How little our leaders know

Trust not these religious people. Many are fakes and phoneys. The Quran says these people will sell their religion for money. This is not what I say. This is what the Quran says. And would the Quran lie?

- Raja Petra Kamarudin

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is upset that some Blogggers are showing ‘disrespect’ by flying the Malaysian flag upside down. Actually, flying the flag upside down is internationally accepted as a sign of distress, not a mark of disrespect.

What the Prime Minister does not know is that Malaysia has been showing disrespect to our flag for more than 50 years. Amongst some of these displays of disrespect are:

1. The flag should never be used for any advertising purposes.

2. The flag should not be used as a drapery, or for covering a speaker’s desk, draping a platform, or for any decoration in general.

3. It should not be embroidered, printed or otherwise impressed on such articles as cushions, handkerchiefs, napkins, boxes, or anything intended to be discarded after temporary use.

4. The flag should not be used as part of a costume or athletic uniform, except that a flag patch may be used on the uniform of military personnel, fireman, policeman and members of patriotic organisations.

5. The flag should never be used as a receptacle for receiving, holding, carrying, or delivering anything.

There are of course much more but these five above already demonstrates in what way Malaysia has been disrespectful to the Jalur Gemilang. So what’s with this anger towards flying the flag upside down, which is allowed, when Malaysia, in fact, has acted disrespectfully to the flag since the time of Merdeka.

On the matter of whether swearing on the Quran is allowed by Islam or, in fact, violates Islamic teachings, since the so-called religious scholars appear divided on what is right and what is wrong, allow me to refer to the Quran, which is supposed to be the main guiding light for all Muslims.

In an earlier article (Inventing new religious rituals ), I already explained that even the Prophet’s wife, Aisha, was not asked to swear on the Quran that she is innocent of the allegation of adultery. If the Prophet himself did not condone the act of swearing on the Quran, where then did this deviant practice come from?

What did happen is that the Prophet received a revelation from God about what to do to either confirm or dispel allegations of sexual misconduct. You can read this in Surah 24 (An-Nur) of the Quran.

And as to what to do in the event of a dispute when two people say opposite things, which means one of them is lying, you can refer to Surah 3 (Al ‘Imran) Verse 61 of the Quran which explains it very clearly.

The trouble with these so-called religious people is that they are trying to gain political mileage with the sodomy issue in the hope that Anwar Ibrahim may see a much-reduced majority in the 26 August 2008 Permatang Puah by-election, or, better still, lose the election. They are therefore twisting what Islam says in the hope that the simple-minded Malay voters in Permatang Pauh can be fooled.

The Quran has warned us about such people. ‘Religious people’ since time immemorial have been exploiting and distorting religion for monetary gain as well as to attain power. Religious people are very dangerous. They know they have the confidence of the majority of the people who are not only simple-minded but place great trust on people perceived as ‘men of God’.

This is not only a problem in Islam but in all religions as well. Trust not these religious people. Many are fakes and phoneys. The Quran says these people will sell their religion for money. This is not what I say. This is what the Quran says. And would the Quran lie when the Quran is regarded by Muslims as the word of God?

(more)

Read also:"Repression before reform in Malaysia"
By Baradan Kuppusamy