In the name of God

Do these so-called ulama’ endorse the hereditary monarchy system (not only in Malaysia but in most Muslim countries)? If they do then they are endorsing a Jahiliyah system of leadership. So what type ofulama’ are these people when Islam is supposed to be based on the Quran, Hadith and Sunnah and the system they support and endorse is absent in all three ‘holy references’?

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Half of all Afghans paid bribes in 2012

(AFP, 6 February 2013) -- KABUL: The cost of corruption in Afghanistan has risen sharply and half of all citizens paid a bribe to public officials last year, a new United Nations study said Thursday.

More than 11 years after a US-led invasion led to billions of dollars in aid flowing into one of the world's poorest countries, Afghanistan ranks among the most corrupt nations on earth.

And Western nations due to pull their troops out next year have linked future financial support to the aid-dependent nation to a crackdown on graft.

The report by the UN office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and Afghanistan's anti-corruption unit says that while there has been some tangible progress, the total cost of corruption increased to $3.9 billion in 2012 -- 40 per cent up on 2009.

"The bribes that Afghan citizens paid in 2012 equals double Afghanistan's domestic revenue or one-fourth of the Tokyo pledge," the report says, referring to the $16 billion promised by donors at a conference in Japan last year.

"Nobody doubts the seriousness of the issue, the art is to design the correct strategy to remedy the situation," said UNODC regional representative Jean-Luc Lemahieu.

The report shows that corruption appears to be increasingly tolerated by ordinary people.

More than 68 per cent of those surveyed considered it acceptable for a civil servant to top up a low salary by accepting small bribes -- up from 42 per cent in 2009, the report noted.

And 67 per cent considered it sometimes acceptable for a civil servant to be recruited on the basis of family ties and friendship networks -- also up from 42 per cent four years ago.

While the cost of corruption had risen, the total number of people paying bribes had dropped from 58 per cent in 2009 to 50 per cent last year -- but they were paying more often.

The survey was based on a representative sample of 6,700 citizens interviewed across the country.

President Hamid Karzai in December blamed foreigners for most of the corruption in Afghanistan and said the withdrawal of NATO troops in 2014 would help rid the country of graft.

The Afghan government has previously pointed the finger at the contract systems of the international community for spreading corruption, although it admits graft is rife within its own ranks.

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A former Indonesian lawmaker has been found guilty of corruption in a case relating to the procurement of the Muslim holy book, the Koran.

(Channel News Asia, 31 May 2013) - JAKARTA: A former Indonesian lawmaker has been found guilty of corruption in a case relating to the procurement of the Muslim holy book, the Koran.

An anti-corruption court in Jakarta found Zulkarnaen Djabbar and his son guilty of receiving more than US$1.4 million in kickbacks.

Zulkarnaen - a lawmaker from Golkar Party - was a member of the parliamentary commission that oversaw the religious affairs.

Assisted by his son and another accomplice, Zulkarnaen rigged the bidding process for the Koran procurement.

Zulkarnaen was sentenced to 15 years in prison and fined US$30,000.

His son, Dendy Prasetya, received 8 years in prison and fined US$20,000.

The case is one of the corruption cases that have raised eyebrows in Indonesia.

It shows that corruption in Indonesia knows no boundary - even if it involves the holy book.

But to many Indonesians, the case comes as no surprise.

The religious affairs ministry is known to be the least honest among Indonesian institutions.

The National Audit Agency has raised questions over its handling of billions of dollars from Indonesian Haj pilgrims annually.

The anti-graft agency is expected to dig deeper into the case even after Thursday's sentencing.

Several top officials from the religious affairs ministry - including the deputy minister - and been called up for questioning.

The Deputy Speaker from the Golkar Party has also been implicated in the case but has denied any involvement.

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Qatar has approved a draft law to enact a law on fighting cyber-crimes and to refer it to the Advisory Council.

The law punishes anyone who manages, via the internet or any information technology means, without a right, to enter an electronic website and informational system of any of the state's organs, institutions, authorities or otherwise affiliated bodies or companies thereon, and anyone who establishes or runs an electronic site via the internet or any information technology means, or publishes false news with the aim of jeopardizing the state safety, its general order, internal or external security.

The law also punishes anyone who infringes on the social principles or values or otherwise publishes news, photos, audio or visual recordings related to the sanctity of the private and familial life of persons, even if they were true, or infringes on others by libel or slander via the Internet or other information technology means.

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Those are but three news items out of thousands regarding Muslims or Muslim countries. Reading those news items, what would be the first thing that comes to your mind?

I suppose those critical of Islam or Muslims would say that this proves that Muslims are corrupt (as what ex-IGP Musa Hassan said a few days ago). The Islamists would argue otherwise. They would say that there is less corruption under a ‘proper’ Muslim government like the Taliban running the country and with the harsh Islamic laws of Hudud keeping the people on the straight and narrow. Under a secular system they would even use Qur’ans to commit corruption like in the case of Indonesia.

In fact, back in March 2004, before the birth of Malaysia Today, I had revealed the corrupt act of one of the Imams of Masjid Negara (the National Mosque) -- the Umno candidate who contested against Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail in Permatang Pauh in the March 2004 general election.

This ex-Imam turned Umno candidate of Permatang Pauh was asking for kickbacks before he would award companies the maintenance contract for the mosque. I actually met the company concerned and published the contract documents so this allegation came with testimony and evidence.

How do you explain ‘men of God’ using the name of God (or the Qur'an) to commit corrupt acts? Actually corruption in religion and using the name of God to commit corrupt acts is something that has been happening long before the birth of Jesus Christ and Prophet Muhammad. In fact, it was because Christ wanted to end this corruption that He opposed the system -- which in turn opposed Him and is the foundation of the Christian dogma (the Crucifixion and the Resurrection). 

Today, PAS said that the ulama’ (religious scholars) must be the foundation of the party leadership (READ HERE). This is based on the assumption and the argument that the ulama’ are noble, sincere, beyond corruption and whatnot. But then the ulama’ have been the problem for Judaism, Christianity and Islam since the birth of those ‘Religions of the Book’.

The Christians say that the Jews corrupted the true religion of Abraham and hence Christianity was born. The Muslims say that the Christians corrupted the true religion of Abraham and hence Islam was born. Then there are those who say the Muslims corrupted the true religion of Abraham and hence Agnosticism was born.

Abraham, Moses, Christ and Muhammad never invented the hierarchy of the ulama’, rabbis, priests, imams, Muftis, Popes, etc. All these never existed during the time of these four great Prophets of the Abrahamic faiths. These positions and classifications were invented later, after the death of these Prophets. Hence are these positions valid?

In fact, Islam also never invented the monarchy and the hereditary system of leadership. After the death of Prophet Muhammad the leaders were elected through a committee. It was only after the deaths of the four ‘Rightly-Guided’ Caliphs it reverted to the pre-Islamic system of hereditary monarchs, what the Muslims call theJahiliyah period or ‘the Era of Ignorance’.

Do these so-called ulama’ endorse the hereditary monarchy system (not only in Malaysia but in most Muslim countries)? If they do then they are endorsing a Jahiliyah system of leadership. So what type of ulama’ are these people when Islam is supposed to be based on the Quran, Hadith and Sunnah and the system they support and endorse is absent in all three ‘holy references’?

The problem is not only that Muslims and Muslim countries are corrupt. The problem is the very system itself is corrupt. And the fruit of a poisonous tree is poisonous. That is the long and short of it all.

Imam Ghazali is regarded as one of the most revered Imams in Islam. And Imam Ghazali was anti-monarchy, as were some of the other renowned Imams as well. In fact, Imam Ghazali said we should stay far away from these monarchs and not even accept their gifts (award of titles included) and food lest these monarchs corrupt us. (And how many PAS people carry Datuk titles?). And if you were a true Muslim you would listen to what Imam Ghazali said. After all, are we not using his kitab as one of the books to follow? And throughout history manyulama’ have opposed their leaders/rulers, the famous Haji Abdul Malik Karim Amrullah a.k.a. Hamka of Indonesia included.