THE holy month of Ramadan starts tomorrow at dawn, and ends at sunset after 30 days.

While many of us, especially non-Muslims, understand this month to be one of fasting, abstinence and purity, not many know that Ramadan commemorates the first time the Quran was revealed to Prophet Muhammad. And indeed, the first word of the Quran revealed was Iqra’, which means to “read”, or perhaps, taking it a small step further, to obtain knowledge.

Perhaps, that is what we Malaysians are lacking. Knowledge. For, we seem to revel in finding fault with most things and to nitpick. We are quick to judge and even quicker to take offence – almost like the “pokok semalu”. A case in point is the rally held yesterday. Among other things, the rally, organised by Gerakan Pembela Ummah, was held to protect Islam and Malay rights. It was also to protest against the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) and Rome Statute. The protesters also took the opportunity to demand protection for Dr Zakir Naik, a somewhat controversial preacher.

One has to wonder how many of the participants actually understand the issues they were protesting about. How many of us fully understand ICERD? Or for that matter, the Rome Statute? How many of us have even bothered to read the said texts and try to understand them? How many of the rally participants really feel that Islam and Malay rights are under threat, and if so, why do they feel that way? Do they not question themselves on how Islam or Malay rights can be supposedly under threat? The federal constitution clearly states that “Islam is the religion of the Federation”. This can be found in Article 3. It then goes on to say “but other religions may be practised in peace and harmony in any part of the Federation”. So, what is there to defend? The federal constitution is, after all, the supreme law of the land.

Taking a more simplistic view, the majority of the country comprises Muslims. The prime minister, deputy prime minister and home minister are Muslims. There is even a minister in charge of Islamic affairs. The head of police is a Muslim. So, too, the head of the armed forces. The majority of our security forces are Muslims. How can the majority be under threat? Threat from what? I only ask these questions to seek understanding. To gain knowledge.

Next, I question, what is really the crux of the objection to ICERD and the Rome Statue? As far as I know, ICERD talks about the elimination of racial discrimination. Does this not tie in with all religions? Taking Islam as an example, does the Quran not say humanity is descended from Adam, and that all men are created equal? That the only differentiator is how pious you are (Surah Al-Hujurat 49:13)? Isn’t asking for special rights for a particular race in itself a form of discrimination, and doesn’t this go against almost all religions? How, then, does discrimination equate to piety? If I have taken my limited understanding of the Quran out of context, I apologise. Again, I only seek to gain knowledge.

The Rome Statute, meanwhile, grants the International Criminal Court the jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes of aggression. Is this not something good? What am I missing with these two issues? I must obviously be missing something if it is a cause for protest. ICERD and the Rome Statute have not even been ratified by the government. So, what is there to protest about? As a matter of fact, I missed the whole objective of the rally. Watching some of the videos, I can only surmise that it was nothing more than a political gathering to oppose the government and sow seeds of discord using the tried and tested formula of race and religion. A clear example was when one of the speakers called for Parliament to be dissolved immediately.

It appears that some of us are protesting for the sake of protesting. In a way, it is a kind of herd mentality. Listen to vitriol and act on it just because someone said so. Sow enough fear and you lose your mental faculties to make an informed judgment call. This is where knowledge comes in. Seek to find answers. Seek to understand. Don’t simply shout or raise a hue and cry without understanding the issues at play.

The fact is, we Malaysians still do not know enough about each other. We still have a lot to learn about each others’ religions and cultures. We still have a lot to learn about most everything. We choose not to, however. It is far easier to ignore our own ignorance and put the blame elsewhere. You can blame the education system. You can blame the political system. You can blame society. You can blame your upbringing, and you can even go so far as to blame the unfairness of the world.

Maybe, it’s time to take a look in the mirror and just simply blame yourself. It is also, perhaps, time that we realise we need to learn and gain knowledge every day. We need to be aware that we are sentient beings with the power to think things out for ourselves and make informed choices. It is time to fully understand the power of knowledge. Perhaps, that is something for all of us to ruminate on.

Have a blessed Ramadan, everybody. – May 5, 2019.

* Dharm Navaratnam reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.