Rudyard Kipling"
“When you're left wounded on Afganistan's plains and
the women come out to cut up what remains, Just roll to your rifle
and blow out your brains,
And go to your God like a soldier”
General Douglas MacArthur"
“We are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.”
“It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.” “Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.
“The soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and be the deepest wounds and scars of war.”
“May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't .” “The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.
“Nobody ever defended, there is only attack and attack and attack some more.
“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.
The Soldier stood and faced God
Which must always come to pass
He hoped his shoes were shining
Just as bright as his brass
"Step forward you Soldier,
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To My Church have you been true?"
"No, Lord, I guess I ain't
Because those of us who carry guns
Can't always be a saint."
I've had to work on Sundays
And at times my talk was tough,
And sometimes I've been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.
But, I never took a penny
That wasn't mine to keep.
Though I worked a lot of overtime
When the bills got just too steep,
The Soldier squared his shoulders and said
And I never passed a cry for help
Though at times I shook with fear,
And sometimes, God forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.
I know I don't deserve a place
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around
Except to calm their fears.
If you've a place for me here,
Lord, It needn't be so grand,
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand."
There was silence all around the throne
Where the saints had often trod
As the Soldier waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.
"Step forward now, you Soldier,
You've borne your burden well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell."
The problem with Mujahid’s ‘moderation’ - By Commander S THAYAPARAN (Retired) Royal Malaysian Navy
Wednesday, July 11, 2018
Malaysiakini : “It needs a new face with new ideas, but everything stays in
order to improve. So, the question of doing away with Jakim has not
arisen at all.” – Mujahid Yusof Rawa
COMMENT | A recent Nancy Graham Holm article in Huffington Post, which examines the fallout from a BBC4
radio programme about ‘progressive Islam’, is worth reading because it
highlights issues that are germane to the kind of Islamic politics this
new Pakatan Harapan regime is attempting to propagate.
The man now in the Islamic hot seat is the always-charming Mujahid Yusof Rawa. In a Malay Mailinterview,
he assured people that the Department of Islamic Development (Jakim)
and its bloated budget were "vital" to the smooth running of the
government. He also claimed that under the previous administration, a
"huge" amount of the budget went into the pockets of various state-level
religious operatives for various reasons, which included Islamic
schools.
As for the think-tank under his purview, the Malaysian Islamic
Strategic Research Institute (Iksim), he said that he would consult the
Council of Rulers when he has to decide on its fate. Siti Kasim is right when she mocks
Mujahid for enabling Jakim and its huge budget, and his dodge of
getting the royalty involved when it comes to Iksim – a private
think-tank that has nothing to do with royalty. What new ideas can Mujahid bring to Jakim? If everything has to stay
in order to improve, then what is the point of new ideas anyway?
Big on rhetoric
Mujahid talks in platitudes, never in detail. His answers lack
nuance, but are big on the feel-good rhetoric some supporters lap up.
How's this for you: new ideas are welcome, and maybe what Mujahid should
be doing is rejecting old ideas which have done nothing but divide this
country and the Malay-Muslim majority.
In a series of interviews with Malaysiakini, he proclaimed many ideas that rational Malaysians want from the Islamic discourse and ministries in this country. Many were no doubt impressed with the political and religious
sentiments expressed by the head honcho of religious affairs in the
Prime Minister’s Department. However, a cursory examination of his
statements reveals that Mujahid’s rhetoric does not stand up to
scrutiny.
Let us take this statement
for instance. “When it comes to morality, that is their personal space.
But don’t publicly encourage it in the open because it then becomes an
offence under the law.”
This seems ‘reasonable’ on first reading, right? But then why do
religious authorities intrude in the personal spaces of Muslims and
non-Muslims at all? Why do religious authorities raid homes and private
establishments looking for transgressions? Is Mujahid claiming that
under this new administration, these practices would stop? Is he
claiming that Muslims would be allowed to live in peace however they
choose, as long as it is in private?
By the way, some of the things some religions consider an “offence
under the law” are upheld as human rights in functional democracies all
over the world. Some of the things Islam and other religions consider ‘haram’ or ‘sinful’ are accepted basic human rights in the rest of the democratic world.
Mujahid claims that Harapan does not want to politicise religion, but
this of course is complete horse manure. If you really did not want to
politicise religion, then you would not have to look to any kind of
Islamic jurisprudence or alternative views to justify policy decisions
you make. In his own words, he claims that in order to contemporise
Islam, he needs to look at other Islamic sources. The claim that Islam
is not partisan is ludicrous.
And that is the problem right there. PAS, for instance, in wanting
amendments to the Syariah Court (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 or Act
355, is in keeping with their ideological and religious stance.
The question, is, why hasn’t Harapan come out and declared that they
are against Act 355? If this wasn't an issue about politics – and as
Mujahid himself contends that parties that make use of racial and
religious issues are no longer relevant – then this really should not be an issue or problem for Harapan.
Change takes time?
But reality without the Kool-Aid is different. It is a reality that
demands so-called moderate Muslims – especially political operatives –
to indulge in the moderate pablum when they are actually choosing to
commit to the same kind of Islamic agendas to remain in power. Never
once do they think that the paradigm needs to be changed. Why is that?
Some Harapan political operatives and supporters knew very well what
kind of Islamic agendas were in Harapan, but chose to spread the dogma
of moderation and mock the naysayers.
Therein lies the rub. Mujahid wants an Islam that is convivial and
not confrontational. However, when a religion – any religion – is made
the religion of the state, it is, by very definition, potentially
confrontational. Non-Muslims have to understand then when it comes to
Islam in this country, secular rules of engagement do not apply.
Mujahid, for instance, does not seek counsel or guidance from a wide
range of secular knowledge that has proven beneficial to the advancement
of societies all over the world. Instead what he seeks is how to shape
his moderate views within the Islamic canon. Take the issue of unilateral conversions for instance. Sure, there
was that bill that was pulled by Umno, but there really is no need for
deeper study or alternative views on this issue in Islamic
jurisprudence. Unilateral conversion is religious kidnapping.
It is an
obscene attempt to impose a religion sanctioned by the state on a child
who has no choice. The solution is simple. Ban it. No parent can
unilaterally convert a child. Would someone like Mujahid ever say, “no parent can ever unilaterally
convert a child”? He may find it in some obscure Islamic jurisprudence,
or who knows, maybe even consult the work of the late Kassim Ahmad –
but non-Muslims would still be at the mercy of the possibility of him
finding something ‘fair’ in the Islamic canon or not finding anything at
all.
Former Umno minister Zainuddin Maidin even challenged Mujahid to close down tahfiz schools. Why not? What kind of syllabus do these schools have? Where do their teaching aids come from?
The House of Saud has admitted
that it ‘exported’ a virulent brand of Islam, and if the United
Kingdom's experience is anything to go by, then we now know that the
syllabus inspired by or from the kingdom does nothing but preach hatred
towards non-Muslims and Muslims who do not subscribe to their version of
religion, one which unfortunately has a firm grip in Malaysia.
Would Mujahid do something as revolutionary as reforming the Islamic
schools here in Malaysia? As usual, people say that change takes time.
Have we not heard this all before? Have we not heard the religious
rhetoric of moderate political operatives or religious scholars who say
change takes time? The reality is that they are merely stalling for more
time. This country and the Malay majority were not always like this.
Even something like consuming alcohol in the Muslim community has
changed. Except of course if you are rich. Does anyone remember how it
was back in the old days, before religious operatives monopolised the
way Muslims thought and behaved?
My question is simple. How can people think that Mujahid is the
reformer he claims to be when he thinks that Jakim only needs a new
face, and his new ideas came from the same source?