Rudyard Kipling"
āWhen 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 soldierā
General Douglas MacArthur"
āWe are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.ā
āIt is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.ā āOld soldiers never die; they just fade away.
āThe soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and be the deepest wounds and scars of war.ā
āMay God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't .ā āThe object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.
āNobody ever defended, there is only attack and attack and attack some more.
āIt 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."
Why drag religion into anything, Mujahid? - Commander S THAYAPARAN (Retired) Royal Malaysian Navy
Thursday, August 25, 2022
Malaysiakini : This is disingenuous because Malay Muslims who do believe in secular
values, who do want to put their faith in the secular courtsā systems,
who believe in human rights for all Malaysians regardless of gender,
race or religious values, who want an end to Malay special privileges -
are the very people who the mainstream Malay political establishment
demonises on a daily basis.
This is why Amanah, as the supposedly
religious anchor of Harapan, is practically useless when it comes to an
alternative Islamic narrative in Malaysia.
It is because, like
most religious parties, they make false equivalencies the foundation of
their struggle because āNajibās peopleā are exactly the kind of people
they want.
This is why Amanah president Mohamad Sabu four years ago clearly articulated his partyās struggle between "ultra ethno-nationalists" and "hyper-liberals" in Malaysia.
Amanah president Mohamad Sabu
When
it comes to the religion of the state, my Malay-speaking activist
friends are worried that the state labelled them as deviant, which meant
they were liberal. As one young activist said (in Malay no less), how
could he be a liberal when he could not even speak English that well?
In
2019, Mohamad said the biggest challenge facing this country today āis a
clash between these two groups (with opposing views) that can drag the
country into a state of uncertaintyā. He argued that the hyper-liberals
were ābringing ideas that erode traditional elements which form the core
values of nation-building".
Secularism not alien to Malaysia
This has not changed. In fact, it has become more pronounced.
We were a progressive secular democracy before the ethno-nationalists
- not the ultra-nationalists - used race and religion to turn this
country into a so-called āmoderateā Islamic state.
Those nascent
values of secularism and egalitarianism which meant something to
nation-building were ditched by the ethno-nationalists to create
political and religious hegemony.
So, this idea that liberalism is
something new in this country is complete horse manure. All so-called
moderate Islamic operatives merely parroted the false equivalency
narratives of the then religious czar when he warned of a showdown
between the hyper-liberals and the ultra-ethno nationalists.
It is, in essence, a variation of the ādonāt spook the Malaysā narrative.
Mujahid
has claimed that he doesnāt consider "liberals" less dangerous than
"extremists''. When he was in power, he defended the ridiculously high
budget of the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim), the
agency that made people numb to the corruption and political
malfeasances around them because they believe their religious beliefs
trump everything else.
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? Welcome new ideas and
maybe what Mujahid should be doing is reject old thinking which has done
nothing but divide this country and the Malay-Muslim majority. This is
why when he has to get up, close and personal on the international
stage, he fumbles badly.
Hypocrisy galore
If
you want to understand the dodgy nature of Mujahidās arguments
regarding private and public sin, refer to an interview he gave to Malaysiakini.
According
to Mujahid, public sin is defined as a sin committed with the potential
to threaten the safety of the majority or impact accepted societal
norms. He reiterated G25ās earlier arguments that a person should only
be held accountable by Allah for their personal sins.
If
you ask me, this is all about hypocrisy being the foundation of most
religious operatives and that is why attempts to justify such fascist
ideals always fall flat. The boot of the state eventually comes down on
sinners and innocent alike.
As Merdeka Day looms, the real
struggle for the soul of this country will be between those who believe
that a secular democracy will save this country, and the religious and
racial extremists aided by their enablers and pusillanimous opponents.
