Take pride in how far you have come
Have faith in how far you can go
I did'nt plan for this entry. But something or someone forcefully urged me to
pen down some thoughts I kept in mind long to be exploded. It's about time I
spit it out my mouth.
Okey, what I am about to write may be not be pleasing and pleasant to hear. Not
even close. I would not recommend this post to be read by anyone who has
potentially unstable state of emotions or minds. This is a warning sign.
Bismillahirrahmanirrahim. May Allah help me try my very best to make me
rational and wise through out this whole entry. So here goes.
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"We all baru gi makan KFC. KFC sekarang boleh makanlah. KFCkan bawah JCorp Sdn.
Bhd. JCorpkan orang Melayu punya."
"Bukan nak sangat beli Nokia, tapi murah."
"Ana sangat suka vanilla shake McD. Sangat2 sedap. Irresistible!"
"Banyak-banyak benda, ana memang tak boleh boikot Kotex. Memang tak boleh pakai
yang lain. Tak selesa."
"Awak ni kenapa? Biarlah dia nak makan apa pon. Duit dia. Hak dia."
"Ala kita bayar pekerja dia, bukan bagi duit kat Yahudi."
"RM 1 = 1 peluru. Harapnya ini peluru yang tak kena rakyat Palestine."
"Anti ni strict sangat lah. Suma tak boleh! Kalau kita kaji betul-betul semua
benda datang dari Amerika, Yahudi. Habis? Nak boikot suma? Kebulurlah nanti."
I have been boycotting the Israelis' and Americans' products since the time
immemorial. And I was once, condemned by friends for my firm principle. These
friends are those who call themselves dai'e or at least came for the same
background as me.
Not only had they criticized me for my unshakable faith, they gave me thousands
of justifications to satisfy their desire to turn a blind eye to the clearly
stated fatwa made by many big scholars throughout the globe, including Syeikh
Yusuf Qardhawi.
When it comes to shopping or savoring good foods, my friends would normally
resort to shops or fast food restaurants supporting the Americans' and
Israelis' simply because it's cheap and tasty, and I was always the odd one
out. As usual, certain lame excuses and annoying words not so nice to be heard
would come out from their mouth to persuade me or insult me. As if I was the
person guilty for holding my faith tightly (thus made me an alien). Yet I stood
firmly strong to my principle.
Now that the Palestinians are being attacked (as if it has just happened 18
days ago), once again they shout out lout "BOYCOTT the Israelis and Americans
product" quoting the fatwa given by the scholars long long ago. Then comes the
tagging game ... things I have boycotted, things I will boycott, things I find
hard to boycott..
I don't get it. Is it so DIFFICULT to boycott? Susah sangat ke nak tinggalkan
sedikit kelazatan dunia sedangkan adik beradik kita di Palestine menderita?
Matikah kita dengan memboikot semua itu? Andai kata mati sekali pon, tidakkah
rasa berbangga kerana mati memperjuangkan deenul haq?
"Oh, tapi saya doa tiap-tiap hari tuk Palestine. Saya pergi demonstrasi. Saya
pakai baju dan tayangkan badge 'Free Palestine'. Saya pakai mafla."
Owh iye ke? I feel like smacking her/his face and banging her/his head hard. So
what? You think you have materialized your faith towards the freedom of
Al-Aqsa? You think you have done enough to help them when you are also with or
without noticing funding your enemies? Shut up! OK.. now I am getting extra
emotional.
This campaign has been going on for ages. Ever since I was in secondary school.
Yet not many knew nor took it seriously. It frustrates me a lot knowing that
despite acknowledging the on going war, they can still simply allow to indulge
themselves too frequently and too freely in the boycotted items and companies.
Compromising their principles to make their lives good and comfortable. Ingat
main-main ke? Ini antara hidup dan mati rakyat Palestin. How many more lives
would you let them slaughter until you really understand and act? How many more
unjustifiable excuses would you want to make to satisfy your cravings and
please your egos? Through out these years that we should have been boycotting
but you haven't, how much money have you been giving the enemies? Shame! You
may have learned your lesson, but the price is too expensive to pay. Yes, the
price of losing so many innocent lives in Palestine.
On an optimistic view, probably this is a wake up call for the Muslims around
the world to start boycotting the Israelis' and Americans' products. For those
who were ignorant, will begin to boycott. For those who had forgotten,
InsyaAllah will resume to boycott again.
Hopefully this plea and efforts to boycott will not be seasoned and lapse as
the time flies. Hopefully this lively spirit will not perish nor deteriorate
from our faiths and believes as the time changes. Hopefully it will remain
still and strong in our hearts and the people of our younger generations.
May my hopes and prayers be answered by Allah.
Ameen.
A great thank you to my family who had enlightened me with the awareness and
inspirited my boldness to hold strong and firm to this principle, guided and
supported the boycott campaign through out time. If not for them, I may not be
strong as I should and am today.
Adha
Cranfield
