Siti Kasim is not a hypocrite

The lawyer with colourful hair may disagree with the way mainstream Islam interprets the Quran, but she still uses the Quran as her guidance, her hidayah.

COMMENT

Siti Kasim is hard on the outside but very soft on the inside, says Anas Zubedy. (Facebook pic)

By Anas Zubedy

Siti Kasim is a friend. Yes, she is loud. Very loud. She does not need any loudspeakers. If we disagree about something, even about the taste of the food served, be sure that the entire restaurant will hear her opinion.

She may even give me “the finger”, followed by a four-letter word, but always accompanied immediately with her roaring signature laughter that will ring loud all over the room.

No, she is not yelling. No, she is not angry. That is her voice. She means well. That is her style. She is who she is. She does not pretend. She is not a hypocrite. If you cannot handle that, just don’t join in. Just turn away lah…

But anyone who knows Siti will vouch that she is a wonderful and caring person. She is hard on the outside but very soft on the inside. She has a very good heart.

She is a friend that you can rely on any time. She is fun to be with, a little unconventional perhaps, but definitely a ray of sunshine.

Siti at heart is a kind and good Muslim. The Prophet, too, fought for the poor, the marginalised and those in need. Siti represents that part of Islam in her coloured hair and flamboyant style. Look at the substance and not the form, please.

As such, with all due respect to the good Perlis Mufti, Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin, may I suggest he change his approach and target group. Instead of having an open dialogue, perhaps he can do the following.

Aim your focus on Muslims weak in faith

Firstly, change the target group. May I humbly suggest that instead of dealing with Siti, he should aim his focus at Muslims who are too weak in faith and easily shaken, who are overly judgmental, some outrightly dangerous.

Let me explain.

Siti Kasim is a Muslim. She may disagree with the way mainstream Islam interprets the Quran, but she still uses the Quran as her guidance, her hidayah. In other words, the disagreement is about the interpretations.

For example, the hair as aurat. Siti disagrees with the idea that the tudung is an important part of being a Muslim as she sees that there is no requirement to wear the tudung in the Quran. Her conviction is from her own understanding of the Quran.

Even grand ulamas disagree in many interpretations of the Quran – they too follow their own convictions. They too use the Quran as their hidayah. Just like Siti.

Yet scores of Muslims, due to Siti’s stand on some interpretations of the Quran and Islam, have stated she is a murtad, anti-Islam, and many want her to be prosecuted, and some have gone as far as wanting her dead!

May I suggest that the good Perlis mufti and all other muftis and religious teachers help make Muslims less judgmental, kinder and, more importantly, fortify their faith so that they won’t be too easily shaken.

Perhaps, the good Perlis mufti and other religious leaders can use the Quran’s story about Abu Lahab and his wife, Umm Jameel, as a basic guide.

Abu Lahab is the only person from the enemies of Islam who has been cursed by name in the Quran.

Thus, he is the number one reference for all Muslims as far as an individual who can be considered as a true enemy of Islam. How the Quran and the Prophet dealt with him should form the standard operating procedure on how to deal with individual enemies of Islam.

Abu Lahab made it his job to follow the Prophet wherever he went. He forcefully encouraged people to not listen to the Prophet, to ignore him. At times, Abu Lahab would chase and throw stones at the Prophet to stop him from spreading the message.

Yet again, there were no calls to prosecute him. No shariah law was used against him; there were no charges of sedition or death threats. Just Allah promising he and his wife will suffer in the afterlife.

Today, a simple cartoon depicting the Prophet in a wrong way can make thousands of Muslims go out of control, rioting and running amok. Some died during the madness — wasteful unnecessary deaths. It is obvious that we have failed to deliver and explain the Quran to the average Muslims.

In Malaysia, Siti’s non-tudung coloured hair or a celebrity’s tight clothing can make many Muslims go into conniptions.

A tudung-clad female politician like Nurul Izzah Anwar is not spared either. A touch-a-dog campaign caused unnecessary fear to a kind-hearted Muslim like Syed Azmi Alhabshi, who oozes love and compassion.

Have our religious leaders failed to explain the Quran and stress on the core examples and values of the Prophet? Have we failed to advise one another about patience and compassion?

Leave Siti alone; build your own iman. Siti is just a Muslim who says outright what she feels and thinks about Islam. Many others feel and think the same but do so less loudly.

Secondly, instead of having an open dialogue, have a closed one. Get to know Siti Kasim, since you are interested. See through the form; look for the substance and discover her heart.

The good Perlis mufti must remember that when Siti talks about Islam she is not paid. She earns money by being a Muslim, not preaching Islam. She earns her income through her work as a lawyer.

Siti works hard pleading here and there for funds to do good for those without power, without representation. She is not in it for the money! That is a sign of a true Muslim. The good mufti must remember, when he speaks about Islam, he is being paid. Siti is not. We need to give due recognition to those who spend their own money spreading their conviction about Islam.

Last, but not least, when you have a dialogue about Islam and the Quran with Siti Kasim, or anyone for that matter, I plead that you enter the dialogue as an equal. That is the basis of any dialogue.

Anas Zubedy is a businessman and an FMT reader.