Too many things that have passed since June. Let me start with a talk that I attended at Masjid Wilayah Persekutuan at Jalan Duta. The speaker was none other than the ex-Mufti of Perlis, Dr. Mohd. Asri Zainul Abidin. It was a big shock to see how Dr. MAZA managed to deliver a talk there, considering how JAKIM (Department of Islamic Development Malaysia), the administrator of Masjid Wilayah, had chosen to be a nemesis to Dr. MAZA.
The talk was organized by PERKIM (Islamic Welfare Society of Malaysia) that main role is to look after the welfare of new converts to Islam in Malaysia. It is headed by the ex-Prime Minister of Malaysia, Y.A.Bhg. Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. The current vice-president is Y.B. Dato' Seri Shahidan Kassim, the ex-Premier of the State of Perlis. That completes the overall picture how did PERKIM organize such a talk. It turned out to be an event with all the 'formers' (Majlis Mantan-Mantan - 3M) - former Prime Minister, former Premier, and former Mufti. Although the event was organized by PERKIM, actually all the works are done by a group of students who unite themselves under the banner of GMT (Tajdid Students Movement). GMT is basically a federation of students' representatives from most universities and colleges in Malaysia that support the Islamic revivalists in parallel with the salafus-soleh understanding and interpretation of Islam.
How did the organizer managed to penetrate of of the four grand masjids of Malaysia under the control of JAKIM, their arch nemesis? The answer is the same as how the Japanese Empire manages to struck Pearl Harbour in World War II. The element of surprise is very important if you want to win a war. The organizer managed to keep things secretly while promoting the talk through smses to relatives and friends. Tun Dr. Mahathir is not a factor since we were told that he declined to attend the talk firstly, and made a surprise presence to everyone including Dato' Seri Shahidan that night.
The main content of the talk was basically about the Islamic view on the current political happenings in Malaysia, the proposal for a unity government in Malaysia between UMNO (United Malay National Organization), the de-facto ruling party of Malaysia and PAS (Islamic Party of Malaysia). I'm not going to talk about this issue right now, let the politicians decide what's best for the people (hopefully!!!). However, Dr. MAZA's opinion seems to me to be the suggestion put forward by Islam - put Islam first before anything. You are a Muslim before you are a Malay. Islam cherishes cultural differences but NEVER allow it to supersedes the supremacy of Islam.
The talk was organized by PERKIM (Islamic Welfare Society of Malaysia) that main role is to look after the welfare of new converts to Islam in Malaysia. It is headed by the ex-Prime Minister of Malaysia, Y.A.Bhg. Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. The current vice-president is Y.B. Dato' Seri Shahidan Kassim, the ex-Premier of the State of Perlis. That completes the overall picture how did PERKIM organize such a talk. It turned out to be an event with all the 'formers' (Majlis Mantan-Mantan - 3M) - former Prime Minister, former Premier, and former Mufti. Although the event was organized by PERKIM, actually all the works are done by a group of students who unite themselves under the banner of GMT (Tajdid Students Movement). GMT is basically a federation of students' representatives from most universities and colleges in Malaysia that support the Islamic revivalists in parallel with the salafus-soleh understanding and interpretation of Islam.
How did the organizer managed to penetrate of of the four grand masjids of Malaysia under the control of JAKIM, their arch nemesis? The answer is the same as how the Japanese Empire manages to struck Pearl Harbour in World War II. The element of surprise is very important if you want to win a war. The organizer managed to keep things secretly while promoting the talk through smses to relatives and friends. Tun Dr. Mahathir is not a factor since we were told that he declined to attend the talk firstly, and made a surprise presence to everyone including Dato' Seri Shahidan that night.
The main content of the talk was basically about the Islamic view on the current political happenings in Malaysia, the proposal for a unity government in Malaysia between UMNO (United Malay National Organization), the de-facto ruling party of Malaysia and PAS (Islamic Party of Malaysia). I'm not going to talk about this issue right now, let the politicians decide what's best for the people (hopefully!!!). However, Dr. MAZA's opinion seems to me to be the suggestion put forward by Islam - put Islam first before anything. You are a Muslim before you are a Malay. Islam cherishes cultural differences but NEVER allow it to supersedes the supremacy of Islam.
Anyone remember Cordoba, Toledo, Seville andd Granada? These great Muslim cities that enlightened human civilization when Europe and others were in Dark Ages fell because the Muslims were so busy allying themselves with Christian kingdoms to fight among each others. Not many similarities between Andalucia and Malaysia - that was a long time ago, don't worry it won't happen here... hahaha.
We'll talk more later.
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