M & M & M

Bare with me as I write about religion (again). I'm sorry guys, when you have the television constantly flagging their brand of Islam, I do tend to stray. You knowlah, Waheeda and Bienda who prefers to cover their aurah but see nothing wrong in singing publicly. Ustazs who are more concerned on girls covering their aurah than them learning about the religion. The likes of Sister in Islam. Trivial stuff, you know?
I've been watching videos of americans, australians and british who had embraced Islam and it struck me as odd when they are embracing Islam in a wholesome manner. In a manner I have yet to experience. Being Malaysian, Malay and Muslim, it pretty hard to be definitive of the ideal Me. The ideal Rakyat. Can I just be a Malaysian Muslim. Can somebody erase Melayu in my passport and IC?
Melayu is a tribe. It's a race. And Islam trascends that, don't you think?
Imagine a simple conversation. The conversation will start with Assalamualaikum; okay, I'm a muslim. It will drift from there on to ideal gossips; okay, I' a malay and the whole context is purely Malaysian. But what if, what if I'm just a Malaysian Muslim. What if? There will be no negative malay notion implication in my presence or even embedded psychological repetition. Melayu mudah lupa. I'm not a Melayu. I'm a Muslim. And muslims learn from their mistakes. Melayu malas. I'm not a Melayu. I'm a Muslim. Islam forbids laziness. Melayu suka gossip. I'm not Melayu. I'm a Muslim. Islam forbids gossiping.
Entahla UMNO, I don't favour your Islam Hadhari or whatever you want to call it. It's so far fetched and it will make my personal obligation more lengthy and complicated. Assalamualaikum, I'm Afiq. I'm a Malay Muslim (Islam Hadhari)Malaysian.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

it's sad to think that an undergrad like you should think that hadhari is necessarily bad. just because it is politically intertwined doesn't qualify it to be an automatic evil.

if you look at it in the educational perspective, hadhari is much needed in our society today.

students like us should be able to appreciate what is of political fervor and what is of possible practical use after analysing it in an educational perspective.

mich

afiq said...

And what exactly are the steps taken to execute this islam hadhari? Cheap paperback books? Special mentions by the end of a few Islamic programmes? What?

I understood the meaning of it but I just don't see how the government applied it. Its just a re-branding stratergy. That's about all the fuss is all about. I accept is as it is and the way i see things, the approach was merely propaganda driven.

And really, the entry isn't about Islam Hadhari.

Anonymous said...

haha the young ones... always angry always shouting. i get the gist of the article, and i respect ur personal perception of how "malay" is misinterpreted in our country. therefore it wasn't necessary for me to comment on that. :) if u're really against double standard, then u would accept any type of comment, whether or not it seems to be hitting the center of your article or not. haha. so angry sampai comment pun kena 'komen'

:D mich

afiq said...

konon cool big brother-ish la tuh? The only misinterpretation here is you thinking inquiry is anger. The old ones will have to get used to the questioning of policies by the incoming generation.

That is how things are if the country wants better progress in the future. You make the mess, we clean them up but first we want to know why you made the mess in the first place.

I'm offended that u generalize me because of my age. AGE is jusy a Number bebeh.

syima said...

I like reading this entry in fact, i like reading most of your entries. You know what you are writing about and it's proven through your counter-arguments for your critics. I was browsing through my friend's page and found ur blog. keep on writing good stuffs. =)

afiq said...

aaaah, thanks. :-)

u link me i link you

fergie love you long time~

a moslem girl! said...

ola!askum

i think that covering the aurah is becoming a culture in Msia. So when it becomes a culture we associate it with the root of the culture that is Malay people and not Islam. I guess it also reflects why each day, more and more people with hijab are found to be doing misleading behaviour.Yeah they cover their heads but hey what about attitude. The same goes with those who are not covering their aurah..they fight for justice in this and that but all i see is just another bunch of people who manupulate the religion and only embrace things from Islam which they think they like, ok with, or benefit them.As a muslim, islam is a not a choice, its a way of life, we need to absorb everything..not only things that we feel like doing or 'haaa ni sesuai dgn aku'.bluek

nice entry afiq! ;)

p/s:i took me so long before i finally wore my hijab!but i pray that i wont be a part of the people whom i just described.Above all i'm just so grateful that Allah has shown me the way ;)

afiq said...

yezza, good for you sister!

Some Arabs for example wears the hijjab when they're in their country but as soon as they reached KLIA, seperti nangka terburai di tgh2 jalan. I strongly disagree with women who refused to wear the hijjab because they don't want their image to be affliated with 'veiled hypocrisy'.

Cakap jelah I'm not ready.. Kan senang~

mirul said...

i must say people in terengganu don't really support him just for the sake of hadhari thingy.

they just want a friggin mcdonald to be opened there so that they can eat mcsundae everyday.

hate the fact that dad is working with them, really.

mirul lagi said...

and mich, i'd really like to pick your brain by you putting your blog link alongside your comment n not just hiding behind an anonymous veil.

afiq said...

mich doesn't have a blog. She's a law student from UIA.

I don't know lah, but I'm not convinced that Malaysia will become a progressive muslim country, not with Najib on the throne. Seriously, a keris wielding PM is scary. Anwar, whoa.... cannot imaginela.. KJ! alamak apa nak jadi nih. Semua future PM ni businessman jek. None of them are interested in revolutizing Malaysia.

syima said...

i have linked u =)

mirul said...

imho, we need someone like khomenei. i stress, IMHO.

afiq said...

yeah... syima roxxxx!

xxeemm said...

I like to see myself as a Muslim Malaysian Malay. We tend to forget religion transcends nationality and race.

I don't mind them not wearing the hijab if their not ready. It's the fact that most of em wear it while kissing and cuddling in parks that makes me fume. Nifaq dah banyak berlaku.

Diran said...

what you said is so true in your entry and you comments. But i dont agree in wearing the hijab in the sense of hijab or burqa or purda. Although i am not a Malay but I am Muslim. And leaving in the SEA part of the world, Muslims here wear the tudung with many different stles, by state and countries. The thing is more and more Malay muslims associate themselves with the Arab culture hence loosing their own Malay culture. Why that?Islam is all about embracing a new culture and its a way of life?Just because it started from the Middle East it doesnt mean women have to wear that. What next, all man should be walking around in robes and turbans?

Hoshiko said...

i agree with you statement. malay is just a race and religion is far beyond any race in the world. im stood by the quote, im a muslim but im not malay thingy. so many negatives are asssociated with malays this days..perhaps when you take out the 'y' from the malays...they become malas :) anyways i dont think i originally malay tho...i considered myself as just asian :)

reader said...

HAH! I'm Malaysian, Muslim and NOT MALAY but just because I'm Malaysian Muslim I'm considered a Malay? I don't get it.

I'm freaking chinese yo!