state. It has even planned a mandatory mosque law to build a mosque in every new housing estate.

PAS, however, feels that more should be done and that the hudud penal code be part and parcel of an Islamic state.

Both parties agree that Muslims in Malaysia are weak and open to the temptations of the world. Some form of “state control” is needed to ensure that Muslims do not breach religious etiquette or go over the line.

Weak Muslims cannot be allowed to go through life without the state monitoring their progress and to provide them spiritual guidance.

Many believe that only an Islamic state will pave the way for them to exercise and exert control over the Muslims’ social, mental and spiritual upbringing.

Muslims cannot carry on living a liberal and pluralistic lifestyle like what they are doing now. Something must be done to arrest the hedonistic lifestyle of the current Muslims and a puritanical Islamic way of life must be implemented.

Of course, it is not political. Islam is above politics. Whoever wins the election will still ensure that the Islamic agenda is on course.

One day in the future, PAS may have no choice but to reunite with Umno to form an Islamic state and enforce an Islamic way of life which includes the hudud penal code.

The idea of a Malaysia for Malaysians, where the various races coexist together in peace and harmony and striving to become a developed first world nation, will not be part of this equation.

To prevent further Muslim confusion, an affirmative Muslim Agenda is necessary to ensure that Muslims in this country conform fully to the Islamic code.

Under Islamic governance, the issue of hypocrisy or exploitation of religion for political gain does not arise.

The perfect role model to emulate will be Saudi Arabia as a puritanical Islamic state free of liberalism and pluralism, and where the Muslims journey on their lifetime pilgrimage.

A dress-code

A strict dress code will be enforced. The “burqa” – a gown that covers a woman’s body from head to toe – should be considered, and an instant ban on shorts.

With the women fully covered, there will be an instant reduction in sexual crimes, harassment or abandoned foetuses. Prostitution, close proximity and rape will become a thing of the past.

Muslim men will be able to contain their sexual desires and concentrate on their work and their religious obligations without any distraction.

Muslim men may never see the face of another Muslim woman again for the rest of their lives, except for their wives. The need to spend on expensive cosmetics and latest fashion will be void.

Muslims will abandon the silly art of dating, or subscribing to love and romance. Women of child- bearing age will be encouraged to get married without delay. If they find difficulties in getting a partner, the option of being second wives should be considered. Women should not be subjected to sexual urges and impure thoughts unnecessarily while remaining single.

It will be apt to follow Saudi Arabia’s policies to disallow women from appearing in public without a related male accompaniment. Women should also be discouraged from driving or working in public.

House keeping and caring for the children should be a priority. Without a women workforce, there will be ample job openings for Muslim males.

Restrictions for Muslims

Entertainment outlets like cinemas, snooker parlours, massage health centres, hair dressing saloons, pubs and discos, betting outlets, bars and cabaret should carry warning signs barring Muslim patrons.

Moral squads should be planted in all hotels, nature parks and gambling outlets to nab unsuspecting offenders

MAS should go liquor-free with family friendly seats and male/female seats clearly marked to prevent the opposite sex from mingling. All transport modes should follow a strict segregation code. That includes ferries, trains, buses, cinemas, concert halls, cashier counters in supermarkets, departmental stores and even taxis should have clear signs to segregate the opposite sex.

Hotels nationwide should go alcohol-free, so as not to deter Muslims from working in such outlets.

Wholesome entertainment

Television, too, should be limited to “For Muslims Viewing” Astro Channels package, with programmes that meet religious guidelines. All movies, sit-coms, comedies or cartoons must espouse wholesome family values. Programmes that contain Western values, liberal or pluralism should be banned.

Moreover, it is pointless to ban live shows if we continue to be exposed to them on TV. News, music videos and side-views that do not conform to the standard should be filtered for consumption.

Computer games, Play-stations and online games should be severely restricted as it doesn’t provide intrinsic value and are littered with western influences.

Karaoke could be allowed as wholesome family entertainment, as long as the music content does not contain elements of love and romance, rock, heavy metal and disco.

Access to the Internet should be severely restricted, as it contains a Pandora’s box of disinformation that may confuse and corrupt the minds of Muslims. It will not be in the interest of Muslims to surf the world wide web uninhibitedly without strict parental controls.

Smartphones with Internet capablilites and MMS should only be restricted to high-ranking officials in the civil service, police and military intelligence who need access to such high-tech devices. Apple Ipads, too, are dangerous devices in the inexperienced hands of the weak Muslims.

Education

All Muslim children should attend non-co-ed religious schools to strengthen their faith for the future. More Madrasahs, Sekolah Ugama Khas and Sekolah Ugama Berasrama should be built to cater for a good all-round Islamic education.

Women should have a basic education, too, for their role to care and educate the children, but it will be a small sacrifice to allow their male offspring to further their education to tertiary level in the Arts and Sciences as this will lead to more Muslim males becoming world-class mathematicians, scientists, astronauts, judges, rocket physicists and musicians.

Trade should be encouraged among Islamic countries, to source for halal supplies like clothing, food and beverage, foot and body-wear, cosmetics, drugs, medication, electronics and transport. Muslims should be encouraged to discard all material goods that are made in the West.

It will be foolhardy to think that Muslims can coexist peacefully among the non-Muslims as the sound of un-Islamic religious chants, smell of burning incense, noise from fire crackers, non-halal meat hanging from hooks in coffeeshops and loosely attired non-Muslims will confuse the Muslims.

It will also do no good for our men-folk to gape at women in strange dresses, or watch them dancing themselves silly to the loud unruly music in discos, or listening to them croaking at the top of their voices at karaoke joints or talking strangely while drunk.

Perhaps the idea of segregation is inevitable. But even if Muslims are willing to coexist with the non-Muslims, we have to ask ourselves, whether our non-Muslim counterparts will agree to tone down their lifestyles just to accommodate us.

But we are still duty-bound to care for them, no matter what! Maybe, a designated area like Penang or Sarawak with large non-Muslim majorities can be identified should such a need arises, so that they can live and practise their decadent lifestyle without disturbing our way of life?

Muslims from these states could be enticed to move to the Peninsula to live among Muslim neighbours.

Malaysians can then continue to live on in perfect harmony, without any more race and religious issues. Nothing has to change and life will still go on as normal.

In conclusion… it is needful for us to understand that unlike a secular state where the government is the servant of the people, an Islamic state exerts influence and control over the spiritual welfare of the people and undertakes to provide them divine guidance.

For our leaders to strive and rebuild this nation, and to bring it to greater heights, enforce greater democracy, individual freedoms, meritocracy and equal rights, without sacrificing spiritual health, will be a humongous task.

Our leaders will have to think out of the box, swallow their pride, sacrifice their obsolete beliefs of grandeur, and embrace the 21st century. Most of all, we need to preserve this nation for our children and children’s children

So, coming back to Jaclyn Victor’s boycotted song of prayer for the nation and its leaders: I was wondering what did they specifically pray about for this nation?

Tour consultant, sports pilot and naturalist Iskandar Dzulkarnain has been writing a few years now. He is a FMT columnist.