Highly worthwhile reading article from a Muslim - Raja Petra

Let’s look at reality
Wednesday, 26 August 2009 16:42

There are some very upset people in Malaysia who feel that Islam is being challenged or that non-Muslims, plus some Muslims, do not respect Islam and whatnot. These are people who always think that if you disagree with them then you are insulting Islam and/or need to go and learn more about Islam. Let’s look at reality -- and then let’s argue till the cows come home.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

The entertainment industry is said to be the largest industry in the world. That actually took me by surprise because I had initially thought that the arms industry was the largest. So it appears that making love is more profitable than making war after all.

Now, when I say ‘entertainment’, I am talking about more than just movies and music. Theme parks, holiday resorts, tour packages, casinos, discos (which serves as the market for designer drugs), night clubs, cabarets, bars, pubs, prostitution, and all those other activities which allow you to ‘let your hair down’, relax, enjoy yourself, have a good time, and so on, come under the classification of ‘entertainment industry’.

Just list down all those things banned in Saudi Arabia, home to Islam’s two Holy Cities, and that would come under the category of entertainment. The Saudi ulamak reluctantly allowed TV to be introduced into the Kingdom (after much pressure from the ruling elite) but only for religious programs and news, not for entertainment purposes. In that sense, anything that Saudi has banned can be regarded as un-Islamic, according to the strict Saudi interpretation (who argue that that is true Islam). And this would include everything under the entertainment industry category.

For that matter, general elections are also ‘banned’ in Saudi Arabia. Would, therefore, elections be regarded as un-Islamic since there was no such thing during the time of the Prophet Muhammad as well as during the Islamic Empire headed by the Caliphs -- until the collapse of the Ottoman Empire less than 100 years ago? And since PAS participates in this ‘Christian’-created Westminster system of parliament and general elections can PAS be considered as being involved in un-Islamic activities?

Yes, that is certainly food for thought is it not?

Going by the standards set by Saudi Arabia, the country regarded as the home of the Prophet Muhammad and the centre for Islam, it seems like only the Jews observe true Islamic teachings. And is it not also ironical that some of the best entertainers in the world (actors, actresses, singers, etc.) are Jews? This certainly represents a contradiction of sorts.

So, what, therefore, would make one a true Muslim? Would the banning of beer and the punishing of Muslims who drink beer be the proper Islamic thing to do, as many seem to think so? Or do we need to do more than that if we really want to become a true Muslim? This is the dilemma faced by Muslims and which was the point of my previous article: Go all the way or no way (http://mt.m2day.org/2008/content/view/26055/84/).

Some Muslims think I am defending the sale of beer and oppose the ban and punishment of those who drink beer. This is not the point at all. The point I am making is we appear to be preoccupied with a mosquito bite when the patient is suffering from terminal cancer and just had a massive heart attack on top of that.

Why worry about something not life threatening when the patient is about to die? Forget about the itch on the finger when the toes have been eaten away by gangrene.

I have written about this issue so many times and I am sure by now many, Muslims in particular, are quite tired of reading about the same thing. But how can I stop harping on this same issue when we have people who still fail to grasp what the real issue is?

Below are extracts of two reports concerning the liquor industry and the problem it represents to Malaysia. What I want to stress is that the liquor industry is a huge industry and Malaysia ranks among the top ten in the world. And do you know how much tax the government earns from this (plus of course from tobacco and cigarettes which are equally haram according to many Muslim scholars)?

Okay, what happens to these taxes earned? It goes into the government coffers -- and we are talking about a huge amount of money here.

Next question: what does the government do with this money? It is used, of course. The government pays the salary of one million civil servants (more than 90% who are Muslims). The government builds roads, schools, hospitals and whatnot (which are used by all Malaysians, more than half who are Muslims).

So, how far are the Muslims prepared to go? Do they really want to be true Muslims? Do they really want to see sin and vices eradicated? Are they prepared to totally ban all forms of entertainment (liquor, beer and cigarettes being just part of it) that go against Islamic teachings? Are Muslims prepared to do what Saudi Arabia is doing to keep the country ‘pure’? And this would include a ban on interest-bearing loans and credit cards.

It is embarrassing when Muslims scream and shout about the issue of beer (or about the issue of a group called MLTR that sing tame love songs no different from Malaysia’s own Muslim singers such as Sharifah Aini, Sudirman, Siti Nurhaliza, etc. -- who they do not ask to also be banned). And when we express opinions that contradict theirs they scream about how we are insulting Islam, have no respect for Islam, should go and learn more about Islam, and whatnot.

Understand one thing, when we argue about a minor issue (and beer is a minor issue) while we tolerate the much larger problem we look like hypocrites.

The day one million Malay-Muslim civil servants throw in their resignation letters and refuse to continue working for the Malaysian government until the government stops earning tax money from haram activities would be the day I join my fellow Muslims in demanding that all forms of haram activities be banned.

Why are we so uptight about what others do? They want to drink then that is their business. It is between them and God. But if we earn a salary from taxes earned from haram activities then that would become our business. That would be when we should start getting upset.

But somehow that does not upset Muslims. They are not concerned that all these haram activities earn big money for the country and which goes to pay their salaries and develop the country with facilities that they also enjoy. They are not concerned that they are ‘partners’ in haram money. They are only concerned about what others do.

The Malay proverb about being able to see a germ across the ocean but not being able to see an elephant in front of your face rings true here.

That is the point in my whole argument.