Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Unhappy Deepavali for wannabe Ayatollah

Wannabe ayatollah, who told his Muslim staff last week in an email not to bloody wish Hindus Happy Deepavali because it was akin to practising polytheism, has withdrawn his circular.

Lat week he had said: “Muslims who have inadvertently wished Hindus Happy Deepavali, Happy Durga Pooja or Happy Lakhshmi Pooja must immediately repent and not repeat it in future."

Now he himself is sort of repenting. However I detected some last effort claw marks by him when he gave his reason as “With reference to the
views of the Perak Mufti and the Selangor Mufti reported in the New Straits Times dated Oct 15, I sincerely apologise to all parties if the contents of the email have caused hurt and offence. With this, I retract it.”

In other words, Mohd Fauzi Mustaffa was saying that he only withdrew his fatwa-ish circular based on the clerics’ ruling and not because he felt any remorse at his illegal assuming of ayatollah-ish authority.

He made his retraction an hour after several NGO representatives led by DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng held a meeting this afternoon with Takaful CEO Mohd Azmi Abu Bakar.

Lim was more gracious than KTemoc when he said that the retraction was satisfactory as it has met DAP’s demands.

He stated: “Since Fauzi had apologised for the email and retracted it, I think we should forgive him and hope he will not repeat this. It is also a reminder to others to be sensitive to other religions.”

Lim has been mistaken because Mohd Fauzi did not truly apologise for his issuance of his religious views (a bit like what some Muslims had criticised the Pope of in the Byzantine speech) - instead he retracted the circular based on the ruling by two Islamic clerics.


But whether he apologise or not is not as important as asking this question: Yes, we Malaysians must ask not Mohd Fauzi but rather the authorities in Malaysia how they have, by their leadership, policies, examples or whatever, allowed the social situation to give rise to such ayatollah-ish pronouncements – begat no doubt by a combination of self political promotion and extreme religious views.

What have our leaders done to our social environment that people like Mohd Fauzi had dared to issue such illegal edict? It hasn’t been the first, and it won’t be the last!

5 comments:

  1. but perak mufti is Harussani, who has been known for his well thought out edicts. has he turned over a new leaf ?

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  2. he has not apologized yet. He's only sorry you feel that way....DOH

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  3. He apologizes for the words that he said, but not for the discomfort and offense that he caused. Why does that sound very familiar?

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  4. No heads being rolled down Jln. Tun Razak, aiseh, we're such a compassionate lot. If we have an Infidel performing stunts like the Takafool Ayatollah Wannabe then shops will be burned, famillies will be killed, place of worships will be desecrated and Malaysia as a multi-cultural society will end.

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  5. To all Muslim readers of Ktemoc Konsiders, I take this opportunity to wish you Happy Eid Al-Fitr. I am sure Ktemoc feels the same. I truly apologise for the shameless plugging, Ktemoc, but I thought I might as well save you some time.

    It is all the more joyous as Professor Muhammad Yunus, the founder of Grameen Bank, recently received the Nobel Peace Prize. We applaud him, not just for his Honest Vision and Boundless Dedication, and more importantly, his Practical Wisdom. Practical Wisdom, you say? That's right, he is wise because he didn't let the politicians control and run Grameen Bank. If they had, it is for certain Grameen Bank would have failed to achieve its objectives of alleviating poverty and remedying disparity in income within rural areas.

    I also would like to pre-empt Tun Mamak Kangkang and Mamak Zam Mydin, by wishing Ktemoc Konsider's Hindu readers Happy Deepavali and may this year's Diwali be an auspicious one. Likewise, I believe Ktemoc feels the same, and believe me, the greetings are sincere, unlike those proffered by the two political opportunists mentioned beforehand.

    I also take this opportunity to reflect on Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, a man who has dedicated himself to True Respect for all races and religions, a tireless advocate of Non-Violence, and Selfless Devotion to the protection of minorities. Selfless Devotion, you say? He, along with a handful of others, risked their very lives and limbs in order to protect the Muslim minority during the bloody aftermath of the Partition of India, and ultimately to restore them to their former lives and homes, without qualification.

    And to Hindus of Malaysian citizenship, I hope that you will reflect upon a saying by one of the most famous of all American Patriots, Benjamin Franklin:-

    "We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately."

    To Ktemoc, I would like to draw your attention to Wednesday's The Star newspaper (18 October 2006). Please look it up at Page 45 of the World Section, an op-ed article written by Laila El-Haddad, originally for Guardian News Service. There is an interesting paragraph, beginning with "As under the Arafat regime...", and the following two paragraphs. Does the scenario described sound familiar to you? Just you know, I am merely referring it's relevance to our local political scene.

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