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."
If anyone does not
understand why the prime minister presiding over the conversion of a
Hindu youth is so controversial, here is the context of his action.
We live in a country where non-Muslims are banned from using certain words, we live in a country where there are cases of non-Muslim children being unilaterally converted and kidnapped, we live in a country where non-Muslims are warned not to disturb Muslim rights when advocating their democratic rights and social justice.
We live in a country where non-Muslim economic endeavours are curtailed because of Muslim piety, we live in a country where in some states, non-Muslim places of worship are subject to restrictions on who can enter.
We
live in a country where non-Muslim religions are mocked by celebrity
preachers, we live in a country where non-Muslims are often demonised and used as scapegoats by political operatives and political elites, we live in a country where non-Muslims are told that we are not citizens but rather “pendatang”.
So,
when the current prime minister presided over the conversion of this
Hindu youth, he was in fact representing the religious reality that
non-Muslims face in this country. He was not merely welcoming a new
convert into the religion, he was reinforcing religious narratives.
Time to ask real questions
And
yes, this is all about optics. What does it say to the Hindu community -
or even the Indian community - when the prime minister of this country
presides over the conversion of a Hindu youth, while mothers are
battling in the courts to get their children back, are suing the state
security apparatus to do their jobs and dealing with the religious
bureaucracy who are hampering their efforts to reconcile with their
children?
This idea that converting in this country does not come with some
state and non-state-sponsored benefits is something that is often
overlooked in these conversion debates.
Nobody wants to have that
conversation because to do so would invite religious groups to lodge
police reports that claimed you were disrespecting the Muslim faith.
Malaysian
Advancement Party president P Waythamoorthy asked: “So, the question
that is being asked is why now, after becoming the prime minister. Many
ask if the prime minister is trying to prove he is a greater Muslim than
PAS and Perikatan Nasional by being the first prime minister to have
conducted a ritual to welcome a ‘saudara baru’.”
Even PAS
president Abdul Hadi Awang has not publically presided over a
conversion ceremony. Who knows, maybe Anwar will start a trend.
Former Penang deputy chief minister P Ramasamy
P
Ramasamy said: “It is time for Indians and others to think about their
future in the country. Can you believe that Anwar will lead the
non-Malays from their current frustration and difficult situation?”
With
all due respect to Ramasamy, the real question that Indians and others
have to think about is, do non-Muslims have a future in this country?
