YOURSAY | ‘Allah’ row in Malaysia’s culture war

 

YOURSAY | ‘PAS, Umno and their ilk are using this issue as a political tool to garner support.’

Umno, PAS want ruling on Islamic words referred to Court of Appeal

BusinessFirst: For hundreds of years, people of other religions have been using these words. These Arabic words are used by Arab Christians then and are still being used today. Only PAS, Umno and their ilk are using this as a political tool to garner support.

I think that in the case of multi-racial, multi-cultural and multi-religious countries like Malaysia where freedom of religion is granted by the Constitution, playing on racial and religious matters should be a no-no. It is dangerous, like playing with fire in a room filled with gunpowder.

The authorities' failure to crack down on extremists for political gain has emboldened these extremists who will continue playing up these sentiments. This will divide the country even more and lead us down a dark path.

I read the commentators on the Harry and Meghan saga and it was said that one of the reasons the British press is racist in its coverage of the duchess is because over 90 percent of the press members are white so there is no diversity of views.

This argument could also be applied in Malaysia where our top leaders are also largely of the same race and religion that it becomes an echo chamber with no diversity of views of other religions and races.

Hence, things that are obvious and taken to be true around the world, such as ratifying the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Icerd) and the use of the term ‘God’ in Arabic, can be such big issues in Malaysia.

Malaysia, in my opinion, if it continues down this path, will be a failed state. My prayer is that moderation, pragmatism, competence and honesty will be restored in government and politics, and for extremists who seek to divide us to be consigned to the dustbin of history.

We can start by applying the laws on sedition fairly.

IndigoKite6964: This is one reason why a Malay-only government is dysfunctional. They don't see racial diversity as a strength because they cannot control the others with religion. It just doesn’t work because the others see religion as a personal choice.

In Malaysia, this will not do. Why do you think these political parties are fighting among themselves? Each proclaims that they are champions of their race and religion, and each is saying the other is not. They are fighting for a literally captive audience and votes.

In fact, they are fighting so much that they had forgotten that we, non-Malays and non-Muslims, exist… until this court case, when they become friends again to fight a ‘common threat’.

Kambing Senyum: Umno and PAS must appeal against this High Court decision. If they don’t appeal, how can they get Muslim votes in the 15th general election (GE15)?

If they don’t support the court appeal, the Muslims will think they don’t fight for Islamic supremacy in Malaysia. Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin will also support the appeal and so will PKR president Anwar Ibrahim. They all want to show they are pro-Islam.

If they don’t fight for the appeal, it will be like DAP not fighting for the Chinese. This is basic politics a la Donald Trump's America.

DalvinK: Why are we acting like we need to make certain Arabic words exclusive to a certain group of people?

Why not consult the Arab nations - where people listen, write and speak Arabic the majority of the time? Do they face issues or confusion for non-Muslims to use those words?

Newday: While not wishing to offend Malaysian conservative Islamic views, this is really much ado about nothing.

The world’s most populous Islamic nation - Indonesia - does not have this restriction. Neither does Saudi Arabia, Egypt and other Islamic nations.

By perpetuating this divide of words, you maintain and reinforce these divisions. God is Allah, Allah is God. Remember that and move on.

Mano: There is a Hindu song where Ragubathi Raja Ram praises Lord Siva with the words, "Ishwara Allah, therey nam." I believe Sikhs also use the word "Allah".

So how, Umno and PAS? We have been using this word for so long, probably even before Islam came to Malaysian shores?

Dr Suresh Kumar: @Mano, I wrote this same thing many years ago when the ‘Allah’ issue was first ignited.

Yes, the Sikhs use the word “Allah” too in their holy scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib.

By the way, “Iswara” is another name for Lord Shiva and we have a national car called Proton Iswara. Ironic indeed!

RR: On one hand, top leaders of PAS and Umno talk of unity and on the other hand, they continue with their political philosophy of separatism of race and religion.

When we are stressing national unity, it is ridiculous to appeal against the recent High Court decision on the "Allah" issue. This strategy has only one purpose - getting votes for GE15.

BobbyO: These words have been used by many different communities or religions living in the Middle East for generations.

There has not been much friction or disagreement over the issue of word usage over these thousands of years. Not only in the Middle East, but in the many nations of the world where Islam has a large number of believers.

Yet in this tiny nation, there have been many issues raised, especially concerning religion. Even God has not been spared by these politicians in their attempt to gain supporters.

The God that created this universe, left billions of stars and planets floating in the sky, who created the wind, seas, animals and humans, needs to be protected?

It is time to move on. The nation is in serious trouble due to the economic crash. The people need to be protected from further damage done by the Covid-19 virus, which is showing that it is not going to go away anytime soon. There is so much work to be done.

Yet these politicians seem to find time for issues that will create more division among the people.

They should instead bring the people closer to one another – it is through working together that we can help to solve these problems faster. - Mkini