ON 10 September 2016, an alleged hate crime occurred in New York involving a woman yelling anti-Muslim sentiment and malicious verbal and physical assault against two Muslim women whilst pushing their kids in stroller down the street. The woman tried to rip the hijab off from the Muslim women’s head during the incident. The insensitive lady also struck the Muslim women in the face and body and attacked their children. Fortunately, they were not seriously injured physically.
On that very same day, a Muslim woman was set on fire while standing in front of a shoes outlet in New York by a man who was believed to have also committed hate crime. Fortunately, the woman sustained no serious physical injury.
On a more deadly cases, earlier in August, an Imam and his friend were fatally shot in broad daylight as they walked home from prayers in Queens. A few weeks later, a woman wearing traditional Muslim attire was stabbed to death whilst walking home with her husband in Queens.
Clearly, the rights of Muslims in the United States to practice their religion have been threatened as they fear that walking down the streets in broad day light wearing traditional Muslim attire would turn them into potential victims of hate crime and religious persecution or end up dead after being denied the fundamental right to life.
This intensifying horror and acts of bigotry amidst a supposedly civilized nation which has always claimed to be the champion of democracy, liberty, human rights and freedom of religion causes us to wonder. Of course, this has been made worst by the very infamous anti-Islam figure Donald Trump ever since he took part in the Presidential election.
Repeat of Bani Qainuqa’ incident
The moment I read the statement where the woman tried to rip the hijab off from the Muslim women’s head, I instantly remembered one part of ‘seerah’ during the Prophet’s time regarding war against Bani Qainuqa’.
As we know – but some might have misunderstood – Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) managed to establish the foundation of what an Islamic country would feature, provide and seek to achieve. The foundation was based upon an agreement among the fellow citizens to abide by the ruler and the rules governing their conducts and dealings. Islam was the governing rules and principles, I would say similar to how our Federal Constitution was beautifully crafted and until today persistently defended, in particular the Article 3.
During the time of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) – Muslims were well-known to honour their obligations and respected the agreement. They sustained the agreement in order to achieve social cohesion and harmony among citizens of different faiths and ethnicity. However, some citizens appeared to be futile and hostile towards the agreed terms. One of them was Bani Qainuqa’.
Let me spell out some facts surrounding that part of ‘seerah’ involving Bani Qainuqa’ as narrated in Fiqh Sirah by Syeikh Ramadhan Al-Buti.
One day, there was a Muslim woman who went to Bani Qainuqa’s market for shopping. When she stopped at a stall, some Jewish men from Bani Qainuqa intimidated her, asked her to take the hijab off from her head and when she refused, these Jews forcefully used their hands to take it off. Another Jew who was the seller at that particular stall stepped onto her clothes touching the ground. When the Muslim woman stood up to move from that place her aurat was showing and she was ridiculed and mocked in front of all present in the marketplace.
This was the reason and incident which prompted Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and Muslims to go to war with Bani Qainuqa’ and surrounded their fortress for 14 days until Allah instilled fear in their hearts for them to surrender. As a result, instead of finishing them off, they were banished from Madinah and never allowed to return or allowed to live in the city as neighbours of the Muslims.
Lessons learnt from the war
We have been warned by the verses about the inevitable fact that non-believers, the Jews and the Christians will never be satisfied with Muslims as long as Islam is upheld.
“And the Jews will not be pleased with you, nor the Christians until you follow their religion. Say; “Surely Allah’s guidance, that is the (true) guidance”. And if you follow their desires after the knowledge that has come to you, you shall have no guardian from Allah, nor any helper.” (Al-Baqarah : 120)
We have also been warned of the fact that Muslims should not prefer non-believers as company or ally, and give them the position to lead, or in some narration, to be dependent on them.
“O you who have believed, do not take the Jews and the Christians as allies. They are [in fact] allies of one another. And whoever is an ally to them among you – then indeed, he is [one] of them. Indeed, Allah guides not the wrongdoing people.” (Al-Maidah : 51-52).
One of the lessons from the war against Bani Qainuqa’ was that the non-believers will always be envious towards Muslims. They could not stand watching Muslims living in harmony, peaceful and full of love and kindness.
This is similar to one of the statements made by a prominent Jew during the Prophet’s lifetime, Syas bin Qais when he observed Aus and Khazraj who have now became Muslims and brothers in Islam sitting together whilst learning about the newly embraced faith, as narrated in a book entitled ‘Sirah Nabawiyah’ written by Syaikh Syafiyyurrahman al-Mubarakfuri. He said, “Aus and Khazraj used to fight against each other. For God sake, I could not let them be united!”
That is their permanent agenda – to cause dissension and disunity among Muslims and never let them to unite. Their target is to ultimately weaken Islam and prevent it from running its course.
Is not our contemporary situation any different?
On one hand we observe how persistent and blatant anti-Islam propaganda is being spread and how they managed to instil Islamophobia among Malaysian citizens. The latest issue would be regarding the RUU 355 presented as a Private Bill by PAS President, Tuan Guru Datuk Seri Haji Abdul Hadi Awang. DAP, MCA, Hokkien society and Sisters in Islam too attempted to paint a misleading perception towards the amendment that it seeks to implement hudud or to open doors for hudud.
On the other hand we observe how ‘generous’ some Muslims are in defending these proxies which have consistently appeared hostile towards any efforts to strengthen the position of Islam and the preservation of its teachings. Just last year, DAP showed its true colours when it announced that the chauvinistic socialist party would remain in Selangor to prevent PAS from implementing laws prohibiting alcoholic drinks.
And what was the reason behind PAS leaving Pakatan Rakyat? Indeed, it is because it would be impossible for PAS to pursue its Islamist agenda while standing side to side with the populous opponents of Islam, DAP.
It would also be a mockery of unity among Muslims to leave the Friday sermons when it gave its support to the RUU and the fatwa regarding Sisters In Islam as a group promoting deviant teachings and understanding of Islam, that is liberalism and pluralism. I have previously responded to the distinction which was uncalled for made by the CEO of IDEAS between ‘liberalism’ as mentioned by the khatib and ‘liberalism and pluralism’ as written in the fatwa. Promoting liberalism, pluralism or both are considered deviance from Islam and any groups promoting any such ideas should not be tolerated.
Dr Mujahid Yusuf Rawa as a political figure and Deputy President of Parti Amanah Negara (PAN), has also joined the chorus in criticizing the Federal Territory Mufti, SS Datuk Dr Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri after the latter urged all Muslim MPs to throw their support behind the proposed RUU amendment. However the general Muslim populace has poured cold water on his criticism.
But who is left to defend Islam and the Constitution?
Those who wish to do so would be seen as racists and extremists. But as much as ‘racists’ and ‘extremists’ those people have become, they never condone to the blatant acts of verbal and physical assault against another person of a different faith and they certainly do not persecute other religions as what happened in the United States and as how the violent acts of terrorism have been committed by IS and Daesh.
Article 3 has made it clear that Islam is the religion of the Federation. Previous case laws have also upheld that Islam is above others, stands in front and speaks louder than any other religions in this country. But such recognition comes with a responsibility to preserve its sanctity, which is why Muslims should applaud any efforts by any parts of the citizens or the government to fulfil and respect the agreed terms enshrined in the Constitution.
The need to know the real enemy
DAP may have announced its commitment to the concept of Malaysian First or Malaysian Malaysia. However, as aptly put by a prominent social activist, Lukman Sheriff in his Facebook post on 15 September 2015, “This is why I find that as long as DAP supports the vernacular school it’s propaganda of Malaysian First is a cloak racism”.
Malaysians generally are very sensitive and anxious about racial discrimination. DAP has been trying to enforce their fictitious and unjustified claim that the racists and extremists ones are those who seek to implement Shariah and uphold Islam according to the Constitution. The populists like DAP would initiate the oversimplified version of facts and allow the natural prejudice of people to direct and influence the discourse. In the end, it is the Muslims/Malay who turned against each other.
This is very similar to what Syas bin Qais did after he saw Aus and Khazraj sitting together. He asked a man nearby to join them and reminiscence about the prolonged Bu’ats war between them before embracing Islam and the poems which they used to incite each other in contempt. A few moments later, Aus and Khazraj started to quarrel, swords unsheathed and the fight almost turned into a bloodbath had not Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) succeeded to calm the situation.
This is indeed a grave injustice to Islam, the Constitution and the Muslim community in our country.
As reported by UN News Centre quoting the statements by Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, “The formula is therefore simple: make people, already nervous, feel terrible, and then emphasize it’s all because of a group, lying within, foreign and menacing”.
He added, “Then make your target audience feel good by offering up what is a fantasy to them, but a horrendous injustice to others. Inflame and quench, repeat many times over, until anxiety has been hardened into hatred”.
Such remarks were made in addressing the proposals by a Dutch politician Geert Wilders to ban migrants from Islamic countries and to close mosques, Islamic schools and asylum centres, among other steps, but this also happens elsewhere.
This is also the narrative that the liberal and chauvinistic politicians are trying to impose on Malaysians; that in any ways Muslims try to assert Islamist point of view and implementation of Syariah laws, these politicians will smear them with the claim of extremism and racism.
Regretfully, some Muslims do not realize who the real enemy is. They could not see beyond their political interest and they would even “sacrifice” their Muslim brothers who oppose any groups – or rather their political allies – which seek to endanger the Article 3 and to paralyse any efforts to empower Islam and its institutions, including Shariah courts, whilst they pretentiously claim that they are championing the “true” cause of Islam.
Unless and until Muslims are united here in this country, we will never be able to protect or even dare to speak for our Muslim brothers and sisters in particular and Malaysians in general.
Danial Ariff bin Shaari
Isma Activist
Good writing akhi.