Dr. Asri, peace be with you.
I write to highlight that your recent posting on Facebook
about me has instigated many Muslims, especially the young, to be angry and become
more radical in their behavior. Initially, as it was posted by an ‘admin’, I
did not think that such a posting, which was clearly lacking in context and
nuance, was done with your knowledge, let alone approval; given your well-respected
position as a Mufti. I waited a day before reacting, writing and sending you a
comment, thinking that you will take it down.
Today more than a week later, you have yet to take any action.
In fact, you have failed to caution your followers against taking laws into
their own hands and to work within the constitution. You have also not taken
the initiative to advise them to stay calm and to not post offensive remarks,
not just about me, but also about people of other faiths and their religious
beliefs. As a result, hundreds of remarks and shares have been recorded. This
does not include viral sharing and offshoots that your post has triggered – one
of which, Daily News 24h (https://www.facebook.com/dnews.fun/),
alleged that I was giving ‘AMARAN’ to Muslims not to use cows as sacrifice this
Aidil Adha. This is tantamount to fitnah.
Based on the above, I have come to believe that the posting was
done with your consent and authorisation.
Thus, this
letter.
There are four main reasons why the Facebook posting have had
an instigating effect to anger and radicalise our fellow Muslims, especially
the young.
1.
The
timing of the posting which was right after my appeal to Brother Zakir Naik to
voluntarily leave Malaysia, acted as a catalyst to further anger many Muslims
who are already unhappy with the appeal. I do wonder what prompted you to post
that out of the blue in the first place, or, was this part of an overall plan? I
find this as a ‘fitnah’ towards me but that is between you and Allah and
the law of the country; as such I do not want to delve deeper into it here.
2.
The
posting was designed with a malicious insinuation to make readers question my
faith.
3. The
posting provided an incomplete picture of my article about the subject matter
of concern. By not providing the context of the final statement that was
derived from my article, the readers could not see the real deeper intentions
and were made to feel angrier than they would.
4.
You
and by extension your followers, have failed to grasp the fact that my article was
not about cow’s meat per se. Rather, it is about having empathy while caring
about and understanding the sensitivities of others; Muslims included.
IT IS NOT ABOUT COW’S MEAT, BUT BUILDING A BETTER, UNITED AND
CARING MALAYSIA
“Who listen [closely] to all that is said, and follow the
best of it: [for] it is they whom God has graced with His guidance, and it is
they who are [truly] endowed with insight!”
Quran 39:18
Perhaps it is good if I unpack the posting I wrote in April
2017. The article is not about cows but about having empathy, while caring about
and understanding the sensitivities of others. Such tolerance and sensitivities
should be extended to all, including our Muslims brethren.
It is just like during Friday Jumaat prayers, Church Sundays,
Thaipusam, Wesak day, Chinese Ghost Month festival etc. – when we double or at
times triple park, bend traffic laws, allow fellow Malaysians to block our
usual traffic paths and so on. In such instances it is not about parking and
traffic laws. We do not have to do it that all the time, just at certain times
when it is most appropriate. More importantly, it is about finding common
ground; allowing one party the space they need during the particular period,
without inconveniencing the other too much in the process.
My article was written with the intention of achieving our
first and fourth cita-cita Rukun Negara which reads as follow;
· “achieving a more perfect unity
amongst the whole of her society,” and
· “guaranteeing a liberal approach
towards her rich and varied cultural traditions”
It seeks to help us move closer to our Vision 2020 first
goal, “Malaysia can be a united nation, with a confident
Malaysian society, infused by strong moral and ethical values, living in
a society that is democratic, liberal and tolerant, caring, …”
It is about being conscious of the other. It is about doing
good; extending common courtesy and sacrificing some minor conveniences. In
fact, you can even say that it is a korban in and on itself. Furthermore,
the Quran at Al Haj verse 37 reminds us that,
“[But bear in mind:] never does their
flesh reach God, and neither their blood: it is only your God-consciousness
that reaches Him. It is to this end that We have made them subservient to your
needs, so that you might glorify God for all the guidance with which He has
graced you. And give thou this glad tiding unto the doers of good”
Quran 22:37
With that in mind, I hope your followers and you can read the
posting, which I am reproducing below, in a new light and with an open heart.
Before reading it, let us all be prompted as to who our Prophet was;
“And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad],
except as a mercy to the worlds.”
Quran 21:107
“HINDUS,
THE COW AND MUSLIMS.
I stopped
eating beef in 1985 on my 21st birthday although my favorite makan then was Mc
Donalds Quarter Pounder with Cheese.
I was
trying to convince my college to stop serving beef to respect the Hindus as we
do not serve pork at the university. Since I did not managed to convince them,
I decided I should start with myself. So since then not only I do not eat beef,
it is also a policy not to serve them at my office functions, at the office or
at home. Since these are within my area of control. I have not taken beef for
32 years.
I have
Hindu friends who have many Malay friends who avoid pork too. That is the
beauty of Malaysia.
I have
many non-Muslims- Chinese and Indian friends who avoids going to non-halal
makan places when I am in the picture. That is the beauty of Malaysia.
For
Malaysia to succeed we need to practice empathy.
I humbly
suggest to all my Muslim brothers and sisters to stop serving beef at all
functions within our control even if only one Hindu is present.
We must
also try to avoid korban lembu during Raya Haji. Korban other animals.
I do not
recommend these across the world. But for Malaysia, this is the way forward.
Peace.
Anas”
InshaAllah, both you and your followers will reframe your
hearts and minds and see the wisdom of this call.
AN
EXAMPLE OF A RADICALISED YOUNG MUSLIM
The misinformation on your post drew hundreds of vile
comments not only towards me but also the Hindu community. These can be seen
not just on our respective Facebook pages, but also on numerous postings that
have gone viral in the last one week. There are those who suggested that I
should be beaten up or dealt with in many other appalling ways. There are even calls
for Saudara YB Lim Kit Siang and I to be sembelih and used as korban
instead – linking your post to the Zakir Naik question.
I do not want to list these angry and hateful comments here,
you can read them for yourself. But I would like to give an example that I
believe should make us concern about our country and where its heading.
A young man with a small family wrote a warning to me indicating
that one of these days I would be walloped by ‘somebody’s’ hands. Not his hands
perhaps, but whose hands, we have yet to find out. He mentioned that I should
be careful. As I noticed that unlike others, he was using his own account, I
decided to engage with him. I asked him to be mindful of his actions and to consider
his family and child, as if anything were to happen to him, i.e. if he were
jailed, it would be a great loss to his family.
He then wrote a direct personal message inviting me for
‘coffee’. When I suggested he can join any of my future gatherings, like the
#LetsReadTheQuran campaign, he declined, saying instead that he will find and
give me a ‘surprise gift’ soon.
Now, this is a decent thirty-something Muslim Malaysian, who
is likely a loving father and husband who works hard for his family. He is probably
someone who will go the extra mile to earn more to buy his daughter better food,
books, dresses and take his family on a lovely holiday. He is possibly
respectful to his parents and a filial son; a good friend to many and a
productive citizen.
Yet, posts such as yours can radicalise him; making him
forget what is truly important to him and his family and encouraging him to act
in a dysfunctional manner. This is not the behaviour of a real Malaysian. This
is not the Malaysian that we want either. Real Malaysians are masters of social
cohesion, compromise and understanding.
By putting up such a post, and not stopping nasty and
wrongful comments, we are enabling extremism to thrive. We are seen as expressing
approval, support for, or use of violence and intimidation as methods of
achieving changes in society or encouraging others to perform such acts.
Neither you, nor I or anyone for that matter, should post any comments that produce
such a culture.
We need to be extremely mindful of our actions on social
media. A fitnah or a simple misinformation can go viral and snowball
into something even bigger and with stronger consequences. From a religious
standpoint, the dosa from one social media fitnah is multiplied by the
number of times it is repeated as it goes viral, compounded by the twisting of
facts the further the viral information goes. I respectfully suggest, as a
Mufti who has considerable influence with the masses, it would be best if you
be extremely careful with what is posted on your social media pages or on your
behalf.
HOW YOU CAN HELP DERADICALISE THEM AND CALM THE SITUATION
The situation between you and I can be dealt with separately.
You will be contacted in due time. A report with the Malaysian Communications
and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has also been lodged.
For now, I would like to focus on your followers. In my
opinion, you owe it to them to make things right. Although not exhaustive, here
are eight (8) recommendations.
1.
Immediately
take down the post and advise all your followers who have copied and shared it
to do the same. Ask, advice and plead to all others like the news media and
social media who piggy-ride on the misinformation from your post to follow suit.
I.e. Daily News 24h.
2.
Admit
that you were wrong to allow the post and those terrible comments and for going
along with them for more than a week, causing it to go viral and snowball into an
even deeper fitnah – instigating them to be angry and getting some to be
radicalised.
3.
Impress
upon them that violence is not our way. Request with all your heart that they
must not take laws into their own hands and avoid ill-mannered, rude and
threatening comments not just at this instance, but at all times.
4.
Agree
that my message could have been better read and understood as it is not about
cow’s meat but about empathy, understanding, being sensitive to one another in
order to build a more inclusive and united Malaysian society. Promote give and
take, not just from Muslims to Muslims but Muslims to Non-Muslims too.
5.
Apologise
for making a mountain out of a mole-hill. Even if my article was about cow’s
meat, ‘dari segi hukum Islam” I did not do anything wrong and there is no
need to go to the point of questioning my faith. “Dari segi hukum” I did
not mengharamkan apa yang halal in any way– beef, but suggested that we
avoid serving them at certain occasions only. Tell them, dari segi hukum
it is not a must to korban only cows, we can and are allowed to use
other animals, too. And stressed that, dari segi hukum, what I have
suggested is in no way haram. There is absolutely not a need to say that
I am not Muslim for this recommendation.
6.
One
of the main backlashes from your post is that your followers are infuriated
that I wanted to ‘please’ the non-Muslims instead of the other way around – due
to the incomplete picture painted by your post. Explain to them that if we are
serious about following the Prophet, we need to recognise, celebrate and accept
unreservedly that in the Medina Charter, non-Muslims are considered “Ummah
Wahidah” or “One Single Community” with the Muslims. This Charter was
formalised after the emigration to Medina, when the Prophet entered into a
peaceful agreement with various non-Muslim Arab tribes. The Prophet maintained
his commitment to the philosophy of “Ummah Wahidah” with non-Muslims and stayed
true to the agreement until his death.
Similarly, in our Malaysian
constitution, we are Ummah Wahidah with all the non-Muslims Malaysian citizens
and we must see them as equally important, equally Malaysian. You may want to
add that in keeping true to his pledge, the Prophet launch a punitive military
operation against the Meccans which led to the fall of Mecca. This was a
reaction to the Meccans attacking a non-Muslim tribal ally in blatant violation
of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah.
7.
Impress
upon them that our Prophet is a Prophet of Peace. Tell them that according to
historians, in his 23 years of Prophethood, actual fighting was only 3 days.
That should give us an indication about the Quran and the Prophet’s position on
fighting. The Prophet avoided the opportunity to fight at every instance
possible to keep peace and minimise the loss of lives. He is willing to sign a one-sided
agreement that favours the other side in order to secure peace. It is ok to
give in a little for the greater goal of peace. His focus was on building
people, the economy and the nation. Getting violent, beating up people and
acting in a threatening way should not be an option.
8.
Last
but not least, apologize to your followers for allowing your social media
platform to lead them astray. Convince them that you will be more careful next
time.
WHAT
NEXT?
“Our future depends on how well many
different kinds of people can live and work together”
“We are all Malaysians. This is the
bond that unites us. Let us remember that unity is our fundamental strength as
a people and as a nation”
Tunku Abdul Rahman, Bapa Malaysia
As a Muslim with high hopes in Islam and a Muslim renewal, I
respectfully urge you to reframe your role of Mufti as one of the strongest
catalysts and leader in achieving the cita-cita Rukun Negara. I know and
hear many of your brother Muftis are working hard to help bring not just
Muslims together but also the nation as a whole; bridging people of various
faith and background as Malaysians.
But to unite everyone regardless of race, background and
faith, we must trust the Quran and the Prophet with all our hearts and minds.
We must follow the Prophet’s example and be one with our non-Muslim brethren as
“Ummah Wahidah”.
That should
be our first step. We can do this. But first, we must not radicalize our young.
Peace.
Anas Zubedy
Malaysian
Movement for Moderates
NOTE : A BM VERSION
WILL BE OUT SOON
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