Allah for the Muslims

This is the writer's satirical take on the burning issue.

COMMENT

What a glorious day for Malaysian Muslims when the Court of Appeal overruled the High Court decision on the misuse of the ‘Allah’ name. Solely and exclusively to be uttered only by Muslims is indeed a great gift bestowed to the Muslim population in this country, as reported by Utusan Malaysia.

Muslims must now use this gift wisely to ensure that their faith will no longer be jeopardised and attain their rightful place in the hereafter.

It is also very saddening that many quarters are slamming Jakim, calling the agency stunningly stupid for monopolising the ‘Allah’ name which according to them is merely an Arab word for God.

First and foremost, it was not Jakim who made the ultimate decision but that of the Court of Appeal judges who ruled with wisdom and dignity. Malaysians can be held in contempt of court for questioning their discerning judgment.

It doesn’t matter if the presiding judges were Muslims or not as it may be unfair for our government to allow a non muslim judge to preside over such sensitive religious issues.

Jakim is a religious organisation conceived by the royalty and is currently under the purview of the PM’s Department. And like the Pope and the Vatican, Jakim has always known that the position of Islam in this country has always been under constant threat since the formation of the Federation of Malaysia.

Jakim is at their wits end, trying their utmost to protect Muslims from the long jaws of Satan acknowledging that the Muslim majority is still weak and unable to fend for themselves against the temptation of apostasy.

According to the Court of Appeal, the ‘Allah’ name was never an integral part of Christianity and as such they should stop monopolising the right to use the word. The ruling has not only cleared up the deep confusion among weak Muslims, but has also cleared the vast confusion among Christians at large who can now worship the Trinity in a new light.

A great victory for progressive hardliners

It is also a welcome relief and victory for progressive hard-liners and chivalrous leaders like Ibrahim Ali, Zulkifli Noordin, Hassan Ali and Nasharuddin Mat Isa, who were long forgotten after their rude rejection by the rakyat and their respective parties, but continued un-dauntingly to champion the rights of Muslims.

The ruling only served to testify that they were right all along and the others were wrong.

The only disappointment however was that the court decision only affected The Herald’s right to use Allah and silent on the continued use of the word by Christians in Sabah and Sarawak.

Therefore it was a wonderful opportunity for NGO’s like Perkasa and Isma to collectively demand that the ban be extended to East Malaysia. Can we really blame them?

Christian political leaders should refrain from complaining about the contentious issue and risk upsetting the wonderful relationship with BN. They should accept the decision and move forward.

They should also stop using such frivolous issues to call for secession from Malaya.

Judging from past history, Sabah and Sarawak were tripping over themselves in haste to join the Malaysian Federation which must have been God’s will. So this issue should never be manipulated by unscrupulous leaders to call for secession from Malaya.

Luckily, the PCA or ISA2 has been passed recently to prevent any such leaders from trying to secede, which is a blatant threat to national security.

Malaysia as a model Islamic nation

Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has pointed out many a time, that Malaysia commands vast international respect for its progressive and liberal Islamic views and we are a glowing model nation of Islamic perfection.

Many Islamic nations have appealed to Malaysia to aid them in settling religious differences and disputes, while many Islamic nations have tried to mimic our progressive success.

Meanwhile, Ibrahim Ali of Perkasa even had the courtesy to call on the non malays as his brothers and sisters publicly, which goes to show that he has no animosity whatsoever against the non Muslims.

However, Gerakan Youth should stop asking the BN Supreme Council to convene and discuss the issue as the court decision should be deemed as final.

DAP’s Tony Pua should stop insinuating that the Sikh holy book may be at risk. We must remember that the government has no argument whatsoever with the Sikhs.

PAS leaders too should stop calling Malay Muslims stupid, as most of the so called stupid ones have actually abandoned Umno, nearly causing an outrageous upset that would have been disastrous for BN in the last election.

Winning the election with a 48 percent majority is really nothing to be proud of, and BN is totally disappointed with the ignorance of the rakyat at large.

Christian leaders should start the ball rolling to ensure that all 1.6million Christians respect the supreme law of this land and refrain from uttering the banned word thereby committing an act of lawlessness, especially in the Peninsular.

God may work in mysterious ways but it would be a folly for Muslims to pore and scrutinise incessantly all Christian printed material for banned Islamic words that may appear in their publications.

Instead, Christian leaders should implore their members to abide by the court’s decision and bridge the great Muslim-Christian divide by respecting the absolute rights of the majority.

They must uphold the court’s decision and pray for redemption from their God, which is obviously not ‘Allah’ as according to the court of law.

Full support for the government

Christians should continue supporting Umno-BN faithfully, putting undivided trust and loyalty to ensure that Malaysia will continue to exist in peace and harmony.

They must understand that Umno has always been a straightforward, no-nonsense, and impartial political party dedicated to the best interests of Malaysians at heart.

All Umno ever wanted was for Malaysians to unite and become passive citizens who will not forever question the integrity of the government. Is that too much to ask for?

Accusing the government of corruption and graft without a shred of proof is not very fair. Malaysians should take such opposition accusations with a pinch of salt.

The number of Muslims that actually commit corruption is less than 0.1 percent, and this Muslims cannot and should not be use to reflect the 99.99 percent of honest Muslims that reside in Umno and BN.

Even PAS Youth has recognised this fact that it would be futile to protest against the declining corruption and graft, and their efforts would be more fruitful banning international rock concerts from performing in this country.

With this ruling, Umno has once again proven itself to be the undisputed champions of Islam. PAS should seriously review their unholy pact with Pakatan and join Umno.

Together, PAS and Umno can continue championing for the majority race and religion which would give them many divine blessings to rule forever.

In conclusion

And now that the Court of Appeal has ruled on the boundaries of our religious divide, the threat of Muslim apostates will cease.

There will also be no more Christian apostates, Hindu or even Buddhist apostates. It is a win-win situation for all races and religions in this country. Hallelujah as the Christians would probably say.

The only sad part is that the ruling has reduced greatly the number of people to call upon ‘God’s’ Name way up to the heavens.

Last but not least, please stop asking Malay bumiputeras to leave this country, if they are not happy with the secular laws of this country.

Remember, the Malays and bumiputeras, like the rest are also bona fide citizens of this country.

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