A Letter from A Chinese-Malaysian regarding Islam
Wednesday, 1st June, 2011 § 9 Comments
My review of Ann Wang Seng’s latest book yesterday prompted blogger Min Min to shoot me an email. At first I wanted to reply directly to her but then decided to share it here because she raised some interesting points. Here’s what she wrote:
I’m a Chinese Malaysian. I took a minor in theology during undergrad and studied a bit about Islam. Personally I’m not against the religion. In fact, I enjoy learning about it.
Many Chinese Malaysians are “afraid” of becoming a Muslim because of the law which makes it a no-turning-back religion – once you are converted, you can’t quit. And your children have to be Muslims, even if they don’t want to.
It’s hard for Chinese women to accept the concept of “tutup aurat” – why must women cover themselves from head-to-toe? Why can’t men learn to control their desire? In addition, Malaysia is such a hot and humid country, wearing a tudung is very uncomfortable.
Just recently I read a news about a Chinese mother who has converted to Islam and took her daughter forcefully from the father with the help of the religious body in Malaysia. The little girl wanted to stay with the father but she was forced to stay with the mother and convert to Islam. This kind of news certainly marred the image of the religion.
I always believe that religion must be based on freedom of choice. The government shouldn’t be interfering with our beliefs. When law is imposed on a religion, there is no more freedom of choice. This is really what scares the Chinese away from Islam.
I hope this comment doesn’t offend you. I enjoy reading your blog and have gained lots of insight from your articles.
Thanks for your thoughts and for reading this blog, Min Min and please don’t apologise. I’m a bit of a jerk myself (HAH!) so it takes quite a lot to really offend me.
Islam is not just a religion. It is a way of life. It is not something you claim to be when you want to, for example on religious holidays, and then forget about it when you’re bored it with it. Islam is not a piece of clothing that you wear when it’s in fashion and discard when you’re bored with it. Now, when you wrote that Islam is a “no-turning-back” religion you are implying that a Muslim who decides to leave Islam may face a severe punishment for apostasy. There are many opinions regarding the punishment for apostasy in Islam and I’m just going to link a Wikipedia article on it. Yeah, yeah, I know it’s Wikipedia but for a brief overview on the issue, the article is good enough: Apostasy in Islam. Furthermore, one of the most important principles in Islam is that “there is no compulsion in religion” (Quran 2:256)
As for children following the religion of their parents, in Islam it is the obligation of the Muslim parents to instil a knowledge of Islam and Islamic principles to their children. A Christian parent teaches Christianity to his/her children. Buddhists parents teach Buddhism to their children and the same goes for Hindu parents, so why not Muslim parents? This is in the case of people who are already Muslims and not reverts. As for the mother forcing her daughter to embrace Islam, she may have done it out of a misunderstanding of Islam. I refer to the the Quranic verse above, there is no compulsion in religion. Why is this a big deal in Islam? Because a conversion achieved by force is worthless. The person does not do it willingly and instead of gaining a new Muslim, we may have instead accepted someone who resents Muslims and Islam. I did not know about this case until you wrote about it so I cannot comment much.
As for the aurat, Islam pays great attention on modesty for both men and women. It is true when you write that men should be able to control their desires. Men (and women) are taught in Islam to control their eyes by lowering their gaze when they are amongst people who are not family members. We are not permitted to ogle and stare at other people. At the same time however, both men and women are also not permitted to reveal parts of their bodies to people who are forbidden for them (woman who is not his wife, a man who is not her husband) and that is why both must cover their aurats. For men it is everything between their navels and the knees. As for women, every part of their body is an aurat except their faces and their hands up to the wrists (some opinions say that even the face is forbidden). Well, I’m not a woman so I don’t know how it feels like under the tudung in this humid country so maybe a Muslim woman reading this could write something about it in the comments.
Anyway, that’s my reply to Min Min’s email. It hardly explains everything about Islam and I’m sure it raises more questions but I think it’s a good start. This is the kind of frank discussion that I hoped for in my review of Ann Wan Seng’s book and I would like to thank Min Min for writing.
i wear tudung full time yes it can get stuffy at times when the weather is hot. however i work in an air conditioned building 70% of the time so it is not too bad. the thing with islam and muslims – often muslims do not potray the beauty in islam. honestly i hardly see men who lower their eyes when looking at women. perhaps non-muslims would have a better appreciation of islam if we muslims walk the talk. and i agree, we malaysians have alot to talk about with regards to our culture and beliefs.
I am neither Chinese nor Malay nor Muslim but I would like to share some of my perceptions on these issues. I’m an American Christian who has many Malay friends, particularly Kelantanese, which has led me to a curiosity about Islam. In an effort to know and understand those friends, I’ve spent many hours reading and talking about and trying to understand the faith of the Malay Muslims, and I have wrestled with many of the same issues that Min Min raises here.
You begin by saying that Islam is not just a religion, but a way of life. You compare other faiths to a garment that one can put on or take off, depending on their mood of the day. Well, that is quite a presumption. The implication here is that other faiths are superficial and unimportant to the daily lives of those believers. That is nonsense. As a Christian, every word from my mouth, every step I take, is guided by my faith. Every day, I commit myself to professing my faith, praying, tithing and when appropriate, fasting, just as any good Muslim does.
The difference in our daily faithfulness…and there is a huge difference…is that as a Christian, I am completely and utterly free to choose my actions, knowing that God loves me unconditionally, and has already prepared a place in heaven for me. I am saved by my faith, not by my actions. I choose to obey God not because I am afraid he will eternally condemn me, but because I am so grateful for his saving love for me that I want to do whatever he asks of me. That is the fundamental difference between the daily lives of Muslims and Christians. It is not a matter of sincerity or commitment; it is a matter of freedom.
The concept of aurat fascinates me because, again, I perceive a huge presumption from the Islamic perspective. “We are not permitted to ogle and stare at other people.” Good grief! That clearly implies that in the non-Muslim world, we all gape and drool at each others’ mostly-naked bodies, and fall into illicit sexual relationships at the slightest brush of the hand. How ridiculous. Christians believe, just as Muslims do, that any sexual relationship outside of marriage is sin. I would even argue that because Christianity does not accept polygamous relationships, our view of sexual morality is even more specific and exacting that Islamic sexual morality.
But of course, there is again a significant difference in how Christians and Muslims play out these values in daily life. While modesty is an important part of Christian life, we recognize that the body is more than just a sexual device. Men and women alike are free to work, play and enjoy all healthy aspects of life, and our clothing should enhance, rather than restrict our ability to do so. We see our bodies as gifts from God, and we know the difference between admiring the beauty of the human body and indulging lustful urges.
On the other hand, my Muslim friends who wear hijab tell me that they love that practice; they feel beautiful when they wrap themselves like a gift from head to toe. And I can understand that and certainly respect their right to do so. But let’s recognize that a Christian woman who chooses to wear shorts and a t shirt on a warm summer day has just as much dignity and sexual morality as her Muslim sisters. Again, the issue is not about sincerity or commitment to God’s commands; it is about freedom.
Well. Have I worn you out yet? Because I could definitely keep going.
At first I was struggling whether to post my comment at the end of your review of that book. Don’t wanna hurt your feeling so I sent it through the contact form. Anyway, I’m very glad that you are not offended, now I can talk more frankly here.
There’s nothing wrong for parents to instill their religion to their children. However, if at one point the children decide that their parents’ religion is no longer suitable for them, it’s not right for parents to force their religion on them.
What you said is right – religion is something we have fun with – you can’t just convert in and out as you wish or when you get bored. Actually I was not talking about that kind of attitude. I was talking about something more serious – what if at one point in life you realize that your current religion is not the right one anymore? If it’s OK to convert from other religions into Islam, why not vice versa? I was once an atheist. But then after studying the Bible and other major religions around the world, I decided that Christianity is the best for me so I became a Christian, that was 10 years ago!
Religion is a very personal thing. I’m not against Islam, I don’t even discriminate against Chinese who convert into Islam. What I don’t agree is the use of law to force religion onto a group of people. In Malaysia, the law says that Malays must be Muslims. If they apostatize they’ll face punishment and ostracism. What’s the point of religion if you are practicing it just because you are afraid of punishment?
I got to know some Malays who wanted to become Christians. There were threatened by their family and the religious body. Since it’s against the law to do so, they had to migrate to another country. They can’t even come back to Malaysia anymore. Try google these words “Malay Christians” and you’ll find lots of comments and information.
Thanks for replying, and thanks for your willingness to listen to my views.
[I posted my comment just now but it failed. Had to type everything again. Hope this time it's working...]
religionists, just walk the talk.
western countries dont potray christian values as much as so called muslims countries dont live up to their islamic expectations. i think it is wrong to start off the discussion by comparing islam and christianity because it is fundamentally different. my religion is no better than yours so let’s just leave it at that. it’s ok to disagree, but in the end we have to respect each other’s differences. non-muslims may not like certain aspects of islamic laws and perhaps could not understand them. but you are not muslim. even muslims dont understand the deal about being muslim. and our govt is muslim? please. they are using religion as a political tool – like everywhere else in the world.
min min,
is it more difficult to be malay christian than being gay in this country? u know one of my father’s students, an indian boy, was locked and beaten by his family by wanting to convert to islam before he managed to run away. he was thrown out of home, his allowance was immediately stopped. he finished his studies by working and donations of teachers. the guy was 21. another friend of mine, a chinese boy, suffered the same at the hands of his family and was forced to end his studies in melbourne so that his parents could keep him away from his religious muslim frens. he continued to be a practicing muslim despite his family’s harassment. another indian girl was beaten and locked in her room for weeks so that he family could convert her back from being muslim to being hindu.
so what is the point? choice? it’s not a muslim problem ALONE. it’s a religious extremist problem. like it or not, the christians buddhists hindus racked up similar hate crimes too. but do we like talking abt that? because if it’s about justice or abt allowing people to choose what they want to believe – then we should just let it be. i often wonder why is whatever muslims do will get magnified 10 times, as opposed to what other religionists do. they are just as bad.
I didn’t live other people life to judge them, so that its. I’m here to share my view of covering aurat.
I used to wear two pieces, shorts,short skirt et cetera. But then I don’t like the attention. The woo-ing, wistling, looking, staring et cetera.
I do complaint a lot on attracting the wrong fish, while fishing (I hope you get this) and I find myself guilty as charge for unintended-ly fish them, and dumping them.
So, at one moment, there is this sister, a nun, who suggest I cover up like her, so, I don’t have to get stress out by attracted people. So then, I start covering aurat, and when I walk by the street, no lorry driver honking me, no people in the car waving at me, et cetera.
In a way, covering aurat solve my problem. Then I need a guide. If I cover my aurat, I think it wouldn’t be fair for me only, so the guy should do their part too. Because it takes two to tango.
In Islam, both men and women should lower their gaze and cover their aurat. And Islam have an elaborate system of a way of life. So here I am, trying to be a Muslimah.
From where I am writing now, Islam does not scare me by the punishment, it give me solution to my problem. Those punishment sound scary like how as a kid, I am scared of getting scold when I am not doing the right thing, so when I do the right thing, all those punishment isn’t my concern anymore.
Proving which is right or wrong can be hard, if we are going to see it like proving defamation, because we can’t know what lies in one’s heart. I would like to suggest that one pick a subjet in one field, per say freedom, by psychology, anthropology or any field, and dig deep, economy-wise, social-wise,its effect and how far civilization has come, and I hope along the way, we learn something, because talking about something, just because of what other people are saying, sound like the game of broken phone, instead of looking at the umpteenth source, why not a primer source?
It just a suggestion, no hard feeling.
Alhamdulillah, jika Allah kehendaki kebaikan dalam diri manusia, maka Allah akan dekatkan mereka dengan cintaNYA dan agamaNYA. It calm me, to read such a good comment.
diane streicher
Hello, I’m Anna, a Malay-Muslim girl. FYI, I am currently studying at a place where I have been surrounded by many Christians. As this is my very first time mixing with different race and religions, I have to admit that I’m quite attracted to Christian upon seeing my Christian friends’ attitude. They’re awesome, even some I thought that they’re angel. Due to that reason, I took a serious step to learn about different religions especially about Christian. I’m sorry to tell you that I was really confused about this religion. The bible, the trinity concept, original sin and much more. I have read through a bible with a guidance from a teacher(He has learnt bible from a few Christian preachers) and I was truly shocked to find a lot of contradictions in this holy book. I would be glad if you can help me out from this confusion.
**I’m sorry for an awful English. Still in learning process.
maybe you can read more on this topic, this is one of the blog: http://satuhala.blogspot.com