What is in the Name? – Azlan Abdul Razak

God, who is the only One and with whom the eternal refuge lies, neither begets nor is begotten, and neither is there to Her or Him any equivalent nor comparison.

Such is the description best befits the omnipotent God who possesses and deserves all strengths and praises that all human beings can only dream. Verily, God needs no protector to defend Her or His dignity for She or He is perfectly capable of defending Herself or Himself against any ominous dark force, if at all.

God does not need help. In fact, God renders one.

She or He blesses us with the help of brain and wisdom to manage our own life affairs. She or He showers us with the convenience of society where all would rally around and clear up the thicket full of cruelty and animosity so that everyone can walk together on the peaceful and danger-free path of moderation.

It suffices that we live a life a reasonable man would live his reasonably happy life teeming with the spirit of inclusiveness and tolerance. This is neither a hedonistic ideal nor sybaritic aspiration.

This is far cry from the maddening cantatas wailing about divisiveness and superiority, which often results, sadly in an utter state of head-splitting cacophony.

The same heady mix of shock and discordance was experienced by a lot of concerned citizens when their homeland they had been residing for their entire lives was suddenly declared (again) to be an Islamic state while a lot of other determined dissidents asserted otherwise.

If a system of the administration is such that it promotes equality and justice, and that it speaks volumes against an absolute monopoly of opportunity of one race over another, does it matter if such system has a specific name just for adornment’s sake?

If the working of the Constitution of the country operates in a manner that all citizens are able to appreciate the intention and aspirations of its Founding Fathers when the Federal Constitution was first drafted, does it bother these enthusiasts the slightest if the focus is directed solely to how they can be effectively crystallised?

Nowadays, the obsession on labelling has become a norm so much so that one easily tends to forget that its ultimate aim. This will create a slippery slope to the perverse pleasure of intense name-calling and judging spree.

It is always easy and for some, financially and politically lucrative to yield to hyperbole when a spark of negativity is wittingly erupted. In this regard, the writer wishes to add his shrilling falsetto to the already growing chorus calling for a fight or jihad in the name of God.

At the risk of repetition, while the intention is credit-worthy, God needs neither defender nor protector from anyone She or He created.

Lest we forget, the birth of our Federal Constitution is welcomed by the values that Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj had readily embraced. As an economic liberal, the Federal Constitution defends the principles of fair trade affairs as Tunku did, and as a social liberal, the Federal Constitution crusades the very fundamental value of freedom that every individual deserves as Tunku did.

Liberty is not foreign in our Constitutional framework. Nor is it a mala fide invention of the West. When Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj proclaimed Independence, he declared Malaya ‘for ever a sovereign democratic and independent State founded upon the principles of liberty and justice’.

Though it is agreed that such declaration notwithstanding, Islam still secures its position as a religion of the Federation. This is evidenced in Article 3 of the Federal Constitution. However, this does not mean that Tunku’s aspirations hold no water.

In fact, it is in the spirit of Islam that such aspirations can herald a powerful crescendo that is music to every citizen’s ears. The writer’s included.

Focusing on the putting a state into a particular box with its specific label pasted onto it against another does not make our nation any better. If anything, it is exposing us and most importantly, Islam to an unmitigated risk of perpetual fear and innate hatred seeing that the prevalence of barbaric acts is always sanctified in the name of Islam and Allah, and the entire nation are then made to bear the brunt of such undeserved humiliation.

How can Malaysia be an Islamic state when it has a set of law that grants power to the state to decide the religion of the citizens who happen to have been born into a particular race?

Are we not aware of that “there shall be no compulsion in ‘acceptance of’ the religion. The right course has become clear from the wrong. So whoever disbelieves in Taghut and believes in Allah has grasped the most trustworthy handhold with no break in it. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing.”? – Al-Baqarah (2:256)

On the other hand, how do we find pleasure in calling ourselves happy citizens in a liberal state when opportunity and privileges are afforded to only a group of citizens simply by virtue of race?

Are we not reminded of Allah’s command on liberalising the people from the shackles of racism?

“O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted.” - Al-Hujurat (49:13)

Hence, the most important and challenging, yet achievable task is and has always been to focus on the message of peace, justice, and equality.

If being Islamic means acquiescing to the rise of authoritarianism and condoning the danger of sliding into the Talibanesque obscurity, then what kind of light are we seeking to be shone upon at the end of our spiritual tunnel?

So long as the fight over self-entitlement and superiority continues to perpetuate and no one sees any reason yet to hold out an olive branch, then claiming our land to be the pride of God is perhaps the biggest misnomer of all time.

Therein lies the responsibility of the everyone from all social strata to stand up and be counted. Let’s do way with the labels. What is in the name, anyway? A rose by any name would still smell as sweet.

Our responsibility is not to disassemble the beautifully woven social fabric our Forefathers had lost many sleeps over. Ours is to work hard to ensure that the desired sweetness pervades through our middle path as we happily walk hand in hand to explore our shared destiny.

* Azlan Abdul Razak reads The Malaysian Insider.