" As the debate over who can use the word “Allah” to describe God simmers in Malaysia, a Sabah family where there are Muslims and Catholics are showing the way for inter-faith understanding.
"Ustazah Nooraidah Hidayah Dakun, 45, and Catholic priest Father Francis Dakun, 44, were born to animist Dusun parents in Tambunan, but they and their 10 siblings willingly converted to Islam and Christianity during their teenage years. Their parents converted to Catholicism in 2000. " - [ TMI ]
Being substantially a Muslim country and upheaving to the crest of political change, Malaysia is making waves in inter-faith relations.
Last few weeks, a component of the PR, PAS the Islamic Party members quietly but publicly took a bold step with a courtesy call when Sebastian Francis, became Bishop of the Penang Catholic Diocese . True to their call for political reforms and ethnic and religious understanding, PAS is making gestures at this early stage for reapproachment for socio-cultural appreciation.
On the heels of the Penang visit, a more positive event developed in Sabah where household incomes and illegal immigrants voting plague the political debate. A Christian Pastor, Otou @ Francis Singoron is set to move and work for the PAS candidate potential Puan Dausieh Queck for a challenge in the forthcoming GE 13, to be held any time between December and April 2013. He has canvassed around him helpers, Christians and surely others too in the locality of Pitas, Sabah to clinch a seat for PAS.
Sabah being dubbed as the poorest State of Malaysia with average bumiputera household income at RM2,800 (National avg RM4,025) is stirred and in debates for its future in greater justice and fairness and fundamental rights.
And it seems from Penang to Sabah, the debate is no longer skewed to narrow ethnic superiority or heritage. Its about life and living now and, here or thereafter.
As should be expected this is not without some hiccup as an committee outed senior PAS leader, Nasharuddin, chipped in with an outrageous accusation that DAP, PAS' own counterpart in the PR Coalition, had prayed in communion publicly for Malaysia to be a Christian country. The accusation speaks more of the accuser than the accused.
Malaysian Muslims should flatter themselves on this overal latest development. They are said to rise to the clamor that man should face life as if they would live forever and prepare for the thereafter as if death comes on the morrow. Enculturating though rhetorical but more lively and reasonable than the spunk churned out by Utusan and NST, the Spittoon Times.
"A delegation of about a dozen Pas representatives made a courtesy call to new Penang Diocese Bishop Sebastian Francis at his office at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit yesterday to congratulate him on his recent appointment."
XINJIANG, Aug 2: Chinese authorities in the northwestern province of Xinjiang have banned Muslim officials and students from fasting during the month of Ramadan, prompting an exiled rights group to warn of new violence.
Guidance posted on numerous government websites called on Communist Party leaders to restrict Muslim religious activities during the holy month, including fasting and visiting mosques.
Xinjiang is home to about nine million Uighurs, largely a Muslim ethnic minority, many of whom accuse China's leaders of religious and political persecution.
The region has been rocked by repeated outbreaks of ethnic violence, but China denies claims of repression and relies on tens of thousands of Uighur officials to help it govern the province.
A statement from Zonglang township in Xinjiang's Kashgar district said that "the county committee has issued comprehensive policies on maintaining social stability during the Ramadan period.
"It is forbidden for Communist Party cadres, civil officials (including those who have retired) and students to participate in Ramadan religious activities."
The statement, posted on the Xinjiang government website, urged party leaders to bring "gifts" of food to local village leaders to ensure that they were eating during Ramadan.
Similar orders on curbing Ramadan activities were posted on other local government websites, with the educational bureau of Wensu county urging schools to ensure that students do not enter mosques during Ramadan.
'Administrative methods'
During Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn to dusk and strive to be more closer to God, pious and charitable.
An exiled rights group, the World Uyghur Congress, warned the policy would force "the Uighur people to resist [Chinese rule] even further."
"By banning fasting during Ramadan, China is using administrative methods to force the Uighur people to eat in an effort to break the fasting," said group spokesman Dilshat Rexit in a statement.
Xinjiang saw its worst ethnic violence in recent times in July, 2009, when Uighurs attacked members of the nation's dominant Han ethnic group in the city of Urumqi, sparking clashes in which 200 people from both sides died, according to the government.
Malaysians are nice good people. And like all good people, they have had their share of the ups and downs of the grind.
now, grim prospects cast dark clouds in the distant horizon - economic life is in the doldrums with national and household debts poking holes in the roof. Not all, but there are sections of the citizenry who might need more than hunger to shake and rattle them to squarely look at the reality - our country is mismanaged: has been and still is.
No butt rocking will make the problems go away. No inquistion of the once nascent dissent that now has taken many forms, some of which have been night vigils, peace walks and sit and protest, will blot out the nastiness of mistaken beliefs.
Ramadan should make us steadfast in certain things: the search and pursuit for a better life, the endless unfairness that need to be ceased and the nurturing spirit that strives to enrich the human spirit.
Question! Should we stay HUNGRY and revel in it? Or should we lift some forgotten element that's been eating away our innards? If it was there God given, should we diminish virtues and continue in denial? There are universal platforms for different realms of enlightenment and spiritualism. There are action oriented global causes to weed out poverty and hunger
1Malayisa is a dreamland, a Disneyland and a circus of sorts.
Trouble is Malaysians are awake, it's not fun and the elephants are white.
It's not clear what Malaysians think and feel about the Harmony Act. It's like a Happiness Law. You know, it sounds like you might get locked up for being under distress, miserable or unhappy.
But Malaysians are locked-up, unhappy and soon Muslims have to fast for Ramadan with the average Malaysian household debt hitting the roof and punching holes.
It's a circus but its unreal. Where's the real Circus?
Anyway, you could just do some form of fasting this Ramadan - try dieting. And surely the Lord is forgiving and merciful.
“It was six men of Indostan
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant
(Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation
Might satisfy his mind
So oft in theologic wars,
The disputants, I ween,
Rail on in utter ignorance
Of what each other mean,
And prate about an Elephant
Not one of them has seen
And so these men of Hindustan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right
And all were in the wrong.”
It would be interesting to see what JAKIM would do if you live in the Polar regions.
As for the butter halal issue, I thought Golden Churn is halal. They have to prove it's not. It's not good enough to say it's in "doubt". It's their job to clear the "doubt".
Or is it their job to perpetuate "doubt"?
The Johor Coffee maker who used lard should be sent to hell, not deprive honest Muslims the opportunity to make a decent living in the cakes for the forthcoming festivities of Ramadhan. And he can take that JAKIM officer with him.
Coffee beans should not be prepared with lard or butter but toasted ... with the right heat and temperature to give the desired flavor of coffee you can pay. You can pay through the roof to get at the 2,000 or so chemicals buried in those seeds. Or you can roast your own with some very heavy metal pot or kuali and get your desired result.
What if instead of paying money for services you cannot get, we legislate that all food makers declare the "porcine" elements on their products? That would teach us to be honest in bizness and life generally. We have now gone to the extent of blaming butter for our bread.
Don't tell me JAKIM doesn't agree with that? Or do they?
But people will say ... ah ... but what will happen to the Halal Hub? I don't care what will happen to hubba-hubba halal hub. Have they given up creativity and innovation under pretence? Can you bring yourself to indecently give up?
What if the Johor Coffee maker had used margarine? Would that jeopardize the whole world production of palm oil?
In this video clip, an extract of Aljazeera's 101, Yusri Mohamad, a Muslim Youth Leader of PEMBELA and NGO activist potrays the stark reality of what misguided Muslim Leaders think they stand for. Garbed in Nehru jacket of some sort, moustached and a pretentious goatee, Yusri would otherwise exude wisdom, confidence and unshakeable faith in his religion, Islam. Why should his credibility and faith be questioned?
But it comes from his mouth and conscious being when he agrees, as a Muslim, God is three or Allah is three is correct. "Tuhan" in Malay is God which is "Allah" in Arabic or semitic language.
Yusri has since obtained his doctorate of something since this episode.
The implications are serious. He is currently protesting and saying that some people are attempting to make Christianity as Malaysia's official religion and the next Prime Minister would be a Christian.
I don't honestly understand what he is protesting. By creed he believes that Tuhan or God or Allah is Three. He said so!
As a Muslim, I don't mind and don't care and with due respect I'll leave the Christians with their own belief to practise their faith in peace.
So what about Yusri, Dr Yusri now? What about him?
Why should he protest anything Christian when he's already one???
Last update - 09:28 17/09/2009 Virginia synagogue doubles as mosque for Ramadan By The Associated Press
On Friday afternoons, the people coming to pray at this building take off their shoes, unfurl rugs to kneel on and pray in Arabic. The ones that come Friday evenings put on yarmulkes, light candles and pray in Hebrew.
The building is a synagogue on a tree-lined street in suburban Virginia, but for the past few weeks - during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan - it has also been doubling daily as a mosque. Synagogue members suggested their building after hearing the Muslim congregation was looking to rent a place for overflow crowds.
"People look to the Jewish-Muslim relationship as "conflict," said All Dulles Area Muslim Society Imam Mohamed Magid, saying it's usually disputes between the two groups in the Middle East that make news. "Here is a story that shatters the stereotype."
Magid, who grew up in Sudan, said he did not meet someone who was Jewish until after he had moved to the U.S. in his 20s, and he never imagined having such a close relationship with a rabbi. But he said the relationship with the Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregation has affected him and his members. Beyond being tolerant, the synagogue and its members have been welcoming.
He said one member of the mosque told him, "Next time I see a Jewish person I will not look at them the same."
Rabbi Robert Nosanchuk, who leads the Reform congregation of about 500 families, said the relationship works both ways.
It's Gawai Dayak Holidays in Kuching, Sarawak. Many have hit the road and balik Kampong. And Kuching City streets are lag and 'lega'!
Had to see my Elder sister, suffering in pain from from her knee problems. My bike and I hit the road and reached her home some 20km away in a jiffy!
How do you convince a dear 67 year old sister to insert some metal plates under the skin and flesh of both her knees?
When I got to thinking about it myself, I balked at the thought of foreign materials under my own skin. I really don't mind foreign migrant workers in Kuching and getting a little under the skin. You can't deport the metal plates from your knees, but you can the migrant workers! So that got me on the right mood!
My sister's groans are really too much! But she's my DEAR old sister. But when she groaned that it's her "lot", I had it! It's God given, her destiny! But instead of giving it to her, I abruptly got up and went to the kitchen and made myself some real thick coffee and loaded it with lotsa sugar! I know the sugar's bad but the coffee's anti-oxidants, I mused, would whack off diabetic incursons of my being!
Facing her squarely in her face, I told her I agreed it's her lot! God gave it to her. But isn't it odd that terrible things like broken knees are God given? What about good knees with steel and strong fibre makeup? Who made these? Satan? Another God?
"No!!!" she growled.
I roared the bike off the Kampong 3 hours later and left her with a big battle in her mind. It might have been painful but what the heck? It's probably God given!
I'll give her another week or so. And wait for the good news! I just hope our 'world class' medical service will not botch another job. If they do we'll send some foreign material into the robust Minister of Health's heart!
What you could get - a brand new knee! At the cost of another arm and a leg?
The Johor Coffee maker who used lard should be sent to hell, not deprive honest Muslims the opportunity to make a decent living in the cakes for the forthcoming festivities of Ramadhan. And he can take that JAKIM officer with him.
Don't tell me JAKIM doesn't agree with that? Or do they?
