Of ‘True’, Semi and Should-be Muslims

Being a mother of four children, a practicing born Muslim and a Malay, the case of Revathi or Siti Fatimah just strikes me as a symptom that something is drastically wrong in how Islam is understood in
Malaysia today. While Islam preaches tolerance and no compulsion, authorities gave approval for families to be separated and for bodies to be reclaimed in the name of Islam. There is a toddler out there who misses her parents and will not understand why she was taken away. In the case of the husband who converted to Islam, the non-Muslim mother may lose custody of both her children, a three-year old and a two-year old, if their custody is decided by a Syariah court., even though she is not a Muslim.  The authorities advocating these actions seem to be ignorant of the Prophet Muhammad’s stand on tolerance  (/www.islamreligion.com/category/73/) and non-Muslim rights as stated clearly in his Saying :   “Beware!  Whoever is cruel and hard on a non-Muslim minority, or curtails their rights, or burdens them with more than they can bear, or takes anything from them against their free will; I (Prophet Muhammad) will complain against the person on the Day of Judgment.” (Abu Dawud) 

Issues involving a hint of apostasy and religion are latched on as a hero-making device for the self-righteous everywhere. After all, solving it is easier and more sensational than a critical review of the Islamic Religious Education curriculum being taught in schools which piles on rules, rituals and exhortation at the expense of understanding and internalisation. Now, sending a Should-Be Muslim into a rehabilitation centre, that currency, in this world and the Hereafter, right? Support from Muslims whether urban or rural, educated or uneducated can definitely be counted on, unless of course, one is a liberal Muslim. They should be discounted after all they are can be categorized as Semi-Muslims who seem to pick and choose which part of Islam they are willing to practice and dare to to question Islamic practices of polygamy and wearing the veil.  The liberal sounding Mufti of Perlis should not be really taken seriously, after all he seems to have political affiliations. (Of course, we must keep a lookout for Straying Muslims even if infringes on their privacy, so what if Caliph Umar was reprimanded for doing so and he humbly admitted his mistake, we are better Muslims??)   The ‘True’ Muslim, the born, practicing Muslim on the other hand are of course conservative and practice the Islamic Way of Life. They would never question such key practices as polygamy, the veil, women’s chastity and the necessity of an Islamic State. After all, a multi-religious approach towards managing social ills would never be as effective as an Islamic approach to anything ( never mind that Muslims were exhorted to search for knowledge wherever it can be found even as far as China – ironic that it still hold true till today !) Those Should-Be Muslims are an affront to their sensibilities and must be brought back to the Right Path. Their blinkered view seems to prevent them from considering the treatment of apostates in other Muslim communities as the Malaysian way is undoubtedly correct – we are not talking about effectiveness only correctness. 

If what happened to Revathi was reversed i.e Siti Fatimah was brought up as Muslim but was asked to convert to another religion to marry and then separated from her husband and child to relearn the teachings of another religion – well, that’s another Natrah case in the making (http://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natrah).  The irony of the ‘true’ Muslim is that they too select which parts of Islamic thought and teachings of Muhammad that they want to adhere to and internalize. That in my book also makes them Semi-Muslims though I’m sure many would object most vociferously. What if the non-Muslim parents who gave their children up for adoption to Muslim families now want to claim them and their grandchildren and make them convert? What will we do then? Go to court? Hide them? Or just shrug our shoulders and say, “They can’t do anything, they have no power – no court, no authority in
Malaysia will send a Muslim adult and her child back to a non-Muslim family”. 

Therein lies the rub. How is it we can do unto others what we would never allow onto ourselves? A continuing double standard will erode public faith in our systems and may encourage more and more religious spats which may result in an atmosphere of deep suspicion and paranoia among Muslims and non-Muslims. Hardly the best way to foster unity and integration on the 50^th  year of
Malaysia’s independence. Muslims must stop this constant need to look outwards as  to why there are people leaving Islam, but to look inside critically at that is done to help themselves as Muslims and their non-Muslim brethren understand what Islam is truly all about – its Spirit, not only its rituals. In truth, no one wants to be judged how religious or unreligious they are for that in truth is between the person and his God. So what makes a True Muslim? Perhaps he or she is someone who believes that funeral rites of whatever religion, would not part a soul from His Maker. How a soul is received by His Maker, depends on what sort of person he was like in his lifetime, not whether he was buried or cremated. For God is All-Forgiving, All-Knowing and All-Compassionate… Or someone who believes that living in harmony with their fellow man is more important than “whose religion is better?” arguments… Maybe someone who internalizes the meaning of  “Bismillahirahmannirahim – In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful” and translate that in how they live their life, how they raise their families, carry out their responsibilities and interact harmoniously with their fellow man and environment. Would that be a “True’ Muslim? 

Let us listen to voices of reason among us and step back from the pulpit of emotionalism and tunnel vision to a common platform of tolerance, mutual understanding and respect. A deeper knowledge of what each other’s beliefs and a stand to stop using religion as an instrument of control and conformity. Arrogance and religions do not mix well and should be mutually exclusive. Look and learn from Muslim minorities and majorities all over the world.  Let us stop chasing and judging and start working and learning from each other – the True, the Semi, the Should-Be and the Non! Better still, throw away the labels and see each other as people with hopes, fears, loves and beliefs..