http://www.othermalaysia.org/content/view/83/55/
We Are Not A Tribe Called 'Muslims'
Written by Farish A. Noor
Wednesday, 06 June 2007
How long can a country be at the crossroads of its history? It seems that
Malaysia in particular has been stuck at some empasse and has not been able to
move on; a situation that has been aggravated by the culture of communitarian,
sectarian politics that is rife in the nation, and which has been elevated from
the racial to religious register.
The stagnant state of Malaysian popular political culture was
demonstrated recently over the case of the Malaysian citizen Lina Joy, who was
born a Muslim and who has, for the past several years, been appealing to the
justice system of the country to allow her to be recognised as a Christian
after her conversion many years ago. Lina Joy's is not the only case in the
troubled land: At present several other cases are likewise trapped in the
imbroglio that is the Malaysian legal system. Now there is also a case of a
Malaysian who was accidentally switched at birth and brought up by a
Malay-Muslim family, who is claiming the right to be correctly recognised as a
Malaysian of Chinese origin and who wishes to return to the faith of his
original family.
What is most troubling about all these cases is how Malaysian citizens
like Lina Joy have been summarily denounced, demonised and vilified by
conservative Malay-Muslim groups and movements in Malaysia as a 'traitor' to
her race and religion. Yet we forget that the figures point to the opposite:
That despite everything, there are actually more non-Muslims converting to
Islam on a daily basis than the opposite. Yet oddly enough few of these new
converts to Islam are denounced as 'traitors' to their race and religion. So
why the double standards? And why do the right-wing conservatives in Malaysia
bemoan the insignificant 'loss' of one of their members, while celebrating the
conversion of others?
Lina Joy has now been forced to leave Malaysia in search of asylum
elsewhere, for fear that her life may be in danger. There is ample
justification behind this move, for indeed her life has been threatened by hate
mails, death threats, and public declarations of moral outrage by the
right-wingers. Lina's photo was circulated in the internet, her name and
reputation have been torn to shreds as a result of a malicious hate-campaign
spread through cyberspace, sms-es and public demonstrations. Yet the very same
right-wingers who have preached a discourse of hate now demand that she returns
to Malaysian to stand before a Shariah court, in order to criminalise herself
by declaring herself to be an apostate. Skewered justice indeed.
Beyond the courtroom debates and legal fine-points, we often forget that
at the heart of the matter is a plight of a Malaysian citizen, who, for reasons
best known to herself, has made what has to be a difficult decision to change
her belief. It has even been suggested by some that Lina Joy's conversion was
something done at a whim, as if converting from one religion to another is akin
to choosing between Coke and Pepsi. To add insult to injury, this lonely
Malaysian who was the subject of so many hate campaigns is now being treated in
the most patronising manner.
Yet I write this as someone who has several Muslim friends who are
converts to Islam, and I know very well how difficult the choice was for them.
In the four cases I know, conversion to Islam led to ostracisation and
alienation from their former relatives and friends, and the lingering suspicion
of their motives. Their commitment to the religion of their choice, however,
remains steadfast and we commend them for their courage and commitment- So why
cant Muslims demonstrate that same understanding for those who leave Islam for
another creed? Why is the anguish of converts to Islam more legitimate, more
real, more authentic, compared to the anguish of those who convert from Islam?
This reminds me of the words of the late Nurcholish Madjid, the most
prominent Muslim intellectual of postcolonial 20th century Indonesia. He once
said that "we Muslims still cannot go beyond the logic of tribalism, and we
think that being a Muslim is like belonging to a tribe called 'Muslims'.
Muslims still think in these parochial, tribalist terms, and that is why when
one person leaves Islam he or she is denouced as a traitor to the tribe. But
Islam is not a tribal entity. Being a Muslim is not like belonging to the Blue
Tribe or the Green Tribe; it is a state of mind, an existential state of
being."
Whatever the circumstances may be at present, and despite the
legal-political obstacles placed before her, Lina Joy is a Christian and she
has been a Christian for the past several years. No ammount of slander, abuse
or threats of violence will change that. She also happens to be a Malaysian and
as Malaysians we should be ashamed that one of our number has been forced to
flee into asylum as she can no longer live in her country.
The right-wing hate-mongers and demagogues who have threatened her safety
have done so partly on the grounds that she constitutes a threat and a danger
to the Muslim community. But in their hate campaigns that have divided
Malaysia's multi-religious nation so clearly, one can argue that these
communitarian and sectarian bigots are the real peddlars of anti-Malaysian and
un-Malaysian ideas and sentiments. Who is the real victim and who are the real
culprits then?
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 06 June 2007 )
