Back in Malaysia I have never asked myself, neither have I been asked by others why Muslims have to wear hijab, why is Muhammad our last prophet, what is the logic behind our 5-time prayers, why doesn’t Islam allow homosexuals, why can't Muslims withdraw from Islam, and many other issues pertaining Islam which non-Muslims would surely want to know. If only they could have an interfaith dialogue with us Muslims.
Too often these questions are taken for granted which results in shallow understanding of Islam among Muslims. And this could be the explanation for the staggering amount of Muslims choosing to leave the religion, or “murtad”.
It is high time for Malaysia to allow interfaith dialogue to take place. The government’s attitude of banning this type of talk, book or even movies like Fitna, are doing more harm than good to Islam. The argument that it could threaten the harmony among Muslims can no longer be sustained. The world needs to understand us as much as we need to understand the world, but they can't do that if we don't allow them to. This policy of banning such talk is backfiring us if you haven't noticed. How else could the number of “murtad” cases increased tremendously, if not for the shallow understanding of Islam among Muslims?
If young girls and boys are considered too vulnerable to such open discussions, how about university students? How about professional lawyers in the Bar Council? How about Ustaz and Ustazah, Reverend and Rabbi? Are they vulnerable and easily influenced too? Yes, interfaith talk could distort one's faith in Allah, which is why we have to actively rectify those misleading allegations that cause one's faith to be distorted. We have to present our version of the truth. Don't sweep it under the carpet, rather, face it. In the end, it will promote understanding of Islam.
Like the examples I gave above, interfaith talk encourages Muslims together along non-Muslims to understand why Allah impose certain obligations onto Muslims. It is an effective form of education where everybody learns about everyone’s religion, and not Muslims learn about Islam, Christians learn about Christianity, Buddhist learn about Buddhism and Hindus learn about Hinduism.
How can Malaysians live in harmony if there is not enough understanding between us in the first place? I can’t have a close relationship with my Indian neighbour if I don’t know that the cow is a sacred creature for the Hindus. I will be deemed to be ignorant and that is an obstruction to having a relationship of mutual respect. And the non-Muslims won’t respect Muslims if they don't understand why some Muslim women are allowed to go free hair despite Allah's command that all women should put their hijab on. And even Muslims ourselves can't respect Islam if we don’t understand why our Prophet Muhammad had 13 wives.
Religion should not be a sensitive issue. If it is, it has to be 'desensitised'. Just because there is tendency for arguments to happen, doesn't mean we should avoid discussing it in the first place. What are we afraid of? Islam is the Truth. The truth is always truthful, the liars are always afraid. A harmonious nation needs to understand each other, and only through open discussion can this understanding be present.
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religion
Posted at: 01:27 AM | Add Comment
