September 24, 2012
IRF urges Calm and Compassion
by Dr Ahmad Farouk Musa@http://www.malaysiakini.com
COMMENT The Islamic Renaissance Front views the recent murders and uproar over the film ‘The Innocence of Muslims’ with much sadness and bafflement.
All available facts suggest that The ‘Innocence of Muslims’ is not even a film. What is currently known about it was available in the widely circulated YouTube clip which ran for a total of some 13 odd minutes.
What is worse, most critics are in agreement on the film’s utterly poor quality – cheap sets, mediocre actors, bad voice overs and incomprehensible narrative- all of which explains why no one had even heard of the so-called film until Muslims decided to make a fuss about it.
Indeed, the added tragedy is not so much that the film is Islamophobic, which it clearly is, but that the unnecessary attention given to it by angry Muslims eventually gave the film far more publicity than it deserves.
Confront and suppress
The question is why. What is behind the apparent trend of Muslim hypersensitivity?
For the protests is just one occurrence out of countless others before, whereby masses of Muslims occupy public space to pressure some form of censure, punishment or banning of some product for insulting Islam.
Rather than to reflect, negotiate or dialogue, the tenor has often been to confront and suppress.
The most well-known case to date was the furore over Salman Rushdie’s (left) book ‘The Satanic Verses’.
More recently there were the Danish cartoons. Even the rather well produced movie ‘The Message’ directed by Moustafa Akkad in 1976 with Anthony Quinn in the main role, which did not portray the Prophet at all, was deemed by many Muslims to be offensive.
A Muslim group staged a seige against the Washington DC chapter of B’nai B’rith threatening to blow up the building and its inhabitants under the false belief that Anthony Quinn portrayed the Prophet.
We now have witnessed the needless deaths of dozens of innocent civilians as a result of violent protests that only reinforced the distorted image of Islam as a religion of violence and intolerance.
It portrays the vicious face of a religion that was supposed to be a religion of peace and compassion.
Sense of defeat and insecurity
When one observes the discourse closely, one will find that what underlies the narrative is a sense of defeat and insecurity upon being overwhelmed by what is often broadly termed as ‘the West’.
This sentiment is an obvious continuation of an earlier resentment against western colonialism, which almost all Muslim majority countries today has experienced in one form or another.
Daily life in the age of globalisation too, has seen an increase of presence by western products as well as political and cultural values.
Geopolitically, the presence of western military forces in Muslim countries is all too apparent and overwhelming. All this has somehow been viewed by Muslims as a sign that Islam is left behind, in one way or another, as a civilisation.
That in turn further reinforces the anxiety of powerlessness before fearful imaginations of a monolithic behemoth called ‘the West’.
From there, everything Islamic is juxtaposed against it, giving rise to a mood of scepticism against anything and everything that comes from the so called ‘West’.
Towards openness and dialogue
But the situation is not that simple. While there has been much decline in science and learning in the Muslim world, which is undeniably tied to a history of colonial exploitation, Muslims must learn to take responsibility for the course of their own progress.
Thus, rather than to recoil in defensiveness against everything western or offensive, there must be instead, an attitude of critical reflection and openness to ideas.
Progress requires freedom, for no genuine learning can proceed when power is imposed from without on what can be said and heard. To embrace this is not to embrace or justify Islamophobic or racist sentiments.
It is rather, to affirm that racist or Islamophobic sentiments are best dealt with through dialogue, learning and empathy rather than brute force or coercion.
Hate must be combated. Oppression must end. But Muslims will only fail themselves if they proceed in a stupor of insecurity and anger.
There is nothing in Islam that says hate must be combated with more hate. Recall, when the Prophet Muhammad was just beginning his mission, a woman placed faeces at his door in hatred of Islam.
Muhammad endured the humiliation peacefully, neither choosing to retaliate in anger or violence, to exemplify that ethos of calm and compassion that defined the eventual success of Islam in Mecca.
Conservative Muslims tend to regard such instances as inevitable given that Muslims did not get in power until Madinah, but they forget the historical fact that it was Muhammad’s exemplary character as a clear headed leader in Mecca that compelled the Medinans to turn to him as an arbiter and leader for their fragmented city in the first place.
Calm and compassion needed in Malaysia
On Friday, thousands gathered outside Masjid Jamek Kampung Baru and the US Embassy to protest ‘The Innocence of Muslims’.
Interestingly this saw members of Islamic party PAS and the main ruling Malay party (UMNO) marching for a similar cause for once, even prompting the UMNO Youth chief to invite PAS to join the ruling coalition.
It is too early to say if this will lead to anything but it does reveal again an age old fact about Malay politics, namely in how the vagueness of “Malay and Muslim unity” is used as a pretext to overlook other more concerned issues, such as socio-economic justice and multiracial solidarity.
Emotion and passion reign ahead of clear headed rationale and human values.
The Islamic Renaissance Front once again calls for all Muslims to focus on the central agenda of Islam and that is, to end oppression and the establishment of a just society whereby all citizens irrespective of race and creed, are treated equally.
Enough lives, time and effort have been wasted over this film. It is time to move on and wake up.
Authorship of the above statement is shared by Ahmad Farouk Musa, Ahmad Fuad Rahmad, Fadiah Nadwa Fikri, Rizqi Mukhriz and Ehsan Shahwahid of the Islamic Renaissance Front.
Logic and Reason have been sidelined. We have allowed our emotions to rule us and that may win votes from Muslim voters but we demean our religion which preaches tolerance, openness, patience, justice and peace among men. –Din Merican
The significance of bitter political rivals uniting to form a united front again foreign infidels has not gone unnoticed by foreign observers of the Malaysian political scene. It serves to confirm that PAS remains the weakest link in the electoral alliance and their leaders are susceptible and vulnerable to manipulations by their political rivals, and cannot be relied on to be loyal to their cause which is secular and non-religious. Even if Pakatan were to win the elections it is likely to be short lived. Coming together as an electoral alliance to unseat an oppresive regime from power is nothing like uniting to govern a country divided by race and religion which will soon be staring down the abyss of financial bankcrupcy.
“Freedom of speech is not to insult the Prophet” What’s wrong with these retards? Can’t they not understand that the U.S. government has no part in it. Try Google. They have so far refused to pull down the video.
The recent issue is about the film clip “The Innocence of Muslims” shown on You Tube. The film clip was clearly anti-Islam and objectionable to Muslims. A protest to its showing & distribution is not out of order – only the manner of showing the objection is questionable in some places. But Malaysians did well in their protests by showing maturity in not going overboard like in other countries. Please do not tell me that Muslims in Malaysia should just sit around and have a dialogue – dialogue with whom?
“If freedom of expression is something that is defiling religion and promoting intolerance toward so many Muslims, the West should exercise control to prohibit it” [sic].
It’s good to protest, if protest (in all it’s myriad forms) is the only forward. It let’s off steam. The only problem with most religious protestation, is that it often degenerates into “We/I am Holier than Thou”. As the writer implies, the Sacpegoating is intense.
whats wrong with these peole? USA is not at fault. this reaction against USA now proves that these people cannot reason anymore ,never could. Then reacting with violence as usual. Defeats all legitimate claims they may have. Fools. Do not they know that our Prophet was ridiculed during his life and all the Prophets of God (pbu them all) and not once did he/they retaliate with violence. It is said in the Koran this is what will happen to the Chosen ones of God. They will be ridiculed. If you bothered to read the Koran you will know this. Violence, thats all they know. They have only rancour in their hearts.By reacting they have given this ‘film’ more than it’s worth.
Encik hasan, your suggestion is well-meant but don’t expect the West to “..control..” much less “..prohibit..” the freedom of expression no matter what happens.
If the Muslims are unhappy about the anti-Islam video-clip, the best they should do is to exercise their own freedom of expression to protest like what the Malaysians did recently – but not going overboard like in many other countries.
Dignified silence alone (or dialogue?) will not do as it can be misinterpreted.
there are many anti-religion films, why can’t muslims ignore them as thrash?
killing people to protest against a stupid film is supposed to be an islamic way? which islam teaches that?
freedom of expression means exactly that and only free and civilised people can understand its importance. by being free I mean free of religious, racial and political indoctrinations. ask the families and friends of the dead people how they feel about islam now.
When Prophet Muhamad (saw )beginning spreading Islam from Mecca,relationship between Christian and Islam were vary good.Infact when the Muslim were being prosecuted by Pagan Qureish in Mecca,the prophet Muhammad asked the newly converted Muslim in Mecca to seek shelter in Euthopia under the rule of Christian King.
Infact one of the wives of Prophet,Maria,was a coptic Christian from Egypt.
When Prophet Muhamad migrated to Madinah ,he is only having problem with the jew who settle in Madinah.Eventually he had to expelled all of them from Madinah.
Conflict with Christian begin when John,the baptist,started attacking Muslim.We have Crusade war in Jurusalem berween Salahuddin and Richad the Lion Heart.The conqured of Constatinapole by Sultan Al Fateh and the war in Spain between Christian and Muslim.
Unfortunately the conflic continue until today .I think the conflict will continue will only end when the Jesus come down from heaven to kill the Dajjal and his followers.Accoding to Sheikh Imran Hussein,the Dajjal and his followers are the American and Europen Christian.
Allah said in Quran,we can planned but Allah plan is batter.
“A protest to its showing & distribution is not out of order.” — hussin
No doubt in stark contrast to the position taken by our bloghost Dato Din Merican — and the facts. The fact is the U.S. government has no control who says and does what on the Internet. Like Salmon Rushdie says in his interview with Farid Zakaria on CNN that the United States is a country like no other. Here in this country your right to freedom of speech is protected by the country’s Constitution. The U.S. government (note it is government and not any private actor like a club or association) cannot act to regulate speech because of its view point. They have the rule of law. In Malaysia you have rule by men in salt and pepper beards and white skull caps waving political banners.
The sooner Hussin who thinks JAWI is above the law, that Razak Baginda is a victim and Nik Raina a case study, realizes that not everything that oozes from his ears is brain matter the better.
Demonstrations in front of the U.S. Embassy are a clever ploy by UMNO to divide the political opposition to their rule which is now under immediate threat. Right thinking Malaysians must know that. Today it is the foreign infidels half way across the world, and the manufactured religious wrath directed to local symbols of their presence. The target of their message is nearer to home.
To take a video and to use that to inflame the feelings of your troops is not about religion. It is about political power — Salman Rushdie
Google is an American company and it owns You Tube. The First Amendment prevents the U.S. government from doing anything. UMNO and PAS retards find that hard to understand. Has the UMNO led government in Malaysia blocked access to the movie on You Tube? It should. Unless the intention is to inflame feelings of Malays in the hope that disturbances would give UMNO the excuse not to hold elections.
“Dajjal and his followers are the American and Europen Christians” — Hamid Gurkha
How would Hamid Gurkha know unless he has a hot line with God. And all his phone bills are paid for by UMNO with a Letter of Indemnity signed by PAS.
Encik hussin, it is a very thin line that separates religious abuse and freedom of expression on religion. This is compounded by (i) people who commit violence on the pretext of religion; (ii) people who take hypocritical stance toward religious issues; and (iii) people who put on a lot of perfume instead of taking regular bath.
Or is it something that is actually coordinated?
When you jump out of a plane you will meet your maker by the time you hit the ground. Yes, you can write a one page book inbetween that time. But publish it?