Don't allow fanaticism to thrive

I also remember having Muslim families over at our homes during Christmas and we would return the gesture at Hari Raya. But at some point the food on our table didn't seem "clean" enough, and slowly the tradition of visiting each other died off amidst growing suspicion and discomfort.

Maria J Dass, fz.com

AFTER a blissful week in Krabi, I returned to home to news of Muslim women being booted out of beauty pageants and non-Muslim pupils being allegedly made to eat in the shower room during Ramadan.

 

And although I do not agree with the actions of the Alvivi's Ramadan Bak Kut Teh Facebook post, it does open up wounds and remind us of those so-called leaders and former members of Parliament who are allowed to get off scot-free with statements hurtful to sections of society.

 

These leaders are allowed to roam the streets and continue spewing venom that divides society, while the two infamous sex bloggers Alvin Tan and Vivian Lee are charged for publishing indecent photographs, promoting enmity among the races and sedition.

 

Rewind to last week when I found myself in a market in the middle of Krabi town near the Chao Fah pier. It was almost time for Muslims to break fast and the market was abuzz with mostly women selling freshly cooked curries, noodles, desserts and fruits, and families seated at tables waiting to break their fast. 

 

Next to the woman selling what looked to me like assam pedas, was another lady selling pork stew with a huge pork thigh and knuckle sticking out of the broth.

 

But nobody from the largely Muslim crowd scuttling to buy food to break their fast dragged the woman who cooked the pork stew aside to write statements on her chest.

 

No one took a second look, well, no one except for me (because it was an unusual sight). Nobody seemed to care. 

 

Outside the market were two stray dogs gazing at passers-by. They perked up to a familiar whistle as a woman in a headscarf laid down a packet of food for the dogs to eat.

 

I also noticed that it was not unusual for Muslim-owned shops to sell pork flavoured instant noodles as part of the selection for buyers.

 

And I thought I was in a country which was less developed than ours. We may trump them in terms of physical development, but in terms of social development, I think we can learn a thing or two from the Thais.

 

But signs of religious fanaticism have been creeping in to our society for a long time. It has been, ever since I was a child.

 

In primary school, we often had class parties at the end of a semester or year, done pot-luck style, so each of us had to bring food from home for the spread.

 

But sadly, food brought by non-Muslim classmates like me was subject to scrutiny.

I remember bringing nasi minyak with cashew nuts and raisins for one of these parties, only to be asked if it was halal.

 

Now which part of the cashew nut and raisins or rice was not-halal, I tried to imagine.

 

I also remember having Muslim families over at our homes during Christmas and we would return the gesture at Hari Raya. But at some point the food on our table didn't seem "clean" enough, and slowly the tradition of visiting each other died off amidst growing suspicion and discomfort.

 

In some official government events I have covered, when beef was served, my Hindu friends were told to not mind and to eat other dishes in the spread. Will it work, if it happened to be the other way around?

 

Unlike the kind hearted woman who fed the dog in the Krabi market, here, I have had the horror of witnessing the cold heart of a taxi driver who sped up, muttering profanities about dogs being evil, to knock down the animal which was crossing the road. This was minutes after I had boarded the taxi to get to the Taman Jaya LRT station, and after I had warned him that the dog was on the road. Even animals are not spared the wrath of the narrow-minded.

 

Narrow interpretations of religion have been allowed to creep into or society for too long. 

 

Take the case of the four Malaysian women who were denied their chance to represent the country in a pageant despite the fact that it is to be held in the world's most populous Muslim country, and that the bikini segment has been done away with in favour of sarongs. Why should I care? It doesn't affect me and other non-Muslim women anyway. 

 

But if history has taught us anything - when shallow-mindedness and fanaticism is allowed to creep in and thrive in our society - it will bite us someday. 

 

Maria J Dass is a freelance journalist who misses the view of a dark green, tree-canopied Bukit Gasing and the rolling mist above it in the mornings as she drives along Old Klang Road. In place of this, she now sees a grass covered slope with unsightly concrete drains running down the hill. This is the personal opinion of the writer and does not represent the view of fz.com.