E-skodeng — Azrul Mohd Khalib, was an article published in The Malay Mail Online on October 10, 2016. This article is a review of the new app launched by Selangor Islamic Religious Department (JAIS). At the end of the article, we are told to flag the app as inappropriate. According to Azrul we have to fight oppression and the creation of a society of fear and suspicion.
Apparently reporting wrong doings are not tolerated by Azrul. Maybe when somebody is robbing Azrul we can all watch and say “We don not want to create a society of fear and suspicion”. We want those who rob to rob freely, whether it is the robbing of dignity or material.
So we will go into a few details that were put up by Azrul. We can not assume that Azrul wants to see a society with moral decay as one of his priorities in life. Maybe he has different priorities, as of yet, we do not know. According to him JAIS is encouraging Muslims to become voyeurs. One has to ask Azrul, “How does reporting a public act result in voyeurism?”. There is no such thing as spying on others in Islam.
Maybe in the liberal version of Islam professed by Azrul there is such a thing. In Islam, acts can only be reported if they are seen in public. You can not peek into someone’s house and make reports. So in essence the writer agrees that a guy entering his girlfriend’s house is okay.
No one should bat an eye and let the fun continue. We do know that the liberals have no concern to safe guard the dignity of women. Their idea is to let women make themselves available for pleasure of others. Be it visual pleasure or otherwise. They are loud when it comes to women’s rights.
Rights to dress provocatively, and encourage others to not cover up, are among their causes. As we can see those who claim to be liberal Muslims (women) rarely cover up properly. The main concern is not about Azrul’s association in vice. But rather a quote from the Qur’an. He quoted,
“There has to be a nation among you summoning to the good, bidding what is right, and forbidding what is wrong, it is they who are the felicitous” (Al-Imran: 101)
The verse he quoted is actually number 104 and not 101. So let’s assume a typo rather than ignorance. So, he goes on to say, that “the road to hell is paved with good intentions”. so according to Azrul forbidding evil is wrong. In other words he means that good intentions may have bad consequences.
Despite acknowledging good intentions, Azrul says it is caused by envy. So seeing someone do wrong an reporting the crime is due to envy. One should be left alone to commit any indecency in public, according to Azrul. No one should be disturbed when they are enjoying themselves, though it may be wrong to do it in public.
Azrul does not seem to like the legal system here in Malaysia. He prefers the secular idea of “mind your own business”. Live and let live is better than to have a morally conscious society. Apparently it is better to let people do whatever they want, than to correct their mistakes and/or educate them.
Everyone does mistakes and no one is perfect for that matter. The application developed by JAIS is to instill fear of wrongdoing. It is to let people know that if they do wrong they can be reported. And this fear should help them abstain from doing the wrong things. Not to apprehend and punish every living soul but as a mechanism to prevent.
Having sex is not wrong. Islam never stopped people from having sex, those involved have to be married. Sex can only be between a man and a woman at a given time. So to assume people will not be safe and they can’t live their life the way they want to does not make sense.
Sex comes with responsibilities, and those interested should commit themselves to the corresponding liabilities by getting married. A civilised nation has laws. Any civilised nation has laws. If someone does not like the rules of the country he/she is in, then they can always find ways to adapt or move out.
Encouraging vice is by no means a virtue. To those who want to let lose moral decay, should place their family members in such situations. Would they want their sisters, mothers, brothers, fathers to be involved in such things?
Indeed, education is a form of prevention. When education can’t help, punishment is the last resort. Allah knows best
Rehan Ahmad Bin Jamaluddin Ahmad
Research Fellow, Institut Kajian Strategik Islam Malaysia (IKSIM)
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official views of, and should not be attributed to, Isma or Ismaweb.
