Are we living in the dark ages of Islam?

Syerleena Abdul Rashid Syerleena Abdul Rashid Updated 6 years ago · Published on 21 Oct 2017 7:03AM · 6 Comments

NOT long ago, apartheid was sanctioned by political governments and out in the open. Employers did not think twice to put up signs that read: “Whites only” and often reminded those of a darker skin hue that they were different, therefore, were not worthy of sharing facilities with those of a paler skin tone.

Through decades of socio-political struggle, South Africa finally abolished apartheid in 1991 and the world rejoiced to celebrate the Greek-like triumph over evil.

However, to think that the world has successfully gotten rid of this social cancer is just plain naïve.

Nowadays, bigotry has taken on a different definition: identity politics is determined by how massive the wave of religious intolerance can be and those responsible are just plain hypocrites who have more skeletons hidden in their closet than the Museum of Osteology.

For Malaysians, these days we are constantly bombarded by reports that show just how unreasonable our religion has become. We now have Muslim only Laundromats, half-baked Muslim organisations who would stop at nothing to protect con-artists and public figures who would like you to believe that getting haircuts from non-Muslims salons are considered haram. The present religious narrative is dictated by religious bigotry and has taken its cue from apartheid.

 Let’s be frank. It is disgusting how some public figures hide behind religion to spread hatred and showcase just how ignorant they really are. Organised religions, in particular Islam, are supposed to be more than social guidelines of ethical conducts. It is meant to spur unity, respect and stimulate intellectual thoughts.

Above all, it is meant to be a blueprint to humanism and other universal values that can lead a nation or a society to propel to greater developmental heights – both in this present world and the afterlife.

History is full of evidence that points at how certain things related to Islam has taken a massive detour over the past centuries.

The 8th century to the 13th century of often regarded as Islam’s Golden Age – an era where the Islamic world was ruled by various caliphates, and science, economic development and cultural works flourished. Surah Al-Baqara: verse 239 states “He has taught you what you did not know” highlights how the Qur’an promotes the acquisition of new knowledge. There are various verses in the Quran that strongly emphasises on education and attaining knowledge. Intellectualism played a major influence in the further development of the arts and sciences.

Unfortunately, the present paints a very different view of how Islam is perceived globally and more so, locally. Non-Muslims today find it difficult to believe during the Middle Ages – while the rest of Europe was living in the Dark Ages, Islamic cities in the Middle East, such as Cairo, Baghdad, Cordoba and Damascus, were the center of civilization. Today, cities like Cairo and Baghdad are in the epicentre of continuous social and political unrest.

Brutal beheading of journalists by masked extremists, the rape of women and children, the attacks across Europe by lone gunmen and other attacks are perpetuated by self-proclaim soldiers of Islam – are all evidences of how far Islam has strayed from the Golden Age.

Further sowing the seeds of discontent and hatred are unregulated religious schools in our country. Conveniently, these schools are often unsupervised and lack of any sort of monitoring system that could prevent the spread of bigoted dogma that could eventually one day, escalate to something more sinister and extreme. Those in power are too apathetic to care or are internally conflicted to pro-actively do something because of the high level of religious ignorance they seem to possess.

The government has also given a lot of power and authority to certain departments within the system that seemingly oppose the very essence of our secular Federal Constitution. The slow embrace towards Wahabi-like values is not part of our culture nor will it ever be whole-heartedly accepted by our society, and because of the present system attempts to shove us to either extreme sides of the political spectrum – our society, much like others before us, will pay a hefty price.

This dangerous incorporation is nothing more than a political game orchestrated by political elites and while, our current situation may not be as detrimental as some of the ISIS controlled states in the Middle East or even Brunei, there is a necessity to prevent the spread of inanity and the illogical from taking place in our nation.

Muslims in this country must not be swayed by the vile propaganda that is currently being proliferated. These levels of unreasonable intolerance do not represent us.  We must continue to disclose what is covered; to uncover what is hidden in an effort to convince the world that the true nature of religious bigotry has absolutely no place in our future. – October 21, 2017.

* Syerleena is a councillor at the Penang Island City Council (MBPP). She is a Malaysian who believes that our life experiences shape us into fascinating beings.

* 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.

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Comments

  • Wherever there is differences, especially economic and cultural inequality, there will be politician who will capitalize on it.

    Posted 6 years ago by Bigjoe Lam · Reply

  • " .....Islam’s Golden Age – ..... and science, economic development and cultural works flourished. ....." ---- one of the reasons for the decline was the later caliphs encouraged the study of Islamic theology and elevating the status of the "ulamaks" and actively discouraged the study of "falsafah" ....... " .....escalate to something more sinister and extreme......" ---- hopefully, in the future, none of our towns will end up like Marawi ......... " .....slow embrace towards Wahabi-like values is not part of our culture ....." ---- the Malays are slowly losing their culture and traditions like Mak Yong, Wayang Kulit, Kuda Kepang, etc; meaning losing their identity as Malays



    Posted 6 years ago by Malaysian First · Reply

  • Human beings are selfish by instincts and like to create walls surrounding themselves, individually or in groups, like cocoons. How silly.

    Posted 6 years ago by Tanahair Ku · Reply

  • The Islamic world, especially Malaysia, is practicing veil Apartheid in the form of Islamic nature. But strangely the world did not make any noises like they did during South African Apartheid regime. Are they afraid to voice out because Islamic nations threaten them with the extreme measure? Instead of "Whites vs Coloured", now we have "Muslims vs Non". What is the difference?

    Posted 6 years ago by Awang Top · Reply

  • The moment we label human virtues, e.g. the capacity to observe, learn and precipitate 'insight' through unconditioned thought, and displace it with organized religion, it becomes a product, a noun, a loaded utility to exploit those that suspend thinking, especially in the freedom to investigate the objective world. Why can't we keep religion as it was intended, to be an activity of inquiry, a verb. Stick to the true pure uncoloured meaning of the latin word, 'Religare' which is:"The capacity to gather all of one's energy to discover, to come upon that which is true"...and leave as that without attributing a label to such activity which can become a psychological tool for 'conflict creation' between man and man. It is important to keep it pristine without colouration in a plural society of ours.There has to be an inner psychological shift, the freedom to move away from the burdens that organized religions bring with its symbols and signifiers to differentiate each other.

    Posted 6 years ago by Arun Paul · Reply

  • The moment we label human virtues, e.g. the capacity to observe, learn and precipitate 'insight' through unconditioned thought, and displace it with the excluvism language of organized religion, e.g. Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Christianity etc. it becomes a product, a noun, a loaded utility to exploit those that suspend thinking, especially in the freedom to investigate the objective world.

    Why can't we keep religion as it was originally intended, to be an activity of inquiry, a verb. Stick to the true pure uncoloured meaning of the Latin word, 'Religare' which is:"The capacity to gather all of one's energy to discover, to come upon that which is true"
    ...and leave it as that without attributing a label to such natural activity, which can become a 'psychological tool' for 'conflict creation', between man and man. It is important to keep it pristine without colouration in a plural society like ours.There has to be an inner psychological shift, the freedom to move away from the burdens that organized religions bring with its symbols and signifiers to differentiate man from each other.

    Posted 6 years ago by Arun Paul · Reply