Religion and fascism

Indeed, what this demonstrates is that the idea of kafir is used by the religious class to divide and rule, and enabled by the political class to do the same.

There is no basis in reality for such divisions, but rather, it is a convenient political and religious tool to keep marginalising the majority from minorities.

However, in this interpretation of the doctrine, we came to understand what exactly kafir zimmi means.

Being not opposed to Islam means self-censoring. It also means that religious operatives get to say anything they want about other religions, but the kafir zimmi sublimates his or her feelings about those insults because it is part of the social contract between the “pak turuts” and the religious ruling class, to borrow an idea from Hadi. This is the definition of fascism.

The heady taste of Malay/Muslim rule has got so intoxicating that a PAS political operative stated in March this year that the party with the help of its allies (Bersatu and Umno) needed to win a two-thirds majority and “... the electoral boundaries need to be changed to benefit Muslims. We also need to increase the number of parliamentary seats in Malay-majority areas."

In a political terrain such as this, is it any wonder why some folks could be termed “Islamophobic”?

Mind you, if there was a strict separation between policies which affect Muslims and non-Muslims, and there was empirical evidence to support such a position, then non-Malays would not have a fear of Islam.

Instead, the rules that apply to Muslims "only" have always touched non-Muslims and defined our economic, social and political realities.

And religious operatives have no problem when it comes to using Western liberal ideas like freedom of religion when it comes to justifying their doctrine and ditching it when it is convenient.

Take the donning of the hijab for instance. When it comes to donning the hijab in the workplace, religious operatives grab the loudspeaker and chant about freedom of religion.

But when it comes to the choice of not wearing the hijab, religious operatives clamp down on any idea supportive of this choice.

You read all these comments from the average rakyat and political operatives about how non-Muslims should not comment about Islam but nary a word when it comes to religious provocations by Muslims.

What does it say about the state of religious freedom in this country, when someone like Hadi can be dismissed by other Malay political operatives as “extreme” but the reality is that the state and the religious apparatus of this country conform to Hadi’s narrative of Islam?

The real danger in any kind of theocracy is that sooner rather than later, self-censorship for the pak turuts will not be enough.