Merdeka! 31st August Malaysians celebrate Independence day

31st August 1957 marked the day that Malaysia officially achieved independence day. Each year, on this day there is a celebration marked by a national parade; boasting all of this countries' achievements, culture and military might. I was involved in this celebration back in 1990 when Sri Aman Girls School along with Assunta Girls School and Taman Petaling were performing a Malay-Chinese-Indian traditional dance. We were in year 4 of secondary school and that must be the only time I attended the national parade live at Dataran Merdeka (Merdeka Square).


THE VIDEO OF MERDEKA


However, in celebrating this memory we must never separate the celebration from the actual event. My little daughter asked me in the car, she said "I don't understand what 'Merdeka' means?" So, I had to explain to my children and it was difficult explaining to them because it involved both parts of themselves. I told her that once this country was colonized by the British. Being half English, it was difficult for her to understand what that meant for her. Trying to explain to her what "colonization" meant was even harder as she is still so young. However, my older children understood it quite well.


History is made of factual things as well as the emotional aspects and points of view. I wanted my children to understand the facts; as well as to recognize that the points of view of history often depends on what we believe in. I didn't want them to start self-loathing nor to have negative feelings towards their English half. However, they needed to know the facts and be able to critically evaluate what it meant.


If one believed in Capitalism and the exploitation of wealth then one would view colonization as a good thing. However, if one believed in humanity and are against exploitation then colonization would be bad as it meant exploiting another nation, extracting its wealth, 'enslavement' of the people either physically or mentally and often retarding them.


So, I gave them the facts. This part of the world have always been prosperous. It was laden by spices, tin, fertile land that was good for rubber and palm oil plantation. On top of that at one time, Malacca was a very popular trading port. Due to its resources and strategic position, it became a sought after place by emerging powerful Capitalist nations. The people in the Malay peninsular have embraced Islam and although (correct me if I'm wrong), it was never truly under direct Ottoman rule but it had strong links with the Ottoman Empire and was under its protection.


The first Western Capitalist nation to occupy Malacca was the Portugese followed by the Dutch and finally British who managed to secure the whole of Malaysian peninsula in 1824. After more than a hundred years of British rule, Malaysia finally achieved independence and the people finally had their country back.


However, the British did not leave us empty handed. They gave us two things that were to shape our minds and system. It was a gift that would ensure that we would never truly be independent, at least not in the way we think...

The two gifts were:
1. Nationalism
2. Secular system

Nationalism was to ensure that we will forever be trapped within our own borders. The concept of a borderless nation or to form unity for the Muslim ummah became a far-fetched idea. The once great empire of the Muslims starting from the time the Prophet Muhammad SAW sent his army on expeditions to Syria, which was then under the Roman Empire and Persia until Islam spread to 2/3rds of the world became awesome stories in history books. Nationalism ensured that we will never rise again as one ummah and any attempt to break those borders will be met with fighting and resistance.

Don't get me wrong....I'm not saying we should open our borders for attack or to allow infiltration of our borders by negative elements. I am talking about the imprisonment of the mind...

Let's say for argument sake the Khilafah, a true Islamic state were to be re-established tomorrow. Would we be ready to give up our borders and be part of this state? To give our bay'ah to the Caliph (Khalifah)? Don't answer it yet...just think about it!



The other gift is secularism....or more specifically a secular system with secular laws i.e. laws that are man-made enshrined within the constitution. A law that states Islam as the official religion and that is as far as it goes...but when it comes to making laws; the reference is not Qur'an and Sunnah. Essentially that is what secularism is...religion is fine as long as it stays personal or a logo or a symbol but never to be used as something to solve daily problems, political problems, economic problems, social problems, foreign policy, judiciary or anything that involves governing the people.

There is no point in pointing fingers or accusing the people in the past for what has happened today. History is a lesson for us to be better in the future. It is however good to recognize that the secular system has been embedded so deeply within this country that any attempt to replace it is met with such strong resistance sometimes by the Muslims themselves. There have been attempts to bring more shariah laws within this country by various groups but it is often still trapped within the secular framework.


I'm not claiming to be an expert nor do I have all the answers but I do know ONE THING...which is what I am pointing out here, we may be physically independent. Theoretically we are in charge of this country...theoretically we seem to be able to determine the future of this country but in our minds are we truly independent? For the Muslims let us ponder...are we truly independent from our colonial past? Can we really fulfil our roles and function as the one who was created to worship Allah SWT alone, in our daily life, rituals as well as our public life and how we govern our nation?

It is a joyous moment to hear the words of our respected Bapa Kemerdekaan Tunku Abdul Rahman [CLICK HERE] when he shouted "Merdeka" back in 1957 and I can't imagine how it must have felt for the people at the time...but as we celebrate this event each year, let's question ourselves...how truly independent are we?

Resurgence of the Khilafah: Are we ready to accept?

In a previous post I expressed my despair of not believing in the Malaysian society and my own negative ideas that the muslims in this country are not ready to discuss the concept of Khilafah. I admit I was extremely wrong and recognize that one must never lose hope nor give up on the truth.

It seems that with the current climate, more and more people have expressed their awareness of the existence and history of our Khilafah system; established from the time of Rasullullah SAW until the moment of its destruction in 1924 (the Uthmani Khilafah)

I also came across an article titled "Khilafah & alam melayu" posted by Panglima silam highlighting the relationship between the Uthmani Khilafah and this part of the world as well as the protection that the Khilafah gave to us at the time. History highlighted the fact that this part of the world is a land of Ushr; a land conquered without any form of fighting because the sultan and the people of this land embraced Islam willingly. It was reported in Java, Raja Srivijaya sent a letter to Muawiyah and Umar Abdul Aziz accepting the protection of the Khilafah and in the year 718, Raja Srindravarman embraced Islam.

At this crucial moment where there is a strong realization of the split in the muslim votes in the last general election, questions are being raised about the true mechanism for unity. It is in the nature of this ummah to yearn for unity....because it is part of our belief in Allah SWT and His words, the Qur'an. Allah SWT says

The Noble Qur'an 3:103, 105And hold fast, all of you together, to the Rope of Allâh (i.e. this Qur'ân), and be not divided among yourselves, and remember Allâh's Favour on you, for you were enemies one to another but He joined your hearts together, so that, by His Grace, you became brethren (in Islâmic Faith), and you were on the brink of a pit of Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus Allâh makes His Ayât (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.,) clear to you, that you may be guided.

Hadith - Sahih Muslim (3/1340) and Ahmad (2/367)
The Prophet (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) said, “Indeed Allah is pleased with three things: That you worship Allah alone without associating any partner along with Him; that you hold fast altogether to the Rope of Allah and not to become split-up; and that you give sincere advise to whomever Allah put in charge of your affairs.”
The ummah is also aware of the internal and external plans to divide them and to attack the very foundation of the Islamic belief i.e Tawheed - to belief in the Oneness of Allah SWT. Him alone holds Power, the One and only creator of the universe. This understanding and concept needs to be upheld and protected by all Muslims.

http://www.globalresearch.ca/malaysia-failure-of-u-s-to-subvert-the-elections-and-install-a-proxy-regime/5334439

In this current climate, all islamic groups / parties / organizations working towards permanent change should take the opportunity to explain to this ummah about the islamic aqeedah and the beautiful Khilafah system that governed 2/3rd of the world with justice.

I am not postulating that the Khilafah can be re-established here and certainly maybe NOT within the next 5 years Wallahu A'lam but there is glimmer of hope that the people are ready to accept the concept of Khilafah as an alternative system to the current system....at least to consider and think about it.

وَمَكَرُواْ وَمَكَرَ اللّهُ وَاللّهُ خَيْرُ الْمَاكِرِينَ (3:54)

Election fever!

It is election fever at the moment. Malaysia's PRU13 (Pilihan Raya Umum). This is hard cause I've never experienced this before...well, maybe when I was little. I left Malaysia when I was 17 years old and now I'm back and this is my first time witnessing the election process. It is fun seeing the colourful banners, flags and funny adverts but reading newspaper headlines nowadays give me the headache. I'm still trying to figure out who is who, who is from which party...and then trying to figure out what scandal the newspaper is actually reporting, who the scandal is about. I never quite get to the analysis of why...bit!

In UK things were so simple. We just didn't vote. We didn't believe in the democratic system. There's nothing wrong with election or choosing a leader but WHAT IS WRONG is regardless of who rules, the laws are man made! It is pretty clear for Muslims that we can't rule by laws made up by people. Our belief in Allah SWT dictates that we rule by Allah's laws e.g. when Allah says gambling is haram, we cannot make it halal. When Allah says interest (riba) is haram, we cannot make it halal.

As I say things were so much more clear cut in the UK but here in Malaysia, it is very complicated and I can't even begin to explain the intricate situation we are in...but I guess the fact remains that regardless who enters into power, Malaysia is a secular state with a secular constitution and the bottom line is, the laws are man made. The idea that if a particular party could win the election and suddenly implement hudud. Hmm....unlikely! the system and the constitution protects man made law. Besides hudud is not the be all and end all of Islamic system. The Islamic system is the Khilafah system, it has a particular governmental structure with principals deriving from Qur'an and Sunnah.

In the Khilfah ruling system, sovereignty belongs to Allah SWT, in other words the laws come from Qur'an and Sunnah. In the democratic system, sovereignty belongs to the people...in other words people make the laws and more specifically, a particular group of people...people in power.

Also there is issue of economic system which has to be addressed because Islamic economic system is different from the Capitalist economic system. There is the issue of judiciary, education and social system. The hudud completes the system but it does not lead the system. How do you implement the hudud in a non islamic society where there's free mixing, poverty, selfishness and rampant ignorance?

The Prophet SAW did not implement Islam by punishing people. He implemented Islam upon those who believed in Islam as a system, who believed that they wanted to solve their daily problems by Islam. They wanted Islam as a solution to their messed up lives.

So you see it is not easy cause sometimes it just feels like within this election driven democracy, the only thing that matters is getting the votes but has there been a change in thought? elevation of mentality? referring to Islam as the method to solve problems?

Even I have become so confused since I came back to Malaysia...
Sometimes I don't know how to think anymore.
Anyway, people have fears and of course everyone fear instability.
I fear instability and I thought about running back to the UK if someone might sell this country off for their own personal gain! which has happened in many other places in the world.
So, how do you tell people not to vote because man made laws are haram?
Of course no Muslim should support man made laws, laws created by human beings and making those laws above the laws of Allah...but how do you address their fears? their fear of losing what they have now?

And often people are driven by their emotions...
The situation is tricky and fragile!
May Allah SWT protect this Ummah and give us the Khilafah soon. Ameen!

95% sure I'm staying here

I believe I am now about 95% sure that I'm staying here. This is our home now and good or bad, we'll have to fight our own battles. Read about the rise in British gas bills up to 200 pounds...yeah, I remember what it was like. When petrol prices were raised, there was a strike involving truckers causing chaos up to the French borders but a year later, petrol prices went higher than what it was.

That is the British Capitalist system where the rich gets richer and the poor gets poorer. Up to 90% of the nation's wealth is in the hands of 10% of the population. That was my exact query when we were having a lecture on Malaysia's Vision 2020...how can we implement a Capitalist system that from its basis is all about making profit and human problems and issues become secondary? How can such a system become fair and equitable?

Sometimes I wonder whether the people in the developing countries are even clear about the principles of the Capitalist economic system and if they do know about scarcity and unsatieable wants, do they even question these basic principles? Is scarcity true? Can we say that the resources of this world is finite when from our own Aqeedah, it is Allah SWT who provides for us? Can we say that a human being's wants are endless and so, we need to produce more stuff to fulfil the human wants? Even if we agree that the human being will always want more...as our Prophet SAW says as narrated by Anas "If the son of Adam had a valley full of gold, he would like to have two, for nothing fills his mouth except dust. And Allah forgives him who repents to Him.”

So, okay..human beings are never satisfied but does that mean the economic system should be designed to produce more and more to fulfil the desires of human beings. If a child wants ice-cream, should we design an ice-cream machine that will give him ice-cream 24 hours a day? or do we have an economic system that fulfils the basic needs of everyone, provide food, clothing and shelter and then allow the people to have luxurious items according to their means.

We need to know that not everything that originates from the West is good; and certainly, the Western economic system is a man-made system. Any man-made system is bound to have flaws, biasness and potentially oppressive.

How clear is 'clean'?

I need to say something about the 9th July march although I do not support 'clean 2.0' specifically. First, let me state my stance before anyone get the wrong idea.

I ONLY support the re-establishment of the Caliphate through non-violent means i.e.
1. Elevation of the thinking of people and to increase their understanding of Islam as a comprehensive system.
2. Exposing the plots and plans of the colonialist and their agents.
3. Nusrah - protection given for the re-establishment of the Caliphate by those with military power.

So, don't get the wrong idea about this entry. I'm just expressing my opinion and is meant for those like myself who are stuck in the middle of those who are for the 'clean 2.0' demonstration and those who are against. Most people (like myself) have no clear understanding of what this demonstration is for, what is the objective? This is partly because it is a collaboration by many different factions each with its own ideas and agenda. Each has something that they are dissatisfied about. To me, it seems that they just need an outlet to express their dissatisfaction. At the same time, we have wolves outside our home ready to blow the house down so, we need to be aware of those external factors who are ever so willing to 'interfere' and manipulate public sentiment as they attempted to do in the Egyptian demonstration.

However, I don't appreciate those who try to scaremonger the public, predicting all sorts of threat of violence and turmoil.

When I was living in the UK, I was a victim of the British government propaganda against Islam to the point that when I walk down the street, people eyed me with suspicion (so I was told). I was slightly oblivious to their stares and partly because when someone stare at me, I often wonder if they are one of my patients. However, the point is...Muslims in general are viewed with suspicion and I've heard cases where Muslim women in hijaab have been shouted at e.g. "Have you got a bomb under there?" or "Do you know where is Osama Bin Laden?"

So, I will not be coerced into a reactionary fear by any person(s) or party.

I believe it is important for the public to have a clear understanding of the facts and issues raised by any group. The people should be able to make their own decision of what is right and wrong based on two things:
1. the reality: the objectives, the facts, the issues and anything related has to be explained and understood.
2. the criteria of what is right and wrong, good and bad based on Ahkam Shariah.

It is a misconception to think that the public is too ignorant to understand fundamental issues. These are not exclusive to the intellectuals only. This is evident because a Bedouin in the desert can have a clear understanding of the existence of the Creator whilst there are professors who are atheist. Therefore, the understanding of reality and fundamental issues are not exclusive to those with Masters and PhD. 

I'm tired of propaganda...to be expected to act and behave in a reactionary way based on scare mongering and hear say from the east or the west. If we want to be an elevated society with maturity in our thinking, we need to first understand what is the problem through studying it. We need to understanding the problems and issues and then, understand the proposed solution. However, that is still not good enough because solutions proposed by human beings are subjected to bias and sometimes lack of clear thinking. We need to refer the solutions back to the Creator (Ahkam Shariah).

We can be the best if we refer back to our Aqeedah

I've been feeling pretty positive for the past few weeks.
I've noticed little things in my kids that made me believe that I've made the right choice inshaAllah in relocating back to Malaysia. The older kids are taking responsibility for the younger ones and my 8-year-old son is especially good at taking care of the babies during shopping trips. They are becoming more independent. They have certainly developed better attitudes in their manners and conduct especially towards people older than themselves.

Last Sunday, I had a rare opportunity to sit down and chat with my dad. He gave me a complete history of his life and our ancestors. I sort of knew that my grand father was a descendent of the Java royal family from Jogjakarta but never realised that he was a descendent of Diponegoro, the prince who fought against the Dutch. My dad also related to me his experiences, life of hardship and his service in the military. My dad was such a dedicated military cadet during his time in Raffles school, Singapore that he was offered by the British to attend Sandhurst Royal Military College but my grandmother refused to allow him to venture overseas. Instead he furthered his studies at Universiti Malaya Singapore and continued his military service as a volunteer. I related these stories to my son in the hope that it would inspire him to be diligent, dedicated and disciplined.

My 17 years living in the UK has definitely influenced my behaviour and thinking but to me, what really changed and influenced my thinking was my contact with the Muslims in UK, specifically studying the works of Sheikh Nabhani. When I was in UK, Islam became real to me not just a something to do with spirituality and ibaadah but it filled all the voids in my life, spiritually, emotionally, physically, mentally and politically. When I say politically, I'm not saying in terms of voting or campaigning but in terms of the ruling system, economic system, social system, education system, judicial system and the whole issue of international relations and dealing with life affairs.

When you live in a so called 'developing' country, the only access you have to the Western world is through the television programmes, possibly news channel (if you watch international news), magazines, internet and the few western people that you might come across at work or in shopping malls. If your only source of knowledge of the west is American TV programmes, you're definitely not getting the full and correct picture.

However, when you lived somewhere for 17 years, worked and mingled with the people, you see the whole of the society, the good and the bad. To me, there is nothing special or great about the west and sometimes I feel that the inferiority complex portrayed by some people is truly unnecessary. The only thing that makes the west advance and progressive is the fact that they are an ideological nation. Ideological meaning that they have a firm belief i.e. secularism and they refer to their belief to solve their problems. They implement the system of Capitalism and they truly believe in it, almost as if it is a religion.

The problem we have in this country and indeed any other 'developing' country is the lack of ideology. There is no firm believe in any particular creed. Despite being Muslim, this country have not truly embraced the creed of Islam to solve all of their problems. This is evident in the fact that there is no implementation of the Islamic ruling system and judicial system. In fact, implementation is just a tip of the iceberg, many people don't even have confidence in the islamic system, believing that it is old fashioned, applicable for 1000 years ago, not applicable towards non-Muslims etc...etc... this is a sign that Muslims have no confidence in their own belief and systems. They prefer to implement a secular system, a system imposed upon them by their colonial masters. They hope that this form of system would lead them to become 'developed' and 'progressive' as their colonial masters.

What they do not realized is that:
1. When their colonial masters left them, these 'masters' ensured that these countries will never be able to progress to the same level as the West. This is done to protect the interest of the West.
2. The Western system is created by the West and for that reason, they set the rules. They form institutions like the IMF, World Bank, United Nations and others in order to protect their interest and to consolidate their control over the world.
3. The Western nations are ideological nations and by that very nature, they will want to protect their interest and propagate their belief and systems to the world; they wish to propagate the ideas of democracy and capitalism not for the betterment of human life but to colonise other nations either physically, economically or psychologically.

These big nations are playing a game of chess with the earth spread as the chess board and we are the pawns. We can never be free from their control until we remove ourselves from this game and devise our own game, according to our own rules. We can only do that with an ideology. We cannot embrace the Capitalist/secular ideology because it is in contradiction with our Islamic Aqeedah. Surely we cannot believe that God only exist during our times of prayer and Ramadhan or when we do Hajj in Makkah but the rest of the time, He cease to exist!!!

If we believe that God exist and He is All Powerful, All Knowing then, surely He exists at ALL TIMES. So, secularism is in contradiction with our complete belief in Allah. So, we need an ideology but  it is the islamic ideology. All that means is that we will refer to our Aqeedah, our belief in Allah and that Qur'an is the word of Allah in everything that we do, whether it is for our ibaadah actions or for our daily life, economics, education, social, judicial and political. Again when I say political I am referring to Siyasah which is the looking after of affairs of mankind.

So, I don't believe we need to feel nferior towards the west at all, after all we have Islam and Allah swt says in the Qur'an  61:9 "He it is who has sent the Messenger with guidance and the Deen of Truth to make it prevail over all the other Deens even if the Mushrikun detest it."

However, we should do things properly and not take short cuts, not because we need to prove ourselves but because we should take pride in our work, to do something proficiently is prescribed in Islam. We can take the example of the Japanese who take the effort to be precise as part of their work ethics. However, we should never feel that we need to prove ourselves to anyone but Allah. After all, it is the Jannah of Allah that we strive to achieve, not the recognition of the Western nations.

The wedding of the year...

Was watching Katherine and Williams' wedding today and apart from the choir singing, sermons and mentions of trinity which is not part of my belief, I think everyone can agree that we all enjoy watching a happy wedding. It was indeed a happy wedding, a significant event during a time of economic crisis, possibly a closure to the rather tragic and unhappy years of Charles and Diana.

What really struck me was how the British have always shy away from overt expressions of patriotism and nationalism...unlike America, waving of flags, singing of national anthems on normal daily occasions is so...unlike the British and having lived in Britain for a while, I personally find the drowning of national anthem, the nationalistic songs being repeated again and again on TV and speeches and national day parades that is held in Malaysia rather distasteful, a bit cringey and of course not to mention haraam in the first place.

The British establishment has achieved today something that possibly have not been achieved so successfully by any other nation...this event was so timely, and the mood was so beautifully orchestrated, a memory that will probably be ringing national anthems in people's minds for the rest of their lives, a stronger impact than having to stand up and sing the song every morning during school assembly. Well, you start to wonder if there are side gains to this event than just two people professing their love to one another.

I have no doubt that these two individuals genuinely wanted to get married but...with a very anticipated wedding, a silver jubilee on the way and the Olympics next year...I have no doubt that nationalistic and patriotic feelings will sweep over Britain like a hurricane without people knowing it; despite over 5 decades ceasing to be an empire, they have managed to capture the world's attention with simply a wedding. No other royal family in the world has that much publicity.

Like I said, everyone enjoys a happy wedding and I certainly love weddings...the clothes, the food, the festive atmosphere and the gathering of families. It was a great feeling to see two people tie the knot...and in Islam, when a woman is given away by her father (or wali) and forms a marriage contract with a man, it is legally binding...marriage is a good thing so don't get me wrong...I'm not criticizing the wedding as such but this is not just another ordinary wedding. We need to be careful and to pose certain questions, not to be swept away by cheering crowds...not to become part of a wandering herd.

Patriotism is a feeling shared by the common people in defending a land, a country...and nationalism is a feeling shared by a group of people, bonded by pride of their tribe, race, skin-colour or nationality. It is a superficial bond, one that can often lead to feeling of superiority above others. It is clearly a feeling rebuked and warned by our Prophet Muhammad (saw) because he (saw) was once asked about asabiyyah (nationalism) and he replied """  leave it! it is rotten."

Nationalism and patriotism has gained its momentum and will soon sweep across the British isle like a tsunami. In some ways...I am glad I'm not there to witness it.

The Ideological challenge

There is so much to moan about, to express dissatisfaction. Everyone can sense the problem, the issues, the fact that something is missing...but what is it?

What I have studied about Ideological nations vs. non-ideological nations now makes complete sense. A person must have a purpose in life and so, does a nation. That purpose has to be something concrete about what life is about and what we want to achieve from it.

Today, we have so many ideas and visions...to be 'developed', to progress, to have the tallest buildings and biggest shopping centres in the world but what message do we want to send out to the world, what vision do we have for the world and what is the basis of that vision? Fighting for race and country is not enough. We need an ideology but what form of ideology?

Do we embrace Capitalism? Secularise ourselves, separating God from our worldly life as if we have two hearts in one body? Do we abandon some parts of the Qur'an that talks about hudood, jihad, social, economic and political system and just take the bits we want such as personal ibaadah and rituals? Do we really want to view this world with Capitalist eyes, as a place of complete enjoyment, exploitation and fulfilment of all of our desires? Do we want to exploit this world for our own profit at the expense of other people's lives and the environment? Do we really believe that is the meaning of success and that we can do all that without facing any consequences in the Akhirah?

Allah swt says in surah 33:4

مَّا جَعَلَ ٱللَّهُ لِرَجُلٍ۬ مِّن قَلۡبَيۡنِ فِى جَوۡفِهِۦ‌ۚ
"Allah has not made for any man two hearts in his (one) body:"

Allah swt says in surah Al-Baqarah: 85
"...Then is it only a part of the Book that ye believe in, and do ye reject the rest? but what is the reward for those among you who behave like this but disgrace in this life?- and on the Day of Judgment they shall be consigned to the most grievous penalty. For Allah is not unmindful of what ye do."

No person with Iman in Allah and the Last day can do all that without feeling a tiny bit of fear or doubt or regret. We cannot adopt an alien ideology and then think that we can compete with those who truly embrace it. We need to find our own way with our own ideolgy. An ideology that states that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is His Messenger. An ideology that has produced a state that was feared for 1400 years, not for being a rogue state but for being the empire of the world, the leading nation far greater than the Byzantine nor the Persian and definitely, greater than the pathetic leading nation of today.

We need the Khilafah state.

NB picture above is inside Aya Sofia in Istanbul.