Do not impose your religion on others.

Once upon a time, there was a headmaster in Sarawak.

The headmaster was a Muslim. He was overzealous, and he converted a non-Muslim student to Islam. The parents made a big fuss over it, and he was transferred to a new school.

Then, at the new school, he was just as overzealous. He decreed that all crosses and crucifixes were to be removed. Even the ones kept below the students' blouses. The ones that hung around their necks and nestled easily next to the students' hearts.

Yes, even those.

Here is a link to the original article.

The flag of Sarawak.

The Special Month of Ramadhan

The month of Ramadhan is upon us, and for Moslem friends, it means a special time of fasting and prayer. Ramadhan is the ninth month in the Moslem calendar. The Moslem calendar is lunar-based and its first year began in the year of Prophet Mohammed's Hijrah (meaning "emigration", and alternatively found as Hijra, Hejira, Hegira) to Medina (Madinah).

Prime Minister Dato Seri Najib Tun Razak on his blog, wrote:

Ramadan can be a time of great spiritual growth and brotherhood, just as Malaysia can be a country free of poverty if we are committed to making it happen.
(Source: 1Malaysia.com.my, Have A Blessed Ramadhan)

On Fasting

The act of fasting during the month of Ramadhan is obligatory upon all Moslems. One such injunction to fast is as follows:

"Oh ye who believe,
Fasting is prescribed to you
As it was prescribed to those before you
That ye may learn self restraint".
- Sura Baqara verse 183
(Source: My Sinchew.com, 22nd August 2009. It's Ramadan)

The typical day of a Moslem's life during Ramadhan can be divided into two portions: Fasting, and non-fasting. Many Moslem friends I know have woken up in the middle of the night to take their meal of "sahur" before commencing the fast. Fasting begins upon the break of dawn. (Source: Islam Online, Do Not Miss Your Sahur) MUIS (Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura) states on its website that "Fasting starts with Subuh, not Imsak nor Syuruk." (Source: Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura, Frequently Asked Questions.)

According to Adil Salahi, in the above piece "Do Not Miss Your Sahur", fasting among Moslem communities differs from that of the Jews, in that fasting for Jews begins from the moment they wake up, right to sunset, when the fast is broken. The Jews do not have an equivalent to sahur. But you should know that Moslems are encouraged to defer their meal of sahur until the last possible minute. (Source: Islam Online, Do Not Miss Your Sahur) I suppose this statement will dispel any ideas of an extra-early sahur (some creative people might imagine that it's possible to extend supper right to sahur).

During the hours of fasting, Moslems are encouraged to put effort into following the teachings of the Qur'an. They are told to avoid as much as possible from thoughts and acts which are obscene, impure, sexual, etc. (Ref: Wikipedia, Ramadan.) MuslimConverts.com, a website geared towards Muslim Converts, says that the following are forbidden during the hours of fasting: food and drink, sexual intercourse, and masturbation. (Source: MuslimConverts.com, Ramadan 2009 Special)

Fast is broken at sunset. In countries where the hours of the day have become longer, sunset falls at a later hour. The fast, as a consequence, is broken at a later hour as well. According to KIVI TV:

Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, will begin in August for the first time in 33 years this year. Moreover, it will be creeping deeper into summer for each of the next seven years because the Islamic lunar calendar is roughly 11 days shorter than the international solar calendar. That means Muslims in the U.S. face longer, hotter days of religious devotion because of longer, hotter summer days ...
(Source: KIVI TV, 22nd August 2009. Longer, hotter days strain Islamic holy month.)

This means that people would be breaking fast later, and sleeping later, as a consequence. It may mean that performance will have to suffer as a form of trade off. But Moslems frequently remind themselves that the Battle of Badr was fought with warriors from the Moslem side fasting throughout the month of Ramadhan. (Source: MuslimConverts.com, Ramadan 2009 Special.)

What happens if the fast happens to be broken? From the KIVI TV website again:

... the longer, hotter days re-emphasize another element of the Ramadan season: God's forgiveness. For Muslims who break the fast, they can make up the day any time before Ramadan the next year.

According to the Jamiatul Ulama (Council of Muslim Theologians), Johannesburg, there are ten (10) valid grounds for not observing the fast.

VALID REASONS FOR NOT OBSERVING THE FAST
There are ten valid reasons on account of which one is allowed not to observe the Fast and they are as follows:

1. Being on a journey;
2. Sickness;
3. Pregnancy;
4. Suckling;
5. Intensity of hunger and thirst;
6. Weakness and old age;
7. Risk of life;
8. Jihâd;
9. Unconsciousness;
10. Insanity.
[Source]

Prayers

During this month, Moslems will be praying for extended periods of time throughout the night. These are known as "terawih" prayers.

Further Reading
I found the following post on the Ramadhan Blog and it was quite good: Benefits of Ramadhan (We Need Ramadhan).

A simple question and answer format explanation of Ramadhan fasting from a Moslem's perspective is found at Examiner.com's Answers to common questions non-Muslims ask about fasting in Ramadhan (Source: Examiner.com, 23rd August 2009).

Wikipedia's page on Ramadan is also quite instructive.

Finally, for Moslems in particular, The Islamic Workplace's Ramadan 101 + Ramadan Duas from Qur'an and Sunnah is quite an eye-opener. But if that doesn't get your attention, perhaps the link to various free e-book downloads at The Islamic Workplace might!

Article 11 in the news

Article 11 in the Malaysian Federal Constitution states that all citizens have the right to freedom of religion. On 23rd February 2009, it was reported that Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, said that there is nothing to stop a Muslim from leaving the religion of Islam. However, the existing legal provisions must apply to the intending apostate before he is able to qualify under the law. (Source: The Edge Daily, 23rd February 2009. Government cannot stop a Muslim from conversion if procedures adhered, no plans to amend Article 11. URL : http://www.theedgedaily.com/cms/content.jsp?id=com.tms.cms.article.Article_a2934d82-cb73c03a-1a8402c0-b3e62339)

On the 24th of February 2009, Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz clarified his statement when he said that Muslims cannot renouce Islam at will as it would cause chaos within the country. Instead laws must be complied with. He clarified that there were merely procedures to comply with. (Source: The Edge Daily, 24th February 2009. Nazri: Muslims cannot convert at will. URL: http://www.theedgedaily.com/cms/content.jsp?id=com.tms.cms.article.Article_a63531d0-cb73c03a-1a8402c0-70f169ca)

Bernama reported that the Government had no plans to amend Article 11. (Source: Bernama, 23rd February 2009. No plan to amend article 11(1) - Nazri. URL: http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsgeneral.php?id=391666 )

The Star reported on 24th February 2009 that Article 11(1) of the Federal Constitution does not cover Muslims. (Source: The Star, 24th February 2009. Clause doesn't cover Muslims. URL: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/2/24/parliament/3330271&sec=parliament)

The question in this country is how many Muslims actually wish to change their religion. Information will have to be obtained in good time.

Who Is Siti Fatimah Tan Abdullah?

Answer: She is an ethnic Chinese from Penang who converted to Islam in 1999 to marry an Iranian. The majority of ethnic Chinese in Malaysia are non-Muslims, although the number of converts are increasing. Siti Fatimah Tan Abdullah was originally born Tan Ean Huang, but converted on 25th July 1998 to marry an Iranian named Ferdoun Ashanian.

"It is clear that the plantiff does not practise Islamic teachings since the beginning and the court rules that the plantiff is no longer a Muslim according to Section 61(3)b(x) of the Penang Syariah Court Procedure Enactment 2004."
--Perlis Syariah Chief Judge Othman Ibrahim

The significance is that she is the first living non-Muslim to be allowed by the Syariah Court to revert to her former religion. Her affidavit stated that at no point of time did she practise the religion of Islam. Bernama hailed it as "the first in Malaysia involving a living plaintiff and under syariah court's jurisdiction".

Datin Seri Wan Azizah was reported, saying: "It is her right to return to her original religion." Whereas the learned judge had opined that apostasy can occur in three instances, i.e. action, speech and faith that go against Islamic teachings. He gave the example of worshipping something besides Allah, denying Allah's existence and allowing things forbidden.

Further Reading:

• Bernama, "Syariah Court Declares Siti Fatimah No Longer Muslim" -- 8th May 2008, 5.35pm


• The Star, Zahid: Accept Syariah Court's decision on convert -- 8th May 2008, 7.48pm

Who Is Geert Wilders?

An interesting person to know about. A Dutch politician, he has caused a furore in the Muslim world with many people demanding for his death and denouncing him for a recent film called "Fitna". The film is interesting and it worth watching, but bear in mind that it is purely for personal knowledge and is bound to stir up controversy if you raise it as a topic of discussion.

Found via the (A)berração blog.

According to many texts that I have read, Islam is a religion of peace. Most Muslims agree that Islam is a beautiful religion and it is the few bad apples that tarnish the name of Islam. Terrorism is a long-standing issue that gives a bad image to a peaceful religion, and this needs to be resolved.

In the meantime, while surfing about on the Net, I found the trailer for a nice Portuguese language movie. It's called "Os Desafinados". I don't suppose it will come to Malaysia anytime soon, but it's worth a watch... I know many Malaysians would rather avoid "thorny" topics, as I have many friends who would rather talk about trivial topics... like movies. "Os Desafinados" seems to be "quite a good movie", so it's quite a pity that I don't speak Portuguese.



Found via Jacare Banguela's blog.