MANAGING DIVERSITY EXAMINED
“Managing Diversity” has been a term that is recently recapitulated by some Malay Muslim figures as part of the solutions to disputes on Islam and Malay positions in Malaysia, versus the multiracial and multi-religious population of the country.
“Managing Diversity” topics are related mainly to workforce in organization, and few researches touches on managing interracial students in educational institutions. According to RAND, “in the diversity management literature, the most commonly cited motivation for a firm to increase its emphasis on diversity is to improve its business performance.” [1] RAND continues by saying that, diversity is required to expand the pool of skills and talent to be recruited in order to attain a company’s goals. [1]
Diversity in race, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation and culture is managed such that; respect, support and value of these diversities are confined to the sphere where as long as organizational goals is achieved.
Can we treat a country like we treat business organizations?
How to manage different ideologies that refuse to succumb to one another? Is there any research done?
Is there any prospect that those whose values subscribe to secularism, liberalism and pluralism will ever meet with the path of those who regards Islam to be established in every aspects of life?
What should be the goal(s) of a nation in the perspective of a Muslim?
We will leave the questions above to our sanity to answer; let us review the viewpoints of the Islamic principles as well as the Western doctrines.
PRINCPLES OF ISLAM
Professor Dr. Solah As Sowy wrote in “Political Pluralisme in Islamic Nation” mentioned supremacy of the shaariah (Islamic laws and jurisprudence) as the first criterion that describes the concept of an Islamic nation. [2][3]
Shaari’ah is the highest level of laws and principles that governs the Muslims. There are no other principles or laws that are equal what else higher than Islam. Shaari’ah refers to Quran and Sunnah as the most authoritative influence and source of wahyu (divine revelation), over and above that of rationality and man-made legislation.
Any decision or law made that is against the shaari’ah, will be nullified automatically. There is no qiyas (process of deductive analogy) for anything that has naas (Quran and Sunnah). Anything though considered as maslahah (beneficial) by interpretation of human logic, that go against the shaari’ah is invalid. There is no shuura (consultative council) except for matters that endorsed by the shaari’ah.
Few verses of the Al Quran elucidated the supremacy of shaari’at:
“You worship not besides Him except [mere] names you have named them, you and your fathers, for which Allah has sent down no authority. Legislation is not but for Allah . He has commanded that you worship not except Him. That is the correct religion, but most of the people do not know.” (Surah Yusuf, verse 40)
“It is not for a believing man or a believing woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decided a matter, that they should [thereafter] have any choice about their affair. And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly strayed into clear error.” (Surah Al Ahzab, Verse 36)
“But no, by your Lord, they will not [truly] believe until they make you, [O Muhammad], judge concerning that over which they dispute among themselves and then find within themselves no discomfort from what you have judged and submit in [full, willing] submission.” (Surah An Nisa, Verse 65)
Or have they other deities who have ordained for them a religion to which Allah has not consented? But if not for the decisive word, it would have been concluded between them. And indeed, the wrongdoers will have a painful punishment.
PRINCIPLES OF ISLAM AS WANTED BY THE WEST
The West is honest and straightforward enough in describing what type of Muslims as their key partners. In RAND report entitled Building Muslim Moderate Networks [4], the type of Muslims whom they are looking forward to engage with are explained as:
- Committed to democracy as understood in the liberal Western tradition and agreement that political legitimacy derives from the will of the people (not will of Allah!).
- Contextualize Quran and Hadith in ways that support democratic values (or, in other way, try as much to suit Quran and Hadith to conform to Western democracy definition).
- Must unequivocally support pluralism and internationally recognized human rights (which earlier in the report including gender equality and freedom of religion as the rights that are unchallengeable).
- Support for democracy will also imply opposition to concepts of Islamic state.
In another paragraph, amongst their potential partners in the Muslims communities whom they favor are:
- Secularist – “They believe in the separation of the political and religious spheres…”
- Liberal Muslims – “ [they] differ from secularists in that their political ideology has a religious substratum—analogous to the European Christian Democrats—but they advocate an agenda that is compatible with Western notions of democracy and pluralism.” (and Jaringan Islam Liberal of Indonesia is mentioned as one of the model!)
TRUTH AND FALSEHOOD – DIVERSITY THAT CAN BE MANAGED?
We are not talking about the non-Muslims like Uncle Tan the neighbor next door, Uncle Muthu from the groceries shop, Patrick the officemate or their alike whom has no organized effort and intent to displace the position of Islam in our homeland. They deserve as much as rights in our daily mu’amalah (set of rules (fiqh) related to worldly matters and human day to day activities such as business, trading, commerce transactions, helping each other in need, and et cetera). They deserve our care and continuous da’awah effort. As mentioned by Allah in the Quran:
“Allah does not forbid you from those who do not fight you because of religion and do not expel you from your homes – from being righteous toward them and acting justly toward them. Indeed, Allah loves those who act justly.”
“Allah only forbids you from those who fight you because of religion and expel you from your homes and aid in your expulsion – [forbids] that you make allies of them. And whoever makes allies of them, then it is those who are the wrongdoers.”
(Surah Al-Mumtahanah, verses 8 & 9)
According to scholars in tafseer: Tafsir al Kashshaf by Al Zamakhshari (7:42), Al Razi in his tafseer Mafatih al Ghayb (15:325), Al Nasafi in his tafseer Madarik al Tanzil wa Haqa’ia al Ta’wil (3:423), and tafseer by Al Naysaburi (7:157) construed Surah Al Mumtahanah in verses 8 ; the obligation of Muslims is to interact with kindness (al-mabarrah) with non-Muslims in daily mu’amalat matters, but should not to the extent of matters pertaining the essence of directing of a country (al-muwalah). [5]
There are parties who are not ignorant of Islam, but purposely wage organized effort to limit the position of Islam; from a full way of life to a limited personal sphere. They understood well that if Islam is placed as center of reference, their dogmas and their worldly wishes and greed will be put to end.
To be specific in Malaysia, these parties challenge the position of Islam as the religion of the Federal, disparaging any special rights given to Islam and the Muslims, bashing the Islamic teachings, Muslims and the Islamic authorities without clemency. IFC, COMANGO, Kalimah Allah case, LGBTQ, hudud-bashing, normalization of Western cultures; are not series of events that happened over the night without meticulous planning.
Basically by reading the criterions listed above by RAND, a moderate Muslim as defined by the West is barely a Muslim at all. The West has arrogantly and clearly explained what type of good Muslims in their sight. The ones that are outside of their definitions are simply bad Muslims. They “manage diversity” by making those who do not comply to their definition as dissenters. They tolerate not Islam that is regarded as a full way of life, but will only accept Islam that is defined to be limited within personal worship.
And yes, there are people in Malaysia, who convey and execute this aspiration of the West as described by RAND. And it is devastating to see people who call themselves Islamists or coming from certain Islamic movements; let themselves being leveraged by those parties who are interested not to uphold the deen of Allah.
It is so naïve of ourselves if we think that batil (falsehood) and haq (truth) can be reconciled, can be co-existed, and can be tolerated, and can live side by side in peace without the need to remove either party.
Allah mentioned in the Quran:
“And do not mix the truth with falsehood or conceal the truth while you know [it].” (Surah Al Baqarah, verse 42)
“Fight them until there is no [more] fitnah and [until] worship is [acknowledged to be] for Allah. But if they cease, then there is to be no aggression except against the oppressors.” (Surah Al Baqarah, verse 193)
Norhidayah Ismail
ISMA Activist
Norhidayah is a senior engineer in a multinational oil and gas company, also an activist of ISMA. She can be contacted through [email protected]
References:
1 – RAND Corporation, 2008. Managing Diversity in Corporate America: An Exploratory Analysis (Jefferson P. Marquis, Nelson Lim, Lynn M. Scott, Margaret C. Harrell, Jennifer Kavanagh)
2 – Mohd Hazizi bin Abd Rahman, 2014. Relevansi Konsep Negara Islam:Pelaksanaannya Dalam Sistem Demokrasi Malaysia, Kertas Kerja Simposium Politik Islam anjuran Majlis Ulama ISMA (MUIS)
3 – Solah as-Sowy, 2010. Taadudiah Siyasiyah Fi Daulah Islamiah. Kaherah: Daru Iĺam Dauli.
4 – RAND Corporation, 2007. Building Muslim Moderate Networks. (Angel Rabasa, Cheryl Benard, Lowell H. Schwartz, Peter Sickle)
5 – www.ismaweb.net/2013/04/jawapan-kepada-tulisan-ustaz-anhar-opir/
