Does Madani state condone preacher's act?

 

“Religion is at its best when it makes us ask hard questions of ourselves. It is at its worst when it deludes us into thinking we have all the answers for everybody else.”

- Archibald MacLeish

We must ask ourselves why Islamic preacher Firdaus Wong uploaded that video of how to enable minors to lie to their families, subvert religious rituals (prayers in toilets), empower teachers to transmit religious dogma to minors under their tutelage and make it very clear that religious morality trumps legal requirements.

Let us not kid ourselves. In the uploaded video, Firdaus makes it very clear that all this is not theoretical. He admits that he has done this before and the methods he imparts are borne out of practical usage and not something that he thought out in the spur of the moment.

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This means that there are minors who are deceiving their families, engaging in modified religious ritualism and enabled by teachers who think that religious morality trumps their obligations to look after the well-being of the minors under the charge.

Not to mention, if Firdaus (above) is to be believed, practising Muslims who he has shepherded as minors, into the religion of the state by deceiving their families.

Ordinarily, minors dabbling in religious experimentation is something normal, however religious experimentation in the Malaysian context when it comes to the religion of the state is something radically different.

This experimentation has far-reaching consequences in Malaysia because race and religion have legal obligations along with the so-called special privileges that place a Muslim in the harsh glare of federal and state Islamic authorities.

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If an adult wishes to place themselves under such obligations, then it is their right.

However, enabling minors to deceive their families and encouraging teachers to impart dogma which has real consequences to minors who may not understand the gravity of their undertaking is the definition of religious and racial provocation, not to mention it should have grave legal consequences.

Does any of this bother someone like Firdaus? No, it does not. The reason for this is simple.

The way how the state deals with religious kidnapping or unilateral conversion demonstrates that when it comes to the religion of the state successive governments have given a free hand to religious provocateurs.

(And kidnapping is not my word, it is former law minister Nazri Aziz’s as he said in the S Deepa case - “The High Court judge’s ruling was correct. The police shouldn’t allow him to get away with kidnapping the child.”).

Non-Muslim woes

The Global Human Rights Federation (GHRF) president S Shashi said his organisation will not be making a police report against Firdaus because nothing has come of it every time they do.

What do you think Firdaus thinks of all the police reports lodged against him and others of his ilk? Firdaus knows he is untouchable when it comes to the religion of the state.

When Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim presided over the conversion of a young man, this signalled to the religious bureaucracy and its emissaries that in-your-face proselytisation was acceptable no matter the tense religious and racial climate this country was experiencing.

We live in a country where non-Muslims are banned from using certain words, we live in a country where there are cases of non-Muslim children being unilaterally converted and kidnapped, we live in a country where non-Muslims are warned not to disturb Muslim rights when advocating their democratic rights and social justice.

We live in a country where non-Muslim economic endeavours are curtailed because of Muslim piety, we live in a country where in some states, non-Muslim places of worship are subject to restrictions on who can enter.

We live in a country where celebrity preachers mock non-Muslim religions, we live in a country where non-Muslims are often demonised and used as scapegoats by political operatives and political elites, we live in a country where non-Muslims are told that we are not citizens but rather pendatang.

So, when Anwar presided over the conversion of that Hindu youth, he was representing the religious reality that non-Muslims face in this country. He was not merely welcoming a new convert into the religion, he was reinforcing religious narratives.

The terrifying reality

Now, Firdaus understands this reality. I would argue that he benefits from it. However, do the minors he enables and advises to deceive their families understand this reality?

As I said, religious experimentation in minors is expected but when it comes to the Malaysian context religious experimentation comes with severe consequences.

And I do not mean solely when it comes to non-Muslim minors. Indeed, so terrified of any kind of possible conversion or undue influence, the state authorities monitor the social landscape in case Muslims are influenced by other religions.

This is what the Selangor Islamic Council (Mais) chairperson said when he proclaimed it was unlawful for Muslims to visit non-Muslim places of worship to learn about other religions:

“Although the objective of this programme is said to give exposure towards a religion (sic) practised in this country and to form close unity among the believers of different religions, programmes to learn about other religions other than Islam in any churches or any houses of worship needs certain controls and restrictions to ensure there is no element of persuading Muslims to be influenced and interested in other religions besides Islam and also no involvement of Muslims in other religions’ rituals.”

With all this in mind, we really must ask ourselves, does the Madani state condone what Firdaus does?

If there are no repercussions, then we know the answer. - Mkini

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S THAYAPARAN is Commander (Rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy. Fīat jūstitia ruat cælum - “Let justice be done though the heavens fall.”

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.