The non-Muslim 'doa' issue and the cynical, politically-incorrect

After being in a self-censorship hiatus for quite some time, this will be one of the few SOPO (social-political) write-up I care to indulge with in this blog.

As I have said to someone dear before, I am trying hard not to opine or show my political stance with regards to the political atmosphere of this country. I sincerely hope I will stay clear of anything that has got to do with partisan politics in the future.

No...it's not that I am apolitical, but just the opposite, I am very much an opinionated political beast. But much to the dislike of some pea-brain nitwit, I am against gutter politics as much as I hate partisan politics.

Now, do you dig that?

This entry is about the religious "doa" fuss -- that a Friday prayer khatib (preacher) had used Penang Chief Minister, YAB Lim Guan Eng's name instead of the YDP Agong in some Friday congregational prayers in Penang.

Even the Penang police is being roped in and a special team created to investigate the matter, as if it is of a very critical national concern. Read Pasukan khas siasat isu khutbah ditubuh

The police is investigating the matter according to Seksyen 4 A, Akta Hasutan 1984. Maybe they are concerned that if a Muslim say a prayer to a non-Muslim, then the whole population of Malaysian Muslim's will go on a rampage, as according to some scholars (Perak Mufti Tan Sri Harussani Zakaria being one of them) it is haram (wrong) to do that.

Yesterday, Malaysiakini published a post: Doa untuk bukan Muslim by none other than the revered ex-Mufti of Perlis, Dr Asri Zainul Abidin, refuting Dato' Harussani's claim about the matter being haram. Dr Asri said it is not wrong to pray for the well-being (mendoakan kesejahteraan) of a non-Muslim.

Dr Asri wrote: Bagi saya, doa kebaikan untuk bukan Muslim seperti agar memerintah dengan adil atau mendapat kesejahteraan kesihatan, keamanan, harta dan seumpamanya adalah dibolehkan. Dada Islam amat luas dalam hal ini. Syaratnya, doa kesejahteraan itu bukan untuk orang bukan Muslim yang bermusuh dengan Islam.

Actually, this issue brought about by the mainstream media is very much gutter politics rather than religious. Any right thinking person can attest to that.

Only a dumb nitwit would say otherwise, and these nitwits include all the retarded politicians at Utusan Malaysia who have nothing better to do than interviewing people who were at the incident and then blowing it up to mass proportions in their papers. Just because they want Lim Guan Eng's head, somebody else had to be a scapegoat to their agenda. And it happens, a khatib (preacher) by the name of Zakaria Ahmad had sacrificed himself to their schemes.

Notwithstanding the khatib involved, who had yesterday sincerely apologized about the matter in an interview with Bernama.

Zakaria said, "Bagi saya, berdoa (untuk orang bukan Islam) itu tidak salah cuma cara berdoa dan tempat (ketika khutbah Jumaat) itu yang dikatakan menjadi kesalahan. InsyaAllah lepas ini saya tidak akan mendoakan lagi (khutbah Jumaat) kalau hendak mendoakan pun di tempat lain," katanya kepada pemberita selepas memberi keterangan kepada jawatankuasa Majlis Agama Islam Pulau Pinang (MAIPP) di Georgetown.

The full Bernama report here


Zakaria said that if it was wrong for him to do it (doa for Lim Guan Eng) it was only a matter of saying the prayer at the wrong place (at a Friday prayer congregation, where there are so many pea-brain nitwits who couldn't differentiate between what's beneficial for everyone than what's politically-correct to their own group only).

Yes, Zakaria, you should be more wary about what you say in your prayer especially when those poor fellas are listening. They are just waiting for you to make the next mistake.

I think the next time Zakaria wants to read a prayer he should include: "Ya Allah, tolonglah hamba-hambaMu yang jahil ini keluar dari kesesatan, kekurangan dan kebejatan ilmu pengetahuan, yang disebabkan itu, hanya mahu ambil kesempatan berdasarkan akal dan nafsu dari kesempitan politik kami sehingga tidak tahu membezakan antara yang baik dan yang buruk, dan yang tidak pernah mahu mengaku bahawa sebenarnya hati dan perasaan kami yang busuk ini telah beriri hati dan berhasad dengki dengan kebaikan dan kebijaksanaan yang telah dilakukan oleh orang lain, walaupun orang itu bukan dari kalangan orang Islam."

There, I've said it. Does this make me a cynical, politically-incorrect biased person?

I rest my case.

Read also Sakmongkol's piece: What does UMNO Penang fear?