Sunday August 29, 2010
Don’t be too eager to use Islam, Chua tells DAP leaders
By HAMDAN RAJA ABDULLAH and CHAN LI LEEN
newsdesk@thestar.com.my
MUAR: MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek urged DAP leaders not to use Islamic platforms in their eagerness to gain support from the Malays.
He said that, of late, some DAP leaders had been using such platforms without knowing the sensitivities of the Muslims.
He said MCA understood their aim of winning support from the Malays but reminded DAP that they should be more careful as they knew very little about Islam and its teachings.
“We don’t want them, in their eagerness to win Malay support, to use Islam by going to the mosques and without being properly attired,” he said after opening a joint Muar, Bakri and Pagoh MCA local councillors’ service centre in Jalan Bakri yesterday.
Last Sunday, DAP Serdang MP Teo Nie Ching landed in hot water after she entered a surau prayer hall in Kajang to deliver a speech without covering her head.
Dr Chua said there were many things in Islam which most Chinese did not understand and actions of some DAP leaders could be misconstrued as Chinese leaders not respecting Islam.
He said this could give rise to a lot of unwanted controversies which certain parties might exploit and turn into racial issues.
Dr Chua said his statement did not refer to any DAP leader in particular.
His statement, he said, was only aimed at urging opposition party leaders to understand the sensitivities of the Muslims.
read the rest here.
3 comments:
I would like to argue that: 1 of the reason non-Muslims in Msia have very little understanding of the sensitivities of Muslim is that there are so few interaction between them. It's as if there's a wall between them.
Seldom do we see people cross over to approach the other and get to know each other better. And it doesn't help that when someone makes that approach, he/she is chided.
If no one takes that approach, how do we know if what is the right way? Instead of giving them credit for their work to bridge that gap, they are made the devil.
And we have to understand, these sensitivities change with current sentiments and situations. The more the interaction and understanding, the more tolerant we are towards each other.
CSL's attitude of avoiding & be ignorant is the ignorance-is-bliss method. Bound to generate lots of pent up anger on both side in the long term.
I'm also confused by what Muslims in Msia want:
1) Do muslims want non-muslims to be ignorant of your sensitivities. And to be safe... simply just avoid interacting with muslims?
OR
2) Do muslims want non-muslims to communicate & get to know each other better so that we know what is the proper approach to interact with Muslims?
"He said this could give rise to a lot of unwanted controversies which certain parties might exploit and turn into racial issues."
Besides, this is the hidden message... directed to a certain group of people prone to twist facts.
Dear amywon, I think you should read Dr Chua's statement in its entirety,there is a lot of wisdom in what he said.
I think the DAP is going it about the wrong way, do not believe too much what PAS's Nik Aziz have to say about this matter. Nik Aziz the politician and Nik Aziz the Tuan Guru is two different ideas.
What's the right way, that is up to the non muslims to find out and ask their Muslim friend. Definitely it would be a start if a non muslim do not enter a surau or mosque if they are not fully attired the Muslim way even when invited by a surau or mosque official.
TQ for your sharing your opinion.
I've read CSL's statement in the link you provided before I posted, and read it again. I cannot help but feel that he is choosing to avoid the issue instead of trying to resolve it. He didn't even try to make any approach, yet he dares to chide DAP's effort. I don't know what wisdom is there in advising others to be ignorant. And if DAP makes mistake and learns from it, while they are doing their best to to help Muslims, why should this be a bad thing? And how could you have overlooked this point & focused on the superficial?
If I put this situation on another context:
A non-Buddhist makes a mistake in a temple...
I certainly wouldn't expect a to non-Buddhists to know about basic decorum in a temple, unless they are told in advance by a Buddist. If the Buddhist friend forgot to inform a point, is it the non-Buddhist fault for making that mistake? So, should he be chided by other Buddhists who happen to hear about this incident 50 miles away?
Do others have the right in chiding him... when at the time of the incident, the people in the temple were OK with it? And they weren't offended by that mistake?
MP Teo made a mistake of not wearing a scarf when entering a surau. Agreed.
A few things to think about:
-Was her intention in the surau a malicious one?
-Did she in any way dis-respected anyone in the surau?
-Did she show any negativity towards Islam or Muslims?
-Is her lack of scarf an issue so serious that it couldn't never be forgiven?
-Was any muslims who were in the surau offended? Funny that everyone else is offended (you, me, CSL, PERKASA, etc), but the people in the incident not?
-Why has no Muslim come up and say: it's not her mistake because she isn't a Muslim, and thus unable to 100% grasp the sensitivities of ALL Muslims in Msia?
-Why hasn't any Muslims stood up and say "we have failed to communicate to non-Muslims about our sensitivities, and it is our responsibility share this information"?
-Why hasn't any muslims graciously accepted her apologies and say: "her mistake is forgiven, we understand it is an honest mistake. Let it be a lesson for all."
-Why is it that it seems like many Muslims are trying to tell non-muslim this message: "we Muslims in Msia have a lot of sensitivities. We do not share this willingly, ask if you want. Just do not offend us. Even asking about it is considered sensitive issue. So just don't." I'm perplexed.
If we don't want people to step on our toes, shouldn't we let people know where our foot is? Instead, all I hear lots of blame from all people who are NOT involved. For once, I'd actually like to see my Muslims compatriots take responsibility (to do whatever is deemed in accordance to Islam/Muslims, to resolve this issue).
Irresponsible people are trying to stoke Muslim sentiments.
I don't like to see any race or religious sentiments being roused, because minor sensitive issues will turn into big sensitive issues. Then, anything will become a sensitive issue. Very soon, everyone will hate each other because crossing each other's path when walking would be a sensitive point. I don't want to live in that kind of ridiculous social tension. The situation is bad enough as it is.
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