Monday, 13 June 2011
PEDDLERS OF RELIGIOUS AUTHORITY
with thanks to Hashim Atan
On April 10, 1920, in the initial stage of the Turkish Revolution, the Sheikh ul-Islam Durrizade Abdullah issued a fatwa decreeing that the revolutionaries were infidels and it was jihad to fight them. The Sheikh-ul-Islam was appointed by Sultan Mehmed VI.
On the same day, the mufti of Ankara, Rifat Boreckci and supported by ulamas across Anatolia, issued a fatwa decreeing that the anti-revolutionaries were infidels and it was jihad to fight them. Anatolia was under the control of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
Both fatwas were backed by the Quran, Hadith, Sunnah and fiqah. Both were issued on behalf of God. The only difference was the interests of the paymasters.
In the same vein, mosques across Selangor last Friday read out sermons decreeing that the sex video depicting Anwar Ibrahim as a fitnah. Selangor is under the control of PKR and Anwar Ibrahim is the party’s de-facto leader.
The recent PAS muktamar too decreed that the sex video is a fitnah as it lacks the four adult pious males as witnesses. PAS adopted that stance solely to serve its political interests. PAS sorely needs Anwar to wrest control of Puterajaya.
If the video had shown an UMNO leader, the scenario would be different. The peddlers of religious authority in PAS and PKR would dig deeper in their cave and find a fatwa issued by some mufti somewhere in Timbuktu sometime in the 8th century that video images are acceptable in lieu of four adult pious males. Never mind that video technology did not exist then, the peddlers will somehow find justification through somewhat obscurantist arguments.
So far, the peddlers of religious authority aligned to UMNO have not spoken out to counter. They have a major problem. They lack credibility.
Throughout the years, the UMNO-appointed muftis have only issued fatwas against soft-targets. They were prompt in condemning pengkids, botox, yoga and poco-poco but never against corruption which is the bane of the ummah.
Peddlers of religious authority are peddlers. They make a living by selling religion. They speak to serve the interests of their paymasters by mimicking the voice of God.
HASHIM ATAN
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What the writer has described is a phenomenon sadly common in contemporary Malaysia.Fatwas would be worth more than the paper they are written on only if the people issuing them are beholden to God and God alone. Of course, such people are as rare as a unicorn. In Msia you have the comical spectacle some years ago of the national fatwa council with such pompousity declaring yoga to be unIslamic but upon open objection by a couple of sultans, remained mute and as meek as a mouse for fear of earning the wrath of the sultans. How can you have such cowards shouldering the heavy responsibility of declaring what is allowed or forbidden for the ummah? Just as the writer described, ultimately their fatwas will be based on what their pay or political masters want. Sad.
ReplyDeleteWhen 2 sports teams compete, and most of the players on both teams are of the same religion, should they be praying for success? Are they not insulting their religion or their deity?
ReplyDeleteIf a team loses to people of another religion, do they sin by praying for success in subsequent games, ignoring the answer as a sign?
Should all sportsmen, farmers, etc. who expose their knees be knee-capped?
Remember, Europe and USA were incinerating people alive for a lot less.
Learn from the mistakes of others; you can never live long enough to make them all yourself. - John Luther