This endless debate about Islamic states or secular states, often disturb my solitude.
You see, I live in a small village on the shores of a pretty crummy bay. It is often filthy because of illegal logging uprivers. Other than my Timorese gardener who professes to be a Catholic as well as my immediate next door neighbour who professes the same faith, and whom I hardly see, the rest of the villagers are Muslims. Their ancestors before them have also been Muslims. They take for granted that the religion they profess will last them their lifetimes. But I must admit that I am also very Westernised, having grown up and graduating from a western university. The lifestyle I choose is entirely my own choosing. I must also declare that I will just be just as comfortable living in New Zealand, Australia, Great Britain, Canada, the USA, even maybe the Falklands Islands. I would not mind living in the interesting parts of Turkey or Greece, although the language barrier maybe a slight deterent. But that brings to mind my late grandfather who arrived on the shores of Borneo from China as a youngster in the 1920s, ended up on the same shore as I live now, married, had kids and somehow, to get by, learnt the lingua franca, as millions of migrants to these shores did.
The point I am trying to make is this, the Good Prophet (Peace be upon him), once said to his sidekicks, learn all you can, even if you have to go to China. So all my life, I have taken this attitude of wanting to learn, so I can make life better.
So what's all this fuss about being an Islamic state all about then? And does it freak out so many people? Even non-Muslims seem to be against it.
First of all, I think the problem lies in our unwillingness to learn. I, for a moment do not believe that any religious faith that can last for more than a thousand years can be that bad. What can make things bad, would be the unwillingness of adherents and followers to learn and improve with the times. What can make things truly rotten would be the unwillingness of those who somehow sneak into power, to understand that in life, everything is in a state of flux and change is inevitable. That is the major difference between our kind of democracy and the ones being practised by developed western nations. Just today I read about the Victorian premier, Steve Bracks, deciding to give up his post after 8 years. As a Westernised democrat, he did not give up because he was about to be hauled off to jail for corruption. He decided to give up because he felt that he has given his best to the state of Victoria and that there are people who are just as smart and capable as him to take over without anyone having to lose contracts and perks because of his departure. He can rest assured that the garbage will be collected, banks will serve customers just as well if not better, everything that he inherited from his predecessors and improved in his tenure, will continue and to be improved for the good of all inhabitants. What's more, anyone who feels badly done by, can say so publicly without fear. In other words, the people really choose who should govern them and only for a short period. They change governments regularly without any of the services being disrupted or poor villagers seeing their children losing their scholarships because they happen to vote the losing political party.
How does this creep into the paranoia about being an Islamic state? Do non-Muslim honestly feel that Muslims are truly incapable in deciphering what is good and bad?
Who do we blame for all this but Muslims themselves? Surely non-Muslims cannot be expected to have a deep understanding of Islamic laws and jurisprudence? Or how we should live our daily lives. More importantly, what is the philosophy of the religion regarding many issues that we face today like climate change, environmental degradations, corruption, abuse of power, lack of transparency in governance, drug abuse, loss of self confidence in youths, to name but a few.
But non-Muslims and many Muslims fear most is that those who get into power will inflict a Hollywood on them. The western propaganda about Islam being barbaric and being way behind the times get into the psyche of many people. The image of bearded, turbaned mullahs shooing people to be shot creeps to many minds. In the most unlikely event of this country deciding to apply so-called Islamic laws, I would not be unduly worried because by nature, I am not a habitual law-breaker. It would be unlikely that I'll get my hand chopped off for theft simply because my faith has taught me that it is not an acceptable thing to do. Apparently, to lose a hand due to willful thievery takes some doing in Islamic law. First of all, two pair of eyes (and they must be sane and of full age) must have witnessed it. Secondly, have gone through that, the offender and his family can ask for forgiveness and pay compensation before a court of law. If these two conditions are not fulfilled, the offender can still appeal to keep his hand...this is ridiculous even to discuss, although I do believe many people in this nation deserve more than one hand to be amputated.
So what else worries people...? Having to get the short and curly circumcised.? In Australia, save for those new arrivals from some countries, everyone is circumcised. Apparently the USA is the same. Circumcision is sunat in Islam... it's not compulsory but good if you want to do it.So what next.?
Assuming clean-shaven, incorruptible & educated Muslims take over the governing of the country, how will it change the country? Will those who are used to greasing palms be put in a position of fear because the ways will no longer be acceptable? Will their profits take a nose-dive? Will this country become non-investor friendly?
In the most extreme case, imagine a scenario where everything stops because it's prayer time. Every Muslim drops everything he happens to be doing, chills out for a few minutes to slow down, to take stock of himself and at the same time remind himself all is but nothing without the will of God..then over time, the Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, Taoists, atheists and whomever else, also follow the Muslim example of chilling out for a few minutes several times a day, do the same according to their beliefs. who then would have the inclination to go against their religious tenets? Would we have a better place to live in then...?
Obviously, what scares many non-Muslims about an Islamic state is our readiness to confront this challenge and to prove to all that we are capable of delivering fairness and justice as willed by the Book.
Muslims themselves must portray an image that others can look up to and desire to emulate and follow. It is no use covering up the aurat when the cloth for that purpose is imported from China. How many Muslims own needle factories in this country? How many Muslims own iron mongeries that churn out parangs that can be used to clear forests so Muslims can plant cotton to turn into cloths? Because Muslims lack the basic industries that can deliver their basic needs, they should by right, be running around naked. What kind of respect can we expect from our own weaknesses? And for those who can see these weaknesses, it is only fair that they should be paranoid.
But will this country ever become an Islamic state? The answer is an absolute no. Changing into something so drastic requires guile, gall and even brawn by the masses. So far the masses have been corrupted by the those in power. Whilst those in power would not touch an Islamic state concept even by the longest barge pole. Imagine the financial ruin they will suffer... so the non-muslims can continue to cari makan without fear.
