Have a meaningful Aidilfitri - Thursday in The STAR

The Japanese scholar who completed the first direct translation of the Qur'an from Arabic to Japanese and contributed much to Islamic scholarship.

-Toshihiku Izutsu (1914-1993)

Back to basics: Let us be inclusive.

Every religion, spiritual tradition, and culture has a combination of universal principles and confined narrow local settings.

The former comprises of shared values that speaks to man as man and stand the test of time and location; like helping the poor, be good to parents, love thy neighbour, be courteous, be just, be righteous. These are values that embrace the world.

The latter involves rites and rituals that may differ even within people from the same religion or spiritual traditions like how to pray, cleanse oneself, dress, eat. Rites and rituals are painted by indigenous past, myth and symbols that are likely to attract the emotions of only those who share the same history.  

Shared values stress on substance while the other focuses on its form. Shared values promote inclusiveness, while the other cannot but be exclusive.

Our beautiful Malaysia is blessed with a mosaic of religion, spiritual traditions, and culture inside a small corner of the world within the 3S - Semenanjung, Sabah and Sarawak. 

We have the unique gift to experience, share, and see what is universal and what is local on a day-to-day basis. We have learned to appreciate what is local and cement our ties with the universal. To stay united we must choose to pay attention to what is universal, choose to be inclusive.

When we practice inclusiveness, we enrich our shared values even more. When we practice inclusiveness, we vibrantly colour our interactions with each other. When we practice inclusiveness, we exemplify true faith to the rest of the world.

That is Malaysia’s calling, we can do it. Let us be inclusive!

At zubedy, our programs draw strength from shared values and traditions. We believe that at heart, all Malaysians want good things for themselves and for their brother and sister Malaysians, simply because our nation cannot prosper as a whole if some of us are left behind.

Let us be, first and foremost, Malaysians.

Let us add value,

Have A Meaningful Aidilfitri