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Friday, January 16, 2009

Is UMNO or PAS more Islamic and dangerous?

Who is more Islamic and dangerous? Here are 2 person's view:

Raja Petra Kamarudin: Umno is more Islamic & dangerous than PAS. Who breaks ur temples? Who put 5 in ISA? Who declare M'sia Islamic country? Who snatch dead bodies? Who kill in police custody? Who create bumiputra? Who break family using syariah law?...Who use khalwat to spy on people? Who implement Islamic policy in schools? It is BN. For 50 yrs they brainwashed us to think that they are moderate. They are the extremists."

Jacqueline Ann Surin: "To that list, I might add that it is also under the current administration that Muslims are denied the religious freedom to choose another faith. Under this same administration, the Catholic Herald and all other non-Muslim groups are banned from using the word "Allah".

Malaysians signing a petition against the Islamic Family Law amendment, January 2006 (Pic courtesy of Ezrena)

Additionally, it was the BN government that, in late 2005, passed amendments to the Islamic Family Law that were not only grossly unjust to Muslim women but were also un-Islamic. And today, it is the BN government that is making it mandatory for Muslims to undergo flawed pre-marital HIV testing, which may even be extended to non-Muslims.

So, yes, PAS needs to be taken to task for not giving up its Islamic state agenda for a nation that was founded as a secular democracy. But, so should Umno, which, perhaps more cleverly, is less transparent about its attempts to infuse certain kinds of Islamic laws and teachings into public policy. And when these laws and teachings are contested, what's worse is that public discussion is curtailed through silencing and fear. Or sometimes, by telling concerned non-Muslims not to worry because it doesn't affect them. We should bear in mind that this is an oft-used argument both BN leaders and Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim are guilty of.

Umno may not be promoting hudud. For now. But more importantly, what is clear is that they haven't publicly opposed it, either. And, from the examples above, the Umno-led BN clearly has aspirations for an Islamic state of sorts. And I mean in a prejudiced way that perverts the more inclusive and just interpretations of all discourses "Islamic". Because I believe that Islam promotes justice, fairness and compassion as exhorted by notable Muslim organisations such as Sisters in Islam, and Muslim scholars such imam Feisal Abdul Rauf."

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