International headlines: Fall of the pharoah; Mubarak steps down
After 18 days of revolt, Egyptians around the world rejoiced as Hosni Mubarak finally gave in to his people's will and stepped down as president, handing over power to the military on Friday. The announcement was made by vice president Omar Suleiman; which was a contradiction to Mubarak's earlier speech the day before in which he said that he would be remaining in power till September when a "peaceful transition" will take place.
Despite the people's victory, this is by no means the end of the sruggle. If anything, this is only the beginning of a slow and painful reformation process for the country's political system. As we have witnessed during the ousting of Suharto in Indonesia and Thaksin Sinawatra in Thailand, there will be many challenges ahead. For starters, every single person responsible for the violent attacks during the demonstrations need to be brought to justice. Besides that, the interim government should also start taking measures to undo the various wrongs done during Mubarak's tenure in order to stabilize and improve the economy. Also, having the country under military control, depending on the situation, might prove to be a worse option, as we have seen in Thailand during the coup.
Regardless of the challenges ahead, the affects of Mubarak's resignation has affected his people psychologically. For the first time in 30 years they feel liberated and hopeful. Of course the optimism is not shared by all walks of life. The rich, particularly the ones that benefited from Mubarak's regime are preparing for the worse, as they would probably have a lot to lose.
Putting this situation in a Malaysian context, one can see why most Malaysians are still reluctant to vote for anyone else other than the ruling party. While many in the urban areas, particularly the youth seek change, majority of Malaysians still have a sense of dependency for the government. Despite the various allegations of corruptions and mismanagement of funds, most Malaysians tend to look past those flaws and see the government as a stable source of support. Maybe it's because unlike in Egypt, our society isn't as segregated economically. There is no definite line dividing the poor from the middle class, and the middle class from the rich. Be as it may, the government should really focus on improving their efforts to serve the people and not simply rest on their laurels. There are still many issues which needs to be resolve in this country. As for Egypt, it is now up to the people and their interim government to decide where to go from here.
Sources from Al Jazeera, The Malaysian Insider and BBC News
Local headlines: The fatwa council's verdict on Valentine's Day
It was decided by the fatwa council recently after a round of discussions that Valentine's Day be classified as "haram". Thus, celebrating it is to be discouraged within the Muslim community in Malaysia. In lieu with the recent announcement, JAKIM had organized various anti-Valentine's Day campaigns, the most prominent among them being the "Mind The Valentine's Day Trap" campaign, aimed to prevent Muslim youth from celebrating Valentine's Day. PAS representatives had also called for the Kedah, Kelantan and Selangor governments to work with local authorities to organize crackdowns on Muslim youth caught doing immoral activities during the celebrations. The biggest controversy sparked by this whole issue however involves a youtube clip of a local tv program in which an Islamic motivational speaker featured on the show, Datuk Ustazah Siti Nor Bahyah Mahamood, spewed out insulting comments towards the Christian community by equating promiscuity and sinful acts as Christian values.
Being a Muslim myself, I've learned over the years to not depend too much on the findings and verdicts of JAKIM. It's not like I'm blasphemously disagreeing with everything they say or do. I just find their methods and priorities not in order. First of all let's clear a few things up shall we? Valentine's Day is not a Christian celebration. Yes it does hold some significance to them, but ultimately it's nothing more than a by-product of capitalism. How else could you explain jacked up prices of candy and flowers? Surely back in the day Jesus didn't preach to the Christians to decorate their shops in pink and red every february the 14th, and get people to buy boxes of chocolates and roses for each other. Besides, as most of us are aware, many celebrate it to express unconditional love and affection. It does not necessarily have to be physical or sexual in nature. For instance, it's common to see children celebrate it with their parents as a show of appreciation, similar to how we usually celebrate mother's day or father's day.
I was particularly peeved with the way the Ustazah, as well as various other Islamic experts who commented on the issue equated sinful activities(maksiat) with Christian values. What I've noticed with most Malay-Muslims in Malaysia, educated or otherwise, is that they are still confused with the usage of the terms "liberal" or "western" with "Christian". To them, "western"="English"(Orang Putih/Mat Salleh/Inggeris/Caucasians)=Christians. Thus in the minds of most Muslims here, every aspect of western life, even the negative ones is considered to be derived from Christian teachings. I believe this mind set came about as a result of British colonialism. Clearly though, no religion teaches people to live in sin. Even in the Quran itself, there is a verse telling Muslims that the closest to them in faith are the Christians; "...and nearest among them in love to the believers wilt thou find those who say, "We are Christians": because amongst these are men devoted to learning and men who have renounced the world, and they are not arrogant. And when they listen to the revelation received by the Messenger, thou wilt see their eyes overflowing with tears, for they recognize the truth: they pray: 'Our Lord! we believe; write us down among the witnesses." - verse 82 and 83, Surah Al Ma'idah.
I can never undestand how JAKIM can find time to condemn this and that, but can't sit down and focus on more productive activities that would not only benefit the community, but also the Muslims in particular. Instead of coming up with fatwas on clearly petty issues(like with the football jerseys), why not come up with campaigns to help ex drug addicts, convicts or alcoholics get back on their feet? Why not find ways to help single mothers or rape victims? Why not find ways to lower the divorce rates among Muslim couples? Why not do something to help the poor(which the last time I checked, still consisted of mostly Malay-Muslims)? Isn't that the purpose of the Zakat? Why are there still people living off the streets or in makeshift huts? Shouldn't the money reach them by now? The teachings of Islam can actually be a powerful tool for social and economic development. They just need to set their priorities straight. If a Muslim's faith is tested and shaken by trivial matters as they have so often claimed, then clearly most Muslims here have little faith in their own religion, let alone have enough knowledge about it.
Personally as a Muslim, I just don't agree with the idea of having a panel of "experts" telling me what to do. I don't mean this to offend anyone, but Islam does not work in the same way as the Catholic church. There's a reason why you never hear the phrase "of mosque and state". It's simply because Islam was created without such hierarchies. It's a religion open to reasoning and interpretation, within certain boundaries of course, but a democratic one nevertheless. We do not have "god's representatives" in Islam as we believe all man are created equal. There for all man should have equal access to Quranic knowledge, and thus are equally knowledgeable and qualified to debate on matters pertaining the religion.
FYI, Valentine's Day holds little significance for me. It's just one of those dates that passes me by, unnoticed, every year. Also I would like to apologize if I accidentally offended anyone in this article. The opinions are of mine and mine alone.
Sources from The Malaysian Insider and NST
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