I GREW up being surrounded by people full of s***.

At seven, I had my ustazah advising me never to be close to my non-Muslim friends because they were bound to end up in hell. Yes, my ustazah was full of it.

At eleven and sitting for the Penilaian Darjah Lima examinations, my teacher said sucking in water through my nostrils during wuduk (ablution) could help me improve my memorisation.

Yes, he was full of it.

Fast forward to the time I was thirty four and requesting for a divorce, my ex-husband brought me to a Tok Imam who claimed I was possessed by a dark spirit. I ended up being isolated and forced to drink the holy water in order to regain ‘my conscious state of mind’.

Yes, my ex-husband was full of it. So was the Tok Imam.

There are plenty of them around us – people full of it, that is. I bet if I gave you a task to take note of everyone whom you come in contact with for the next seven days whom you think are full of it, you’d come up with a very long list.

Couple of days ago, another person full of it emerged from You Tube land. Ustaz Shahul Hamid Seeni Muhammad, a religious teacher and headmaster of Maahad Tahfiz Darul Tahzhib, in his two year old video, claimed it was haram for Muslims to get a haircut from non-Muslims; send children to Chinese schools; and to wish Happy Birthday.

Apparently, this ustaz is the same dude who urged Muslims not to purchase curry powder from companies owned by Hindus a few years ago, poking fun at a Hindu statue located at the entrance of the Alagappa mill, claiming it was used to ‘taste’ the curry powder produced.

He sure sounds like a man full of it, doesn’t he?

It’s like a Syariah court judge who prosecutes people caught for close proximity, yet ends up being caught for close proximity himself.

It’s like a Mufti who advises Muslims rights from wrong, yet ends up riding a motorcycle without a helmet, exposing himself to injury.

It’s like a politician who champions the anti-kleptocracy campaign, yet has his hands tainted with allegations of corruption and power abuse.

But most of these people who are full of it, are not just any ordinary people. They play quite important roles in our society.

So when these people propagate their nonsense propaganda, some members of our society end up being influenced by it. No wonder we have people opening Muslim-only laundries and others offering Chinese-only jobs positions.

Thanks to all these so-called leaders, the rest of us too end up becoming full of it – we begin to not care; we look out only for ourselves; and we feel the need to take everyone else down in order to be taken seriously.

Like my friend, Akmal, who forbids his children to share a swimming pool with ethnic Chinese because he believes they are dirty. Yes, Akmal is full of it.

Like my other friend, Tony, who thinks that any Muslims who accepts the Holy Quran, is no different than the fanatic, conservative and extreme Muslims. He too is full of it.

There is no doubt we are living in a world full of people who are just full of it. The thing is, just because everyone is full of shit, doesn’t mean we have to be one of them too.

As hard as it is, we need to try and distance ourselves from all the filth that is being propagated, lest we end up being just another person full of s***. – October 19, 2017.

* Fa Abdul is a passionate storyteller and a resident agitator of the idiots in society. Well-known for her straight-talking sarcasm and occasional foul mouth, she juggles between her work as a writer, producer and director.

* 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.