PEKAN: Cawangan perkhidmatan pajak gadai Islam Ar-Rahnu di seluruh negara akan ditambah bagi mengelak orang ramai khususnya yang beragama Islam meminjam wang daripada Ah Long.
Timbalan Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak berkata buat masa ini, terdapat 160 cawangan Ar-Rahnu di seluruh negara.
"Kerajaan sedang berunding dengan Yayasan Pembangunan Ekonomi Islam Malaysia (YPEIM) bagi menambah cawangan Ar-Rahnu sehingga 400 buah tidak lama lagi," katanya ketika berucap di majlis ramah mesra bersama penduduk Chini 5 di sini hari ini.
Beliau berkata dengan penambahan cawangan itu, orang ramai sekurang-kurangnya mempunyai alternatif meminjam wang melalui saluran yang betul.
"Kita tidak mahu mereka meminjam wang daripada Ah Long kerana kelak tindakan itu akan menjerut leher sendiri," katanya.
Beliau berkata pajak gadai berprinsipkan Islam bukan sahaja mengelak orang ramai daripada sebarang kerumitan malah menambah pendapatan ekonomi umat Islam.
Terdahulu, Najib merasmikan cawangan Umno Chini 5 Jaya yang merupakan cawangan ke133 di kawasan parlimen Pekan di Perkampungan Felda Chini 5 di sini.
Dalam ucapan perasmiannya, Najib berkata pembukaan cawangan itu menunjukkan Umno terus berkembang dan mendapat sokongan padu semua lapisan masyarakat.
"Teguhnya Umno adalah berpaksikan akar umbi dan perjuangan kita akan lebih mantap lagi kerana perjuangan kita atas nama bangsa, agama dan negara," katanya,
Beliau berkata penduduk Felda kini jauh lebih selesa dan anak-anak Felda berjaya berkat perjuangan Umno. BERNAMA
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Najib: Tambah pajak gadai Islam, sekat kegiatan Along
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Internet access improves
Users reported better response times yesterday compared to Wednesday, as telecommunications companies across the region scrambled to tackle the outage.
“It’s a bit better now, but still too slow for my liking,” said Andrew Lee, an engineer who lives in Ampang.
Action taken by TM Net and Jaring, the country’s two main Internet service providers, to reroute traffic to alternative links on Wednesday appears to have helped ease congestion.
TM Net said it had no further updates on the situation when contacted yesterday.
Jaring officials were not available for comment.
Access to some of the more popular Internet-based services such as Google’s Gmail and the Yahoo! News portal improved appreciably, although viewing videos on YouTube.com during peak hours remained out of the question.
University student Ahmad Ridzwan Ali in Serdang said he was relieved that some websites could now be accessed.
“I use the Internet a lot for research and information gathering, so I hope it gets better in the coming days,” he said.
The Internet Traffic Report website, which monitors the flow of data around the world, showed improving response times and decreasing packet loss – the rate at which data fails to reach their destinations – in the region, compared to figures for Wednesday. THE STAR
Kerajaan perlu akui kelemahan tangani krisis banjir
Oleh SA'ODAH ELIAS
KELMARIN, Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Mohd Nazri Aziz mengatakan bahawa kerajaan telahpun mengeluarkan amaran banjir seawal lima hari sebelum hampir keseluruhan negeri Johor, serta sebahagian Melaka dan Negeri Sembilan ditenggelami air bah bermula Selasa minggu lepas.
Kebenaran kenyataan menteri itu boleh dipertikaikan banyak pihak, lebih-lebih lagi oleh berpuluh-ribu rakyat yang menderita akibat bencana alam paling buruk dalam tempoh 30 tahun itu.
Dengan mengeluarkan kenyataan seperti itu, Nazri seolah-olah mempersoalkan mengapa mangsa gagal mengambil langkah awal menyelamatkan diri dan harta benda sedangkan amaran telah lama dikeluarkan.
Sekiranya kenyataan Nazri itu benar, tidaklah sampai ada penduduk di bandar-bandar seperti Segamat dan Kota Tinggi terpaksa tidur di atas atap rumah masing-masing dalam hujan yang lebat kerana tidak sempat menyelamatkan diri mahupun harta benda.
Dalam keaadaan mangsa banjir memerlukan keprihatinan pemerintah, kenyataan rambang yang dibuat tanpa selidik oleh pihak atasan seperti yang dikeluarkan oleh Nazri itu tidak membantu, malah hanya menimbulkan kemarahan rakyat banyak.
Apakah sebenarnya maksud "amaran awal" yang dikatakan oleh Nazri itu?
Barang dan perabot terapung-apung di laman depan rumah di Kota Tinggi pada Khamis minggu lepas. (foto China Press)
Dengan panjang lebar, beliau dipetik oleh media sebagai berkata, amaran dikeluarkan pada 13 Dis apabila air di beberapa batang sungai di Johor melepasi tahap berbahaya.
Tetapi, apakah bentuk amaran yang dimaksudkan oleh menteri itu? Jika amaran yang dimaksudkannya itu membabitkan memo pemberitahuan daripada Jabatan Parit dan Saliran (JPS) kepada pihak menteri itu bahawa paras air sudah mencapai tahap berbahaya, itu bukan amaran namanya.
Amaran ialah apabila orang ramai diberitahu dengan jelas tentang bahaya yang semakin mendekat, sama ada melalui media, melalui masjid, surau atau badan-badan bertauliah, melalui pembesar suara, atau paling tidak melalui siren bomba.
Jika maklumat mengenai keadaan yang semakin meruncing itu hanya diketahui jabatan-jabatan terbabit seperti JPS, Jabatan Meteorologi, Bahagian Keselamatan Negara (BKN) dan Jabatan Perdana Menteri sahaja, ia tidak memberi apa-apa makna melainkan jika ia dipanjangkan pula kepada orang ramai dan kemudian digunakan sebagai asas untuk menubuhkan pasukan membantu dan menyelamat yang efisien.
Persoalannya, jika apa yang dikatakan Nazri itu benar, bahawa pihak berkuasa sudahpun tahu keadaan semakin meruncing seawal 13 Dis, sebagai Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri yang juga bertanggungjawab terhadap BKN yang menjalankan kerja penyelarasan bagi bencana alam di negara ini, mengapakah beliau tidak bertindak lebih awal?
Mengapakah semua pihak, termasuk pihak JPS, Jabatan Bomba dan Penyelamat dan Jabatan Pertahanan Awam huru-hara, tidak tahu apa yang perlu dibuat sebaik banjir melanda pada hari Selasa? Mengapa boleh berlaku kejadian mangsa banjir terpaksa bersejuk tanpa selimut, apatah lagi bantal dan tilam dan hampir kebuluran pada hari pertama dan kedua dipindahkah ke pusat pemindahan?
Selimut, alas tidur dan makanan serta minuman adalah keperluan bantuan paling asas, yang sepatutnya telah dapat disediakan oleh pihak berwajib sebaik air sungai sudah mencapai tahap bahaya -- di dalam kes ini pada 13 Dis, jika kenyataan Nazri itu tepat.
Sebagai seorang Menteri yang boleh dikira veteran dalam Kabinet, Nazri sepatutnya lebih memahami perasaan rakyat yang menderita dan tidak terlalu ghairah membuat kenyataan yang hanya menyakitkan hati mereka yang telahpun gundah-gulana.
Untuk pengetahuan menteri, telah kedengaran suara-suara sumbang rakyat yang mempersoalkan apakah perlunya kerajaan bermegah-megah atas keupayaannya menghulur bantuan kepada mangsa bencana di seberang laut, sedangkan apabila rakyat sendiri ditimpa musibah, nasib mereka seolah-olah tidak terbela.
Nazri juga perlu belajar daripada Timbalan Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Razak yang lebih berlapik apabila mengulas kenyataan beliau itu.
Najib yang sama-sama menyingsing seluar mengharungi air keruh meninjau nasib rakyat jelata sejak hari kedua banjir lagi tentu faham dan prihatin dengan perasaan rakyat jelata.
Kerana itu, apabila diminta mengulas kenyataan Nazri itu, beliau tidak mengiya atau menidakkannya, sebaliknya hanya menyatakan hakikat, bahawa banjir kali ini adalah suatu bencana yang luar biasa.
"Bayangkan di Johor, di sesetengah tempat, hujan yang turun dalam masa 24 jam itu sama seperti hujan dalam tempoh dua bulan, hujan begitu lebat sekali dan luar biasa. Rumah pula, air bila masuk sampai paras pinggang dalam masa dua tiga jam saja, jadi sesuatu yang cukup luar biasa, sebab itulah pada masa sehari dua, agak kecoh sikit, tidak menentu tetapi sekarang sudah lebih tenteram," beliau dipetik sebagai berkata.
Sifat mahu mengaku kelemahan inilah yang sedikit sebanyak dapat mengubat lara di hati mangsa. Mereka tidak perlu mendengar menteri atau wakil pemerintahan yang bercakap seolah-olah menidakkan kesukaran yang telah mereka tempoh.
Sangat penting bagi pemerintah mengakui bahawa pihak yang sepatutnya telah sedikit sebanyak "gagal" menangani masalah banjir kali dan tidak dapat memenuhi harapan rakyat. Hanya dengan cara ini sahaja keupayaan boleh diperbaiki dengan mengambil iktibar daripada kesilapan mereka minggu lalu supaya kesilapan sama tidak berulang.Batu Talam: PAS cepat pukul gendang perang
KOTA BARU: Walaupun tarikh pilihan raya kecil Dewan Negeri Batu Talam di Pahang belum diumumkan ekoran kematian wakil rakyatnya, Datuk Tengku Paris Tengku Razlan semalam, PAS telah mula memukul gendang perang.
Mursyidul Am PAS Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat hari ini menyuarakan keyakinan parti itu mempunyai peluang cerah untuk menang berikutan apa yang beliau sebut "masalah moral yang melanda Barisan Nasional (Barisan) kebelakangan ini".
Menteri Besar Kelantan itu berkata pilihan raya kecil itu, sekiranya diadakan, akan menjadi garis panduan kepada penerimaan rakyat terhadap dasar Barisan selama ini.
"Perkembangan yang ada sekarang, masalah moral amat serius dan boleh memberi kesan besar kepada Barisan. Barisan tak boleh mengurus moral kalau ia tolak Islam.
"Mana boleh hidup tanpa moral, bila berlaku kejatuhan moral dengan teruk rakyat akan menilai kerajaan," katanya kepada pemberita selepas merasmikan cawangan kedua Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd (Bank Muamalat) di sini.
Tengku Paris, 65, meninggal dunia akibat barah usus.
Allahyarham Tengku Paris mengalahkan calon PAS untuk memenangi kerusi tersebut pada pilihan raya umum 2004.
Menurut Nik Abdul Aziz, rakyat tetap menilai sejauh mana keberkesanan dasar kerajaan yang memerintah terutamanya dalam membendung masalah sosial.
"Sepatutnya pengundi di Batu Talam melihat kepada kesan-kesan keruntuhan yang berlaku sekarang ini," katanya.
Ketika ditanya peluang PAS dalam pilihan raya kecil itu, Nik Abdul Aziz memberi jawapan ringkas, "insya Allah". BERNAMAGempa di Taiwan ganggu akses Internet di Malaysia
TAIPEI, Taiwan: Gempa bumi kuat yang melanda pantai selatan Taiwan malam tadi telah merosakkan kabel bawal laut, mengakibatkan talian telefon putus dan khidmat Internet terganggu ke beberapa kawasan di C hina, Korea Selatan, Jepun, negara-negara Asia Tenggara dan Amerika Syarikat.
Gempa itu juga menyebabkan dua orang terbunuh.
Kerja-kerja memperbaiki kabel yang rosak itu akan mengambil masa sehingga tiga minggu, tetapi mutu perkhidmatan akan meningkat dari sehari ke sehari, kata naib pengurus besar Chunghwa Telecom Co, Lin Jen-hung.
Katanya, kerosakan kabel itu menyebabkan kapasiti komunikasi antara Taiwan dengan Malaysia, Singapura, Thailand dan Hong Kong terganggu pada tahap 98%.
Kerosakan itu juga memutuskan talian khidmat Internet bagi ramai pengguna Hong Kong yang kini tidak dapat mengekses laman-laman web di Asia dan AS.
Sementara itu di KUALA LUMPUR, perkhidmatan internet oleh TM Net Sdn Bhd sekarang ini mengalami suatu gangguan prestasi disebabkan sambungan talian sesak dan melampau di beberapa jaringan internet antarabangsa.
Di dalam satu kenyataannya yang dikeluarkan di sini hari ini, syarikat itu berkata ia telah mengambil tindakan cepat dengan mengalih laluan trafik ke jaringan-jaringan sokongan lain bagi mengurangkan kesesakan.
"Para pengguna internet di Malaysia dan bahagian-bahagian lain di negara ini mungkin mengalami sedikit penangguhan dalam mengakses kandungan-kandungan dan laman-laman web berpangkalan di luar negara, terutamanya di Amerika Syarikat, Jepun, China, Taiwan, Korea Selatan dan Eropah," katanya.
Menurut TM Net, masalah yang berlaku adalah berikutan berlakunya gempa bumi pada skala magnitud 7.1 Richter di pantai selatan Taiwan hari ini, yang menyebabkan gangguan kepada kabel Asia Pasifik Rangkaian 2 Shantou, China dan Tanshui, Taiwan dan juga antara Lantau, Hong Kong dan Chongming, China.
"Ia telah menyebabkan sambungan internet yang melampau pada talian internet TM Net International secara sambungan transit atau pemula, terutamanya ke negaranegara yang disebutkan," katanya.
Syarikat memohon maaf jika gangguan itu menyebabkan ada pengguna merasa tidak selesa dan segala tindakan yang difikirkan perlu untuk mengaktifkan semula taliantalian yang terjejas sedang diambil.
Para pelanggan boleh menghubungi Pusat Interaksi Pelanggan TM Net di talian 1300889515 (24 jam) atau 1300881515 dari 8 pagi hingga tengah malam atau emelkan ke custcare@tm.net.my untuk pertanyaan lanjut.
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Malaysia tidak perlu Mufti Besar: Harussani
Oleh SALHAN K. AHMAD
KUALA LUMPUR: Mufti negeri Perak Datuk Seri Harussani Zakaria hari ini menolak mentah-mentah cadangan supaya ditubuhkan jawatan Mufti Besar kerana bimbang ia akan menghapuskan kuasa Raja-raja ke atas perkara-perkara melibatkan agama Islam.
Beliau turut menuduh Ketua Pengarah Institut Kefahaman Islam Malaysia Dr Syed Ali Tawfik Al-Attas yang membuat cadangan diwujudkan jawatan Mufti Besar itu sebagai tidak berhak memperkatakan isu-isu penting mengenai agama.
Katanya, pendapat bahawa kepincangan pendapat di kalangan para ilmuan agama dan mufti di negara ini pada masa kini disebabkan oleh ketiadaan tokoh yang paling berhak untuk memperjelaskan isu-isu berkaitan umat Islam adalah tidak tepat.
Dr Syed Ali Tawfik, ketika membuat cadangan agar diperkenalkan jawatan Mufti Besar, berpendapat langkah itu akan dapat mengelakkan Islam daripada menjadi porak-peranda akibat pertelingkahan pendapat pihak-pihak yang bertindak hanya mengikut kepentingan masing-masing.
Ketika dihubungi mStar Online hari ini, Harussani berkata kepincangan yang berlaku sekarang timbul kerana ada pihak yang tidak berhak tetapi telah diberi peluang untuk membincangkan isu-isu agama secara terbuka.
Ketika diminta menjelaskan golongan manakah pada pendapat beliau dianggapnya tidak berhak untuk bersuara mengenai isu-isu agama, Harussani berkata:
"Orang macam Syed Ali itulah. Dia tidak ada kuasa dan hak (authority), tapi nak bercakap soal agama. Mufti-mufti ini sudah dilantik oleh kerajaan dan Sultan, mereka berhak untuk berbicara tentang agama."
Katanya lagi, peruntukan mengenai kuasa Raja-raja ke atas hal-ehwal agama Islam sudah termaktub dalam Perlembagaan dan sebarang percubaan untuk mewujudkan jawatan Mufti Besar sebagai orang paling berhak untuk bercakap mengenai isu-isu berkenaan akan melunturkan kuasa Raja-raja ke atas perkara tersebut.
Ditanya jika Mufti Besar boleh dilantik mengikut pemasyhuran sultan negeri mereka sebagai Yang di-Pertuan Agong seperti cadangan yang dilontarkan Dr Syed Ali sebelum ini, beliau berkata: "Itu tidak timbul kerana Yang di-Pertuan Agong hanya berkuasa di Wilayah Persekutuan sahaja.
"Inilah masalahnya, orang seperti itu tidak boleh berbicara tentang Islam sebab mereka berhujah menggunakan nafsu sahaja."
Wakil rakyat Batu Talam meninggal dunia
| 27-12-2006 09:24:05 PM |
| KUANTAN: Anggota Dewan Undangan Negeri (Adun) kawasan Batu Talam Datuk Tengku Paris Tengku Razlan meninggal dunia pada pukul 6.15 petang akibat barah usus ketika dalam perjalanan ke Hospital Gua Musang, Kelantan. Isteri allahyarham, Datin Raja Nur Aziah Raja Yunan, 60, berkata sebelum itu allahyarham Tengku Paris, 66 mahu dibawa pulang ke rumahnya selepas mendapat rawatan di Hospital Pakar Kuala Terengganu (HPKT) dengan helikopter Tentera Udara Diraja Malaysia (TUDM). Bagaimanapun penerbangan dari HPKT ke kampung halamannya di Kampung Pintu Padang, Raub pada pukul 4 petang tadi tertangguh selama tiga jam akibat cuaca buruk. Selepas berjaya berlepas dari Kuala Terengganu, penerbangan itu tidak dapat diteruskan akibat cuaca kurang baik dan terpaksa mendarat di Hospital Gua Musang. "Dalam perjalanan itulah suami saya menghembuskan nafasnya yang terakhir iaitu kira-kira pukul 6.15 petang tadi," katanya ketika dihubungi Bernama di Hospital Gua Musang. Menurutnya beliau dan anak sulungnya Tengku Saiful Bahari, 39, berada di sisi allahyarham di dalam helikopter tersebut. Raja Nur Aziah berkata, allahyarham mulai nazak petang semalam setelah dimasukkan ke hospital itu sejak Khamis lepas. "Semalam, arwah memegang tangan saya dan dia mahu memperkatakan sesuatu tetapi tiada kata-kata yang mampu diluahkannya kerana amat nazak," katanya. "Mungkin dia nak beritahu saya supaya membawanya pulang ke Raub dan berhasrat meninggal di sana jadi selepas berbincang dengan anak-anak, kami mengambil keputusan membawanya pulang hari ini," katanya. Raja Nur Aziah berkata beliau masih menunggu kenderaan jenazah bagi membawa pulang arwah suaminya ke Raub berikutan perjalanan menggunakan helikopter tidak dapat digunakan akibat cuaca buruk. Beliau berkata, allahyarham akan dikebumikan di Tanah Perkuburan Islam Hulu Gali, Raub esok. Allahyarham dimasukkan ke Hospital Tengku Ampuan Afzan (HTAA) bagi menjalani rawatan penyakit kanser usus yang semakin teruk sejak 16 Dis lepas dan dibenarkan keluar lima hari kemudian, sebelum mendapatkan rawatan lanjut di HPKT. Tengku Paris mewakili Barisan Nasional sebagai Adun kawasan Batu Talam selama dua penggal mulai 1999 dan pada pilihan raya umum 2004, beliau menewaskan calon PAS Dr Muhammad Nilam Abdul Manap dengan kelebihan 2,761 undi. Allahyarham meninggalkan enam orang anak, tiga lelaki dan tiga perempuan iaitu Tengku Saiful Bahari, Tengku Shahrizan, 36, Tengku Hairul Niza, 33, Tengku Nazatul Shima, 30, dan pasangan kembar, Tengku Ahmad Farid dan Tengku Aziati, 27. Sementara itu, Ketua Polis Daerah Raub Supt Ahmad Fazillah Mohammad berkata pihaknya sedang berusaha bagi membawa jenazah ke Raub malam ini. BERNAMA |
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Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Mufti Besar boleh elak agama dari porak-peranda
Oleh SALHAN K. AHMAD
KUALA LUMPUR: Negara memerlukan seorang Mufti Besar (Grand Mufti) untuk menjelaskan isu-isu berkenaan agama Islam dengan berkesan kepada masyarakat umum serta mengelakkan ilmu agama diporak-perandakan mengikut kepentingan pihak tertentu.
Demikian dicadangkan ketua pengarah Institut Kefahaman Islam Malaysia Dr Syed Ali Tawfik Al-Attas yang melihat wujudnya kepincangan di kalangan pendapat para ilmuan agama dan mufti di negara ini masa kini.
Dengan cara itu, katanya, isu-isu berkenaan agama Islam boleh disuarakan oleh seorang ulamak yang benar-benar arif dan diberi kepercayaan oleh mufti-mufti seluruh negara.
"Dengan adanya seorang mufti besar, isu-isu agama tidak lagi perlu didebatkan secara terbuka di dalam media kerana ia boleh dibincangkan secara tertutup di antara ulamak yang berhak," katanya ketika ditemui mStar Online di pejabatnya hari ini.
Sehubungan itu, katanya, satu seminar akan diadakan oleh institut berkenaan tahun depan untuk mencadangkan kaedah dan peruntukan-peruntukan lain berkenaan perlantikan ke jawatan tersebut.
"Oleh kerana Yang di-Pertuan Agong adalah ketua bagi agama Islam di negara ini, perlantikan Mufti Besar itu juga boleh mengikut giliran negeri di mana Sultannya menjadi Yang di-Pertuan Agong."
Ujarnya lagi, ciri penting yang perlu dipunyai oleh mufti besar adalah seorang yang berilmu, bertanggungjawab dan tidak boleh mempunyai sikap pelampau, sesuai dengan iklim agama di negara ini yang berbilang kaum dan kepercayaan.
Jelasnya, dengan adanya seorang Mufti Besar -- seperti yang diamalkan di Mesir, Australia dan Jordan -- kekeliruan berkenaan isu-isu mengenai agama Islam boleh dielakkan dan agensi penguatkuasaan agama Islam juga akan dapat memainkan peranan yang lebih relevan untuk kemajuan ummah.
Dr Syed Ali berpendapat, kecaman dan teguran yang dikeluarkan pihak tertentu terhadap mufti Perlis Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin menunjukkan tradisi kelimuan Islam di negara ini sedang cuba dimusnahkan oleh pihak-pihak yang berkepentingan.
Jelasnya, keadaan ini jika dibiarkan berterusan boleh meruntuhkan tradisi keilmuan, membawa kepada kekeliruan dan kekolotan agama, sehingga mencetuskan keadaan huru-hara.
Jelasnya, masalah lebih besar yang perlu ditangani oleh penguatkuasa jabatan agama Islam pada masa ini adalah korupsi keilmuan.
"Contohnya kalau kita tutup pandangan ulama yang memperkatakan perkara yang benar dan memanggil mereka ekstremis, tetapi pandangan orang yang tidak berilmu pula diberikan perhatian.
"Rasuah hanyalah satu spesis korupsi, tetapi korupsi ilmu ini lebih berbahaya kerana perkara yang benar dijadikan perkara batil dan sebaliknya. Inilah yang menyebabkan ramai orang Melayu malas untuk menuntut Ilmu," katanya.
Beliau juga mempersoalkan hak seorang pegawai jabatan agama untuk meremeh-temehkan pendapat seorang mufti yang dilantik oleh Sultan negerinya.
Beliau berkata demikian sebagai merujuk pandangan Pengarah Jabatan Agama Islam Perak (JAIP), Datuk Jamry Sury yang mempertahankan tindakan jabatan itu untuk meneruskan operasi memeriksa bilik hotel untuk mengenalpasti pasangan berkhalwat.
Datuk Jamry dilaporkan berkata operasi itu akan diteruskan kerana khuatir pasangan bukan muhrim tidak lagi takut untuk melakukan maksiat sekiranya pihak berkuasa berhenti memeriksa bilik hotel.
"Masalahnya, orang sudah tidak takut untuk membuat maksiat di tempat-tempat awam seperti di pusat membeli belah atau taman rekreasi, tetapi orang-orang ini tidak pula ditangkap. Apa yang perlu ditumpukan adalah maksiat yang dilakukan secara terang-terangan," kata Dr Syed Ali.
Mufti Perak, Datuk Seri Harussani Zakaria, Ahli Kehormat Utama Persatuan Ulama Malaysia (PUM), Ahmad Awang dan Presiden Persatuan Peguam Syarie Malaysia, Zainul Rijal Abu Bakar sebelum ini juga telah dilaporkan telah menolak pendapat Mohd Asri yang mencadangkan agar pihak berkuasa agama menumpukan pada perkara lebih penting seperti mengekang rasuah daripada mengendap dan mengintip pasangan berkhalwat termasuk di bilik-bilik hotel.
"Saya mungkin berbunyi agak keras jika memperkatakan isu ini, tetapi masalahnya, ulama popular seperti ini suka kepada sensasi. Mereka hanya gemar berkata mengenai perkara-perkara yang mereka tahu orang gemar mendengarnya," kata Dr Syed Ali.
"Walaupun mufti Perlis mengatakan mengenai khalwat dan perlunya ada pengkhususan mengenai masalah-masalah yang nyata, ada juga yang ingin mencerca dan menegur beliau, tetapi mereka tidak memberi peluang kepada beliau untuk menyatakan kebenaran. Saya rasa, ini mungkin tidak adil.
"Tetapi, kenapa kita mesti buang masa untuk pergi buat tangkapan khalwat? Dalam situasi Malaysia yang berbilang kaum dan agama, kita perlu adil kepada semua. Adalah lebih baik bagi orang-orang jabatan Islam dan anggota Rela ini supaya pergi tangkap Along yang banyak melakukan ketidakadilan dan mengeksploitasi orang miskin. Ini yang sepatutnya mereka lakukan dengan usaha bersepadu kerana mereka juga bertangungjawab ke atas ekonomi masyarakat negara ini.," katanya lagi.
Perkara ini, jelas Dr Syed Ali, boleh dicontohi daripada pentadbiran Empayar Uthmaniah yang memberi tangungjawab kepada mufti untuk mengelakkan berlakunya penipuan dalam perdagangan.
Namun, tegasnya perkara seumpama ini tidak diberi perhatian oleh golongan yang mentadbir hal ehwal agama Islam di negara ini kerana mereka tidak berpengetahuan dalam ekonomi, sehingga penentuan bayaran zakat yang pada asasnya bertujuan membantu golongan Islam yang fakir dan miskin juga sudah tidak relevan.
"Kadar bayaran zakat di negara ini hanya sekitar RM4.20 iaitu kira-kira USD1. Zakat ini dibayar supaya seorang fakir boleh makan satu hidangan setiap hari. Jadi, ini bermakna, negara ini juga ada orang yang hidup dengan USD1 sahaja setiap hari. Tidakkah ini memalukan orang Islam?" soalnya.
NO HOLDS BARRED
The 12th General Election will soon be upon us. It may be a matter of time before Malaysians will again go to the polls to vote in their next government. Take it from me, though, the ‘next’ government will be the same government we have now. There will be no change. It will still be the same shit, different day maybe, but the same shit nevertheless.
And why is this? Are Malaysians really so stupid? You mean to say Malaysians are so gullible? Are you suggesting that Malaysians are gluttons for punishment? Not that way at all really. It’s just that Malaysians have no choice in the matter. If they do not vote the present government back into office then which party do they choose instead?
Barisan Nasional is a coalition of 14 political parties representing every minority interest. Sure, they do have ethnic ‘problems’. But these problems are nothing but a storm in a teacup. Before the ‘outbreak’ of any ‘racial strife’, the other partners in the ruling coalition are told about it beforehand. This is merely shadow play or wayang kulit for the benefit of the gullible and impressionable members. The party needs to ‘prove’ that their race is constantly under threat from the other races and they need to demonstrate that the party is constantly ‘defending’ the rights of their race.
That’s how the game is played and they all play it for the benefit of their in-house audience. So no one loses any sleep over the matter or gets hot and bothered around the collar. It is part of the drama that must be played out year in and year out so that each respective race understands that we live in dangerous times and without their party there would be ethnic cleansing. Phew.....thank God for our party. If not, we would all have been finished long before this. Yes, and we all live happily ever after.
The opposition does not have a coalition like Barisan Nasional. The opposition is an ‘understanding’ of three fragmented parties that have nothing in common save their hatred for the ruling coalition. In that sense they are united; united by hate to be exact. Even a unity of love breaks up and ends in divorce. How well can a unity of hate fare?
You know what they say about trying to save a drowning man don’t you? The desperate one grabs the other and they both go under. Even if you are a superb swimmer you must be very careful about trying to save a drowning man. You must first punch the drowning man and render him unconscious. Then grab him from behind, never from the front. And, if you yourself are struggling to stay afloat, then never try to save a drowning man because you will only end up pulling each other down.
And that is currently the state of the three opposition parties. It is a case of one drowning man trying to save another drowning man. They are all going to go to a watery grave. The three opposition parties have absolutely nothing in common, save, as I said, their hatred for the ruling coalition. This is certainly not enough to unite them into one coalition. Worse still, it is also not enough to convince the voters to vote for them.
There are many things standing in the way of opposition unity. But let us focus on just one, the mother of all problems, the Islamic State issue. This probably removes more than half the problem if this one issue can be resolved. All the other issues could be easily solved if this one issue is settled. In fact, many of the other issues could even be self-solving if this one issue can be addressed.
Some PAS leaders say that upholding Islam and propagating the setting up of an Islamic State is the prime objective of the party. When pointed out that the Islamic State agenda does not go down well with the voters, even amongst Muslim voters, so this may hinder PAS in the election, they said that they don’t care. Their objective, they argue, is not to win elections but to fight for Islam. Okay, I have no problem with that if this is the objective. But then PAS should declare this to the voters. PAS should tell the voters that it is not interested in winning elections but only to fight for Islam. Then let the voters decide whether to give them their vote or not. But if the opposite holds true, then PAS should take more interest in the voters’ needs and sentiments.
The voters should not be cheated. PAS is an Islamic party and an Islamic party, above all, should be even more concerned about telling the voters the truth. The voters should not be lied to. Tell them the truth and let them decide for themselves whether they want to buy what PAS is selling. If not, then never mind; vote Barisan Nasional then. But if they choose PAS then they do so with their eyes wide open and with no misconception about what PAS is and what it stands for.
And why do I aim this at PAS and not DAP, the other kingpin in the opposition? This is because PAS, and not DAP, would be the alternative to Umno. DAP can never be that replacement to Umno. PAS would have to be it. So it is important how the voters perceive PAS while it does not matter too much what kind of party DAP is viewed as. It is clear what DAP is and there is no misconception here.
Awhile back, I wrote that Islam and democracy are not compatible. Many jumped on me and accused me of insulting Islam. I was not insulting Islam. I was not even stating my own opinion. I was making a statement of fact. If I were to write that most of the non-Muslim countries in the west are well-developed while most of the Muslim countries are backward, and if not for the oil then all the Muslim countries would be undeveloped, would this be insulting Islam? It is not even my personal opinion but a fact which everyone knows.
They talk about bringing back the Islamic system or form of government that was introduced during the time of the Prophet and the four Caliphs that followed. I pointed out that during that era they did not have general elections, and if the Prophet and the four Caliphs had to win elections to become leaders, then there is no way they would be running the country. Two articles ago I wrote about the history of the early days of Islam and the turmoil it went through and yet again I was accused of insulting Islam. Well, today’s article is not about Islam. It is about the general elections, about the opposition parties making headway in the general elections, and about the perception of the voters of PAS, the ‘leader’ of the opposition.
Dr Kalim Siddiqui was an Islamic scholar and Muslim revolutionary who was born in British India in 1933 and died in South Africa in 1996. In 1992, he set up the Muslim Parliament of Britain. He is the author of numerous books on the Islamic Revolution and the Islamic State. I will not go through his biography which will require a whole book. Those who are interested in his works can look up his many books and theses such as In Pursuit of the Power of Islam; Conflict, Crisis and War in Pakistan; Issues in the Islamic Movement 1982-83; Stages of Islamic Revolution; Functions of International Conflict: a Socio-Economic Study of Pakistan; Towards a New Destiny; Beyond the Muslim Nation-States; The State of the Muslim Word Today; The Islamic Revolution: achievements, obstacles and goals; and many, many more.
Dr Kalim is a staunch believer and propagator of an Islamic State and he does not believe this can be achieved through western-style general elections but only through an Islamic Revolution a la Iran. Elections, as far as Dr Kalim is concerned, only helps put unsuitable leaders into power, basically because the system can be rigged in favour of certain people. You need an Islamic Revolution to change the system and to replace the un-Islamic leaders with Islamic ones. And ‘Islamic leader’ does not just mean one who professes the Islamic religion but one who leads a proper life of a Muslim.
“For nearly 1,300 years, from the beginning of Banu Umaiyyah’s rule in 661 to the abolition of the Uthmaniyyah Khalifah (Ottoman Empire) in 1924, the political power of Islam was gradually corrupted and exercised by dynastic rulers,” said Dr Kalim. “Eventually, the process of moral decline inaugurated by Banu Umaiyyah reached a stage where the political power exercised by Muslim rulers was little different from the political power of non-Muslim rulers.”
“The creation of Pakistan had been an ‘Islamic Revolution’, except that it had not been led by the setting up of an Islamic State. Its only outcome was the setting up of a secular Muslim nation-State whose leadership was largely corrupt, politically subservient to the west, and incompetent to boot.”
“It is not possible to establish Islamic States, or to develop an Islamic civilisation, on the basis of the nation-States created from the bowels of colonisation. The nation-States would have to be dismantled and the political map of the ummah redrawn.”
According to Dr Kalim, the Iran Revolution was the closest thing to the creation of an Islamic State if not for the fact that Iran regarded it as a Shi‘ate Revolution rather than an Islamic Revolution.
If we go by what Dr Kalim believes, then Malaysia is not an Islamic State. Malaysia does not have the ingredients for the setting up of an Islamic State. Malaysia practices a western-style election system which is not compatible to Islam. To succeed in setting up an Islamic State, we need to abolish the general elections and instead embark on an Islamic Revolution.
But this is not what PAS is doing. PAS is not propagating a revolution, Islamic or otherwise. PAS actively participates in the general elections and is trying to meet its goals through winning enough seats in the general election. But Dr Kalim said that not only is this not Islamic, but it cannot be done.
So what does PAS have to say about this? Does PAS share these views or does it have another and opposite view? It owes the voters an explanation, an honest explanation. How is it going to do what they say cannot be done?
Furthermore, what would PAS do about the current political and administrative system if it manages to win enough seats to form the government? Would it abolish Parliament and the Westminster system in favour of a Caliphate system? According to Shaykh Abdalqadir as-Sufi in his book The Return of the Khalifate, “The Khalifate is not only fundamental to Islam, it is the necessary foundation of its power.”
The Shaykh calls for the reintroduction of Islamic laws and defends slavery. “Slavery, too, must be understood in the Islamic perspective. Slavery is an inescapable and constant part of the human situation. Islam does not abolish it, nowhere is it decreed. The fact is that a significant part of Islamic Law (one quarter of Al-Muwatta) deals with its strict laws. Most importantly, Islam does not consider slavery a doom.”
The Shaykh argues that the banking system must be demolished. “Lastly, the kafir society’s social foundations rest on the institution of usury, called banking, which with its stock exchanges and worthless paper money has enslaved the whole world under the control of a tiny oligarchy of criminal adventurers, the great banker dynasties.”
PAS leaders seem at a loss in offering examples of viable Islamic States, either in existence or in the past. They do not regard Iran, Pakistan or Saudi Arabia as good examples or genuine Islamic States. When asked to define what a ‘proper’ Islamic State should look like, the impression we get is that the Islamic State is merely an ideal, a theoretical system that has yet to emerge in the true sense of the word. One always goes away with the feeling that PAS is equally confused as to what constitutes an Islamic State.
Should Malaysia Today invite the PAS leaders to come forward and allow them to explain it themselves? Everyone is entitled to a fair trial. PAS too should be allowed to tell us what their plans are and how they plan to achieve them. If we like what we hear, then PAS might get our support in the coming general election. But at least we will know for sure what we are getting ourselves into by supporting PAS. And if we support PAS it will only be because we agree with them and are doing so with both eyes wide open and not because we were sold a cow when we thought we were buying a horse.
Over to you PAS! The ball is now at your feet. You want our support, then tell us what it is we are supporting. And the truth please! Malaysia Today would be very willing to organise a dialogue session with PAS for the benefit of any of our readers who are concerned enough about this country’s future and would like to hear what PAS’ plans are and how this would dovetail with our own idea of what ‘future’ is supposed to look like. Can PAS respond to this? And I am even generous enough to allow PAS to pay for the whole event (and don’t forget the Satay).
Somalia: Sikap tidak peduli OIC akan cetus lebih banyak keganasan
Tue | Dec 26, 06 | 01:17:16 PM
KUALA LUMPUR, 26 Dis (Hrkh) - Pertubuhan Persidangan Islam (OIC) akan tetap menjadi badan yang memalukan ummah jika ia tetap dengan sikap tidak pedulinya terhadap pembantaian dan pembunuhan umat Islam.
Mengulas tindakan balas dendam Amerika Syarikat terhadap umat Islam Somalia yang kini mencetuskan peperangan, Setiausaha Agung PAS, Dato' Kamaruddin Jaafar berkata, sikap pasif OIC itu bukan sahaja akan menyebabkan seluruh dunia menganggap mereka boleh melakukan apa sahaja terhadap umat Islam, malah akan mengakibatkan lebih banyak keganasan apabila lahir kumpulan-kumpulan bawah tanah yang tidak berpuas hati dengan OIC.
Dalam tindakan yang nyata didalangi oleh Amerika Syarikat, kerajaan Somalia meminta bantuan ketenteraan Habsyah untuk memerangi gerakan Islam negara itu walaupun majoriti rakyat Somalia amat marah dengan campur tangan negara jiran tersebut.
"Walaupun mungkin ada kumpulan bawah tanah di kalangan umat Islam yang didalangi musuh-musuh Islam kewujudan mereka, tetapi terdapat juga kumpulan-kumpulan sedemikian yang lahir kerana rasa tidak puas hati dan marah terhadap sikap pasif badan-badan yang sepatutnya memelihara kepentingan dan keselamatan umat Islam terutama OIC," kata Kamaruddin yang mengutuk serangan yang disifatkannya sebagai tindakan balas dendam Amerika terhadap umat Islam Somalia itu.
Beliau menuntut Malaysia sebagai Pengerusi OIC menghentikan sikap berdiam diri dan memulakan tindakan dengan mengemukakan usul bantahan melalui Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu (PBB).
"Lebih dari itu, OIC mestilah berani serta tidak teragak-agak untuk mengambil tindakan unilateral di peringkat pertubuhan itu sendiri dan menghantar tentera pemerhati negara-negara OIC ke Somalia. OIC jangan berdolak-dalik lagi jika ia masih sensitif dengan maruah umat Islam yang diwakilinya," tegas Ahli Parlimen Tumpat itu.
Jika tidak, katanya, Amerika akhirnya akan mendapat alasan baru untuk menceroboh Somalia sekali lagi.
Awal 1994 lalu, Amerika menanggung malu besar apabila terpaksa mengundurkan majoriti besar tenteranya dari Somalia setelah dikalahkan oleh umat Islam negara itu sehingga akhirnya, pada awal 1995, kesemua tentera Amerika meninggalkan negara yang ketika itu dipanggil negara Mohamed Farrah Aidid.
Dalam pertumpahan darah yang kini berlaku, Habsyah dan kerajaan Somalia dikerahkan oleh Amerika untuk menyerang gerakan Islam negara itu setelah kerajaan Amerika mendakwa, empat pemimpin Al-Qaeda yang dipercayai mendalangi serangan bom di Kedutaan Amerika di Kenya dan Tanzania telahpun menjadi pemimpin militia Islam Somalia.
Timbalan Pengerusi Badan Eksekutif Majlis Mahkamah Islam Somalia (SICC), Abdirahman Janaqow menegaskan pihaknya tidak akan berdiam diri terhadap pencerobohan Habsyah itu.
“Kami akan menewaskan tentera Habsyah di tanah air kami sendiri,” kata beliau selepas jet pejuang Habsyah mengebom kedudukan mereka di Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Mogadishu dan sebuah lapangan terbang lain di negara itu.
Pengerusi SICC, Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed pula menyatakan peperangan antara pihaknya dengan tentera Habsyah akan berpanjangan dan tidak berkesudahan.
Beliau memberitahu pemberita, dalam pertemuan di Emiriah Arab Bersatu sebelum ini, kerajaan Habsyah menuntut pihaknya memutuskan hubungan dengan negara-negara seperti Eritrea, Sudan dan negara-negara lain serta menyerahkan pemberontak Habsyah yang didakwa berada di Somalia.
Beliau mengulangi penegasan bahawa tidak ada anggota Al-Qaeda di Somalia.
Penduduk bimbang kawasan perkelahan dikorek pasir
Tue | Dec 26, 06 | 10:09:15 AM
TUMPAT, 26 Dis (Hrkh) – Selepas dibantah penduduk, kontraktor yang mengorek pasir di Pantai Geting dekat sini, kini menggunakan taktik baru iaitu menggali pasir di tepi laut pula.
Malah lubang besar yang terbentuk akibat pasir dikorek sejak sebulan lalu juga telah ditimbuskan tiga hari lalu. Namun persoalannya bagi penduduk, kawasan perkelahan mereka tetap rosak.
Seorang penduduk tempatan, Kamalzelan Abu Talib, 32 berkata, kerja-kerja mengorek pasir di kawasan daratan di Pantai Geting sudah dihentikan dan kawasan yang berlubang akibat dikorek telah ditimbus semula.
“Namun kontraktor terbabit pula menggali pasir di tepi pantai iaitu di gigi laut sehingga menyebabkan kawasan itu menjadi dalam dan orang ramai tidak dapat lagi berkelah seperti biasa.
“Penduduk masih tidak berpuas hati dengan tindakan tersebut kerana difahamkan pihak berkuasa tidak pernah meluluskan pasir di kawasan itu digali untuk ditimbuskan bagi kerja-kerja pembinaan Maktab Rendah Sains Mara di kawasan berdekatan,” katanya di sini.
Minggu lepas lebih 100 penduduk menandatangani memorandum membantah kerja-kerja mengorek pasir tersebut dan telah dihantar ke Pejabat Menteri Besar. Ekoran itu kerja-kerja menggali pasir di kawasan daratan dihentikan.
Dan lubang besar yang terbentuk akibat pasir digali telah ditimbus semula. Bagaimanapun pasir yang digunakan bagi menimbuskan lubang itu digali di tepi laut.
Difahamkan pihak berkuasa hanya meluluskan kerja-kerja menggali pasir dilakukan di Kuala Pantai Seri Tujuh yang terletak agak jauh dari tapak pembinaan MRSM.
Projek pembinaan MRSM itu dijalankan di kawasan yang ditebusguna daripada paya. Difahamkan projek itu mempunyai hubungan rapat dengan seorang pemimpin Umno tempatan.
Kamalzelan juga melahirkan rasa kesal kerana Adun Barisan Nasional dari Pengkalan Kubur langsung tidak mengambil endah masalah tersebut biar pun isu itu mendapat bantahan penduduk tempatan.
Seorang lagi penduduk Zulkifli Mahmood, 44 berkata, kontraktor yang terbabit dengan pembinaan MRSM hanya mahu melakukan kerja mudah dan tidak menggali pasir di kawasan yang diluluskan iaitu di Kuala Pantai Seri Tujuh.
“Pantai Seri Tujuh pernah mengalami hakisan tujuh tahun dahulu akibat kerja-kerja pengambilan pasir. Bagaimanapun telah pulih semula beberapa tahun lalu selepas ditimbus semula oleh ombak,” katanya.
Beliau bimbang Pantai Geting akan mengalami nasib serupa Pantai Seri Tujuh sekiranya kerja-kerja menggali pasir tidak dihentikan segera.
Rosdi Abdul Ghani, 42 mendakwa kontraktor yang terbabit dengan projek berkenaan dimiliki pemimpin Umno.
Malah katanya, orang yang rapat dengan pemimpin Umno terbabit pernah mengugut penduduk kampung untuk tidak lagi diberi bantuan kerajaan Pusat sekiranya membuat laporan mengenai kegiatan mengorek pasir.
“Kegiatan mengambil pasir di pantai berkenaan kadang-kadang berlarutan sehingga lewat malam. Lima jengkaut digunakan untuk mengambil pasir,” ujarnya.
Kampung Pantai Geting didiami hampir 200 keluarga yang rata-ratanya bekerja sebagai nelayan.
Sementara itu, Penyelia Dun Pengkalan Kubur, Ustaz Wan Jamil Wan Mahmood gagal dihubungi bagi mendapat penjelasan lanjut mengenai isu tersebut.
Sunday, December 24, 2006
Kelantan explains Yusof Islam invitation
Kelantan explains Yusof Islam invitation
KOTA BARU: Kelantan is keen to have Yusof Islam perform here because the singer, previously known as Cat Stevens, is the only Western artiste promoting the message of Islam globally.
State Local Government committee chairman Takiyuddin Hassan said Yusof, like Malaysia’s own singing sensation Mawi, has his own fan base and is accepted by various age groups in Kelantan.
He said this after witnessing the handover of duties for the president’s post of the Kota Baru Municipal Council here yesterday.
State economic development unit deputy director Shafie Ismail is the new council president, replacing Ab Aziz Ab Rahman, who has been appointed state Islamic Affairs department director.
He said Yusof's concert here is one of two major events that the state is planning for Visit Malaysia Year 2007 and to promote Kelantan as a progressive Islamic state.
The other proposed event will be an international halal food exhibition. He hoped both events could be held in March and April.
Asked about the PAS-style dance clubs proposed recently, Takiyuddin said the guidelines were simple.
“Single boys and girls cannot dance together. They have to do so in segregated areas. Married couples can dance together,” he said, stressing this was his personal view.
Norian Mai terpilih Penternak Jaya Selangor
SHAH ALAM: Bekas Ketua Polis Negara Tan Norian Mai hari ini dinobatkan sebagai Penternak Jaya Ruminan sempena Hari Peladang, Penternak dan Nelayan Negeri Selangor hasil ketekunan beliau berkecimpung dalam bidang penternakan kira-kira 12 tahun lepas.
Norian, 60, kini merupakan pengusaha Ladang Mai di Kampung Gumut Tambahan, Kalumpang di Hulu Selangor.
Beliau mula menceburi bidang penternakan kira-kira 12 tahun lepas melalui penternakan ayam pedaging di Kampung Gesir, Hulu Selangor dengan kapasiti pengeluaran 40,000 ekor sepusingan dan projek penternakan itu masih lagi beroperasi sehingga kini.
Norian mengusahakan tanah yang berstatuskan pemilikan sementara (TOL) di Kampung Gumut Tambahan itu sekitar tahun 1989 dengan tanaman pokok kelapa pandan dan ternakan ikan air tawar pada peringkat permulaan.
Pada tahun 2000, beliau melaksanakan sistem penternakan integrasi dengan mempelbagaikan aktiviti ladang seperti lembu, kambing, kerbau, rusa dan kolam ikan.
Ladang Mai mempunyai dua buah kandang untuk menempatkan lembu fidlot sebanyak 400 ekor dan lembu tempatan melebihi 250 ekor.
Bagi penternakan kambing pula, sistem yang digunakan adalah sistem insentif dan separa insentif dengan jumlah melebihi 2,200 ekor daripada baka Boer, Jamnapari dan kacukan.
Melalui rangkaian pemasaran yang luas, Norian telah mengembangkan perniagaan dengan membekalkan kambing baka, kambing untuk sembelihan, lembu kerbau untuk korban, makanan ternakan, ubatan untuk penyakit cirit-birit bagi kambing, baja organik, probiotik, ikan segar, susu kambing, ikan masin dan puding kelapa.
Sementara itu, pengerusi Jawatankuasa Tetap Permodenan Pertanian, Pengurusan Sumber Asli dan Pembangunan Usahawan negeri Datuk Raja Ideris Ahmad berkata kerajaan mahu pertanian baru memiliki ciri-ciri mengaplikasikan teknologi mekanisasi dan automasi.
Selain itu, katanya, ia juga perlu memanfaatkan bioteknologi, teknologi maklumat dan komunikasi, berkemahiran dan terlatih manakala usahawan mematuhi persijilan tempatan dan luar negara.
Katanya Selangor memperuntukkan RM8.16 juta untuk diagih kepada pesawah dalam bentuk pinjaman sebanyak RM500 setiap lot tiga ekar sawah sebagai modal pusingan untuk menjayakan program peningkatan hasil padi. BERNAMA
Wan Husein As-Sanawi Al-Fathani Hafiz pendiri Masjid Teluk Manok
Oleh: WAN MOHD. SHAGHIR ABDULLAH
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AKHIR-akhir ini berlaku perubahan besar dalam pelbagai jurusan pendidikan Islam di dunia Melayu, termasuk mula bercambah di tempat-tempat pendidikan menghafaz al-Quran. Banyak suara-suara sumbang yang hanya mengetahui dunia kini atau pergelutan di persekitarannya saja, lalu menuduh bahawa pendidikan Islam zaman dulu tidak menekankan penghafalan al-Quran dan hadis.
Saya berani memastikan pandangan yang sedemikian adalah satu pandangan yang sangat keliru. Sebagai contoh bahawa ilmu menghafaz al-Quran dan hadis berjalan sejak lama di dunia Melayu. Wan Husein al-Fathani adalah salah seorang daripada ulama silam yang hafaz al-Quran 30 puluh juzuk dan beribu-ribu hadis Nabi s.a.w. Beliau adalah moyang saudara kepada Syeikh Daud bin Abdullah al-Fathani. Ini bererti Wan Husein as-Sanawi al-Fathani lebih jauh mendahului Syeikh Wan Daud bin Abdullah al-Fathani.
Wan Husein as-Sanawi adalah adik- beradik dengan Syeikh Wan Senik al-Karisiqi (Kerisik), Syeikh Wan Muhammad Shalih al-Fathani (datuk nenek Syeikh Ahmad al-Fathani) dan lain-lain. Walaupun pada mulanya ada orang meragukannya, termasuk saya sendiri, kerana terdapat pertikaian pendapat dengan salasilah keluarga besar ini dengan yang ditulis oleh Haji Nik Ishak Tikat, Kelantan, yang berasal dari Datuk Nik Mahmud, Perdana Menteri Paduka Raja Kelantan. Namun, setelah saya menemui tiga salasilah yang lebih tua daripada salasilah yang tersebut, insya-Allah telah saya tahqiqkan dan hanya segelintir daripadanya disebutkan dalam artikel ini.
Pertikaian salasilah antara satu dengan yang lainnya tidak saya bicarakan di sini, kerana telah saya tulis dalam kertas kerja berjudul ‘Majlis Tazkirah Tokoh dan Ulama Islam Syeikh Daud bin Abdullah al-Fathani’ dan lain-lain terdahulu daripada ini.
*Asal-usul
Wan Husein as-Sanawi juga digelar Tok Masjid adalah termasuk salah seorang keturunan penyebar Islam yang awal datang ke dunia Melayu. Nama lengkapnya ialah Al-Allamah Al-Hafiz Wan Husein as-Sanawi al-Fathani bin Ali. Ali disebut juga Sultan Qanbul/Qunbul bin Manshur al-Laqihi. Manshur al-Laqihi nama yang sebenarnya ialah Saiyid Ahmad Samman al-Aidrus bin Saiyid Hakim.
Saiyid Hakim digelar orang Saiyid Kuning bin Saiyid Husein. Saiyid Husein digelar Sultan Pak Tani (maksudnya Sultan Patani). Ali@Sultan Qanbul/Qunbul dan terdapat beberapa nama selain ini, diriwayatkan bahawa wafat di Campa tahun 1467 M dan jenazahnya dikebumikan di Kampung Garak Ruwain (Binjai Lima).
Dalam sebuah salasilah disebutkan bahawa daripada Wan Husein as-Sanawi dan adik- beradiknya adalah datuk nenek golongan ‘Wan’ dan ‘Nik’ di Patani, Kelantan, Terengganu dan tempat-tempat lainnya. Yang dimaksudkan dengan ‘as-Sanawi’ yang terdapat pada hujung nama Wan Husein ialah beliau berasal dari kampung dinamakan Kampung Sena.
Kampung Sena itu sangat besar dan luas, sekarang di dalamnya terdiri dari beberapa buah kampung, di antaranya; Sena Janjar, Bendang Daya, Tok Diwa, dan lain-lain.
Kampung Sena dibuka oleh datuk nenek keluarga ini ketika mereka mula-mula sampai dalam kerajaan Langkasuka yang ketika itu nama Patani belum dikenal sama sekali. Dari kampung tersebutlah asal-usul perkembangan Islam di Patani dan selanjutnya keluarga tersebut turut aktif menyebarkan Islam ke seluruh dunia Melayu bersama-sama dengan keturunan-keturunan penyebar Islam yang datang dari Tanah Arab lainnya.
Adik-beradik Wan Husein as-Sanawi al-Fathani yang saya catat dari pelbagai sumber, sama ada yang disepakati mahu pun yang masih pertikaian pendapat adalah sebagai berikut:
1. Wan Abdullah atau Sultan Umdatuddin atau Wan Abu atau Wan Bo Teri Teri atau Wan Bo saja. Beliau adalah Sultan Cam/Champa, tahun 1471 M - 1478 M.
2. Wan Husein as-Sanawi, yang diriwayatkan dalam artikel ini.
3. Wan Demali @ Wan Mali @ Wan Alimuddin. Terdapat sebuah salasilah yang menyebut bahawa beliaulah Laksamana Bentan.
4. Wan Hasan, beliau menyebarkan Islam di Bangkok.
5. Wan Jamal.
6. Wan Biru, adik-beradik yang perempuan.
7. Wan Senik adik-beradik dengan Wan Husein, sudah sahih kerana disebut oleh Syeikh Muhammad Nur bin Syeikh Nik Mat Kecik al-Fathani dalam sebuah salasilah, dikukuhkan dengan salasilah keluarga Teluk Manok dan catatan-catatan lain yang ada pada saya.
Dari nombor 1 sampai nombor 7 disebut oleh Pak De Duku. Pak De Duku, nama lengkapnya ialah Haji Abdul Hamid bin Abdul Qadir bin Yunus bin Abdur Rahman bin Wan Husein as-Sanawi al-Fathani, adalah keturunan yang kelima ulama yang diriwayatkan ini.
Saya memperoleh banyak maklumat daripada beliau. Sejak tahun 1978 hingga 1991 saya berulang-ulang kali ke rumah Pak De Duku (Haji Abdul Hamid) di Teluk Manok kerana mencatat banyak perkara tentang keluarga yang diriwayatkan ini.
8. Syeikh Wan Muhammad Shalih al-Laqihi, saya adalah keturunan yang kelapan ulama ini, iaitu melalui jalur Syeikh Ahmad al-Fathani.
9. Maulana Abu Ishaq.
*Riwayat
Wan Husein as-Sanawi selain hafaz al-Quran 30 juzuk, sangat banyak hadis dan pelbagai jenis matan ilmu-ilmu Islam beliau juga berpengalaman dalam banyak bidang. Ilmu yang ada dalam sekujur tubuhnya bukanlah bersifat beku dan mati, tetapi adalah ilmu yang bersifat hidup sesuai dengan pergerakan fizikal tubuhnya.
Ilmu-ilmu yang dikuasai oleh Wan Husein as-Sanawi adalah seimbang dengan pengalamannya yang luas. Beliau berpengalaman dalam hidup cara berkhalwat, bersunyi diri tekun beribadat, juga berpengalaman dalam pengembaraan ke pelbagai penjuru bumi sejagat.
Wan Husein as-Sanawi pernah mengembara di pulau Jawa, pernah mengajar beberapa tahun di pulau Madura. Diriwayatkan juga bahawa beliau dan adik beradiknya bergaul mesra dengan masyarakat di pulau Sumbawa, sehingga ada pendapat yang menyebut Wan Husein as-Sanawi adalah berasal dari keturunan Arab yang telah lama datang ke pulau Sumbawa.
Dari pulau Sumbawa, pengembaraan keluarga tersebut termasuk Wan Husein as-Sanawi sendiri, meneruskan pengembaraan mereka ke negeri Cam atau Campa. Kerajaan Islam Cam itu adalah diasaskan oleh datuk nenek mereka yang berasal dari negeri Arab.
Setelah melalui proses yang lama melalui pantai-pantai dalam negeri India, persinggahan dan tempat tinggal terakhir mereka ialah dalam kerajaan Langkasuka. Proses yang lama pula setelah mereka membaur dengan masyarakat Melayu Langkasuka, maka terbentuklah Daulah Islam Fathani Darus Salam atau bagi umum mengenal sebutan Patani saja.
Dari Patani itulah mereka mengembara ke utara dengan maksud menyebarkan Islam di negeri China tetapi sebelum sampai ke negeri China mereka telah berhasil pula membentuk satu kerajaan Islam-Melayu yang dikenali dengan Kerajaan Cam.
Cita-cita mulai dari datuk nenek Wan Husein as-Sanawi untuk menyebarkan Islam ke negeri China berjalan terus sampailah ke zaman beliau. Bukan hanya itu saja, dari keturunan mereka juga telah menyebarkan Islam di Filipina, Brunei Darussalam dan akhirnya di Jawa. Beberapa orang di antara Wali Songo (Wali Sembilan) yang terkenal di Jawa adalah dari keluarga besar yang diriwayatkan ini.
*Masjid Teluk Manok
Semua riwayat adalah penting dicatat, namun hampir-hampir tidak ada orang yang tahu tentang peranan Wan Husein as-Sanawi dalam peranannya di dunia Melayu sejagat. Tidaklah berkelebihan kalau saya sebutkan di sini bahawa Wan Husein as-Sanawi ada peranan yang tersendiri dalam penyebaran Islam di dunia Melayu dan beliau juga ada peranan dalam pemerintahan Patani dan kerajaan Cam.
Setelah pengembaraan yang begitu jauh pada mulanya beliau menetap di Kampung Sena, tempat asal datuk neneknya, namun setelah adik- beradiknya bermuafakat maka mereka membahagi tugasan. Syeikh Wan Senik ditugaskan di Kerisik. Sebab itulah pada hujung nama beliau dalam salasilah ditulis al-Karisiqi.
Wan Husein as-Sanawi diberi tugas di Teluk Manok. Kampung yang beliau buka itu masih dikekalkan namanya sampai sekarang. Di Wadi Husein, Teluk Manok tersebutlah terdapat sebuah masjid yang digolongkan di antara salah sebuah masjid tua di Patani yang mempunyai kesan-kesan sejarah yang dikaitkan dengan Wan Husein al-Hafiz as-Sanawi, tokoh besar dunia Melayu serta yang masih terselubung dalam sekian banyak lembaran tulisan sejarah yang diseleweng dan dipalsukan oleh pihak-pihak tertentu.
Tentang tahun didirikan Masjid Teluk Manok itu, berbagai-bagai pendapat yang diberikan orang. Riwayat yang popular menjadi percakapan masyarakat ialah didirikan sejak 300 atau 400 tahun yang lalu. Saya datang menyelidik masjid itu berkali-kali sejak 1978 dan yang terakhir sekali pada Sabtu, 25 Mei 1991 M, pada waktu itulah saya terbaca di atas pintu masjid terdapat tahun 1266 H, bererti bersamaan dengan 1850 M.
Tidak terdapat sesuatu keterangan yang dimaksudkan dengan catatan 1266 H itu. Kemungkinan yang dimaksudkan adalah ketika memperbaiki masjid itu ataupun ketika menulis khat-khat indah yang terdapat di persekitaran tarikh di atas pintu itu. Jika kita hitung menurut tahun hijrah 1266 H itu hingga sekarang 1427 H bererti hanya 161 tahun saja. Ini adalah tidak sesuai dengan sejarah hidup Wan Husein as-Sanawi yang diperkirakan memang sudah lebih dari 300 tahun yang lalu.
Tarikh tersebut juga sangat jauh jaraknya dengan beberapa pendapat yang menyebut bahawa masjid tersebut didirikan pada 1619 M, pendapat lain 1621 M dan yang lain pula pada 1635 M. Tahun-tahun yang disebutkan ini, walaupun terjadi pertikaian pendapat, namun lebih menepati untuk dipegangi sebagai tahun berdirinya masjid itu jika dibandingkan pada 1266 H/1850 M yang tidak jelas maksudnya itu.
*Keturunan
Pertama sekali saya dengar cerita bahawa salasilah yang sangat penting tentang susur galur ulama Patani yang ada hubungannya dengan Teluk Manok diserahkan oleh Haji Ibrahim bin Daud bin Muhammad Shalih bin Abdullah bin Tengku Mahmud kepada Raja Perak. Yang menceritakan ialah Haji Abdul Hamid (Pak De Duku). Sungguhpun salasilah yang asli tidak saya peroleh tetapi saya sempat mencatat melalui Pak De Duku sejak 1978 M. Saya mencatatnya secara sedikit-sedikit, iaitu setiap kali pergi ke Teluk Manok hinggalah 1991 M.
Selain Pak De Duku, saya sempat pula menyalin salasilah tersebut tetapi bukan dari yang asli melainkan daripada salinan yang telah dijalankan oleh keluarga ini.
Pada beberapa tempat saya bandingkan pula dengan kitab-kitab yang dikarang oleh keturunan Wan Husein as-Sanawi, sebahagiannya menggunakan nama lengkap hingga sampai ke peringkat datuk.
Dalam catatan saya Wan Husein memperoleh enam orang anak iaitu; 1. Muhammad Shalih @ Tok Ci Gedung, makamnya di Jeringa. 2. Abdullah @ Tok Ci Teluk Manok. 3. Abdus Shamad. 4. Abdul Karim @ Tok Ci Bukit Bunga, beliau ini seorang hafiz, makamnya di Bukit Bunga, Jeringa. 5. Abdur Rahman, makamnya di Teluk Manok. 6. Fathimah.
Sehingga artikel ini ditulis, masih ramai keturunan mereka yang menjadi ulama ataupun tokoh penting dan bertebaran di pelbagai tempat.
Pas tidak sensitif penderitaan rakyat
Oleh: SAIFULIZAM MOHAMAD
KUALA LUMPUR 24 Dis. – Langkah Dewan Pemuda Pas memulakan gerakan untuk menghadapi pilihan raya umum akan datang ketika banjir melanda beberapa negeri jelas memperlihatkan sikap tidak sensitif terhadap penderitaan rakyat.
Ketua Penerangan UMNO, Senator Tan Sri Muhammad Muhd. Taib berkata, dalam keadaan rakyat yang kini terpaksa berhadapan dengan bencana itu, Pas seharusnya segera menghulurkan bantuan dan bukan memberi keutamaan kepada pilihan raya.
Menurutnya, rakyat khususnya mangsa banjir seperti di Johor, Melaka dan Pahang amat memerlukan bantuan daripada semua pihak sama ada parti politik, korporat, individu mahu pun pertubuhan bukan kerajaan (NGO).
‘‘Inilah Pas, mereka berpolitik tidak kira masa dan tempat. Bagi kita (UMNO), ini bukannya masa paling sesuai untuk mereka berbuat demikian memandangkan negara sedang berhadapan dengan masalah banjir.
‘‘Apa yang Pas lakukan ini merupakan bukti yang parti itu tidak sensitif dengan masalah rakyat. Mereka tidak ambil peduli, apa yang mereka tahu hanya menyalahkan kerajaan dan berpolitik sahaja,’’ katanya kepada Utusan Malaysia hari ini
Beliau mengulas tindakan Dewan Pemuda Pas yang mula menggerakkan jenteranya di seluruh negara melalui program Himpunan 15,000 ahlinya bagi menghadapi pilihan raya umum akan datang.
Pada perhimpunan yang diadakan di Padang Perdana, Kota Bharu semalam itu, ketuanya, Salahuddin Ayub mengingatkan ahli-ahli pergerakan itu supaya bersiap sedia dengan ketibaan tahun 2007 yang dianggapnya sebagai tahun pilihan raya.
Muhammad berkata, berbanding Pas, sayap-sayap utama UMNO telah digerakkan untuk membantu mangsa banjir di negeri-negeri yang terlibat dengan bencana itu.
‘‘Pemuda UMNO, Puteri dan Briged Putra UMNO telah menjelajah ke negeri-negeri yang dilanda banjir. Mereka ke sana untuk menghulurkan bantuan, sekurang-kurangnya ia dapat meringankan beban mangsa terbabit,’’ katanya.
Nada serupa turut disuarakan oleh Naib Ketua Pergerakan Pemuda UMNO, Khairy Jamaluddin yang menyifatkan Pas terlalu ghairah berpolitik sehingga lupa terdapat sekumpulan rakyat yang kini berada dalam kesusahan ekoran banjir.
Katanya, dalam isu tersebut sudah tentu rakyat akan menilai dan kemudian menentukan parti yang mana lebih prihatin terhadap masalah rakyat.
‘‘Terpulanglah kepada Pas apa yang mereka mahu lakukan dan dalam soal ini, kita serahkan kepada rakyat membuat penilaian.
‘‘Bagi UMNO, kita tidak akan berhenti setakat memberi bantuan ketika banjir sahaja.
‘‘Malah selepas air surut pun, kita masih mempunyai beberapa kumpulan daripada pihak Pemuda UMNO yang akan membantu meringankan penderitaan mangsa banjir,’’ katanya.
Bewildering flip-flops not helping Pas cause
ABDUL RAZAK AHMAD
First came a local council ruling forcing women to cover up, then a nod for dance clubs. Pas’ increasing contradictions on moral and cultural curbs in Kelantan are driven by its larger do-or-die mission to stay afloat in the party’s last bastion, writes ABDUL RAZAK AHMAD.
IN the 15 years Pas has ruled Kelantan, it has imposed restrictions on — take a deep breath — Thai boxing, wayang kulit, pop concerts, sexy female attire, darkened cinema halls and intermingling of males and females in places ranging from swimming pools to supermarket checkout counters.
Just to name a few.
Pas stoutly defends its long list of restrictions in the name of protecting its version of morality.
But the party is now rolling back these curbs.
The ban on Thai boxing — tomoi — was recently reversed. Pop concerts are now okay, as long as performers are male, decent, and the audience is segregated between the sexes. Wayang kulit — with "unIslamic elements" removed — is now permitted.
Negotiations are reportedly underway for a cineplex in Kota Baru. No word though on measures to prevent amorous couples canoodling in the dark — a concern that prompted the well-lit cinema ruling in the first place.
Most recent was the statement by Menteri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat that dance clubs were also, in theory, okay. But only if the outlets separated single men and women, were alcohol-free and if women were "decently" dressed — meaning, as he defined it, keeping one’s midriff covered, among others.
These reversals are sending out mixed signals on what Pas actually wants to do.
Pas officials say they are now willing to try out more flexible or less rigid approaches to culture and morality. This comes especially after a newer, younger, more urbane breed of Young Turks swept to power in the party elections last year.
Critics say these rollbacks are driven by desperation to hold on to the party’s increasingly slippery grip on Kelantan, and are laughable flip-flops.
"My reaction to what Pas is doing is: Ha! Ha! Ha!" is how Kelantan Umno information chief Datuk Md Alwi Che Ahmad puts it. The reversals, he argues, show up the restrictions as poorly thought-through political gimmicks to prove that Pas is championing Islam.
"They introduced a ruling for separate checkout counters, but poorly enforced it. There are cases of female cashiers stationed at the end of the male checkout lines. If it’s to segregate the sexes, then what’s the point?" asks Alwi.
"The dance club idea misses the whole point. Pas should be looking at substance, not form," says writer Sayuti Omar, a Kelantanese and Pas insider.
Party officials say they’re victims of negative media reporting. The dance club idea was first voiced by State Local Government Committee chairman Takiyuddin Hassan, amid controversy that the Kota Baru municipal council was going to slap fines on "improperly attired" women working in eateries and shops.
Takiyuddin reportedly clarified later that he had attempted to define entertainment outlets and cultural performance in a personal capacity.
"The comments (on the dance club proposal) have been taken out of context. The way the whole issue has been reported does not reflect the good intention of the Kelantan state government," says Pas deputy president Nasharuddin Mat Isa.
If all this was a mere storm in a teacup, why does the subject continue to fire the imagination of both Pas and Umno?
Because of the stakes involved.
Retaining Kelantan is priority number one for Pas in the next general election. It lost Terengganu in the last general election two years ago, and narrowly escaped a similar fate in Kelantan, where it now commands a mere one-seat majority over Barisan Nasional.
To remain in power, Pas needs to retain voter support not just from its core supporters but also from two other critical groups who consider greater openness and flexibility on cultural and moral norms important.
The first is young voters.
"They are an increasing big presence in the state," says Ibrahim Suffian, director of the Merdeka Centre, which conducts opinion polls. He estimates that by the time the next general election rolls around, the percentage of Kelantanese voters aged 30 and below could reach as high as 40 per cent.
It explains why Pas is going all out to organise concerts in Kota Baru featuring singers like Mawi, even though such events were something the party had always frowned upon.
The second target group is the Chinese voter.
They form less than 10 per cent of the state electorate and are spread out in only a handful or urban seats, but they’re a highly-prized commodity.
"In seats where the contest between Pas and Umno is close, those few hundred Chinese votes can make a very big difference," notes Ibrahim.
With Pas and BN’s presence in the Kelantan State Assembly now almost equally balanced at 23:22, the Chinese could literally decide who forms the state government if the Malay vote is split down the middle.
"The Chinese and the young voters are the real audience Pas wants to reach out to each time they announce these reversals," says Alwi.
Pas’ relations with its Chinese minority have not always been smooth. Some measures introduced in the early years of the party’s rule, such as a strict restriction on the sale and consumption of liquor — later relaxed for the community — as well as a general suspicion of Pas’ Islamic agenda, have not made the Chinese comunity a very reliable source of support for Pas.
But Nasharuddin denies that Pas will have any major problems securing Chinese voters in the state. He cites examples of outreach efforts, and notes how a dinner with state Chinese groups he attended last week managed to raise RM300,000 for two welfare funds.
"Allegations we’re scaring away the Chinese are just not true. For them our motto is ‘Islam for all’. We encourage all forms of culture and entertainment which are permissible (in Islam)," adds Nasharuddin.
Pas may still have some way to go before it can convince voters it’s as open and inclusive as, well, the BN. But election victories depend on bigger issues, namely the economy.
On this front, the BN again appears to have an edge with a record RM7.6 billion allocation earmarked for Kelantan under the Ninth Malaysia Plan.
But Ibrahim cautions against underestimating what Pas, with its limited resources, can accomplish.
"Their 2007 state budget managed to increase revenue by 25 per cent. They’ve introduced free insurance to all the elderly, and small financing schemes for young and women entrepreneurs.
"Sift through the controversies and you find some substantive achievements on the economy. They’re small steps, but they are heading in the right direction," he notes.
Overall, the political outlook in Kelantan, says Ibrahim, remains 50-50. But with so much at stake and at the rate that both parties are scrambling for the tiebreaker, Kelantan may yet get its dance clubs.
The only question is which side will be the one breaking out in celebratory dance moves when the final results roll in.
Friday, December 22, 2006
Does an Islamic State really exist?
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Makah (Mecca or Mekah) of the pre-Muhammad era can be considered as most cosmopolitan and tolerant as far as religious beliefs and persuasions go. The black stone cube known as the Ka‘bah was home to 360 gods. Hubal, the Syrian god of the moon; al-Uzza, the Egyptian goddess; al-Kutba, the Nabatean god; Jesus, the Christian god; Jesus’ mother, Mary; and many more were all represented in the Ka‘bah. Basically, every known god in the form of idols was present within (some around) the four walls of the Ka’bah and they all lived peacefully, side by side, in one home, the black-stoned cube.
Allah was originally an ancient sky or rain god who eventually got elevated to the position of supreme god. Since Allah was a high god, the Makah Arabs would not call upon him in time of need but would instead speak to the smaller gods who would act as a go-between to carry their prayers to Allah. Allah had three daughters -- Allat the goddess, al-Uzza the mighty, and Manat the goddess of fate. It was to these three daughters of Allah whom the Arabs prayed.
There were no priests or written scriptures. However, though Allah may have been the King of all the Gods or the Lord of the Ka’bah, Allah was not the main deity in the Ka’bah. This honour went to Hubal, the Syrian god. Allah therefore played a very low-key role though he was the King of Gods. This was basically the ‘secular’ system practiced by the Arabs where Allah, the King, was merely a sort of ‘Constitutional Monarchy’; for want of a better phrase.
Invariably, the Ka’bah became the centre for all religions practiced in the entire Arabian Peninsular and every year devotees would make their annual pilgrimage to the Ka’bah to pay homage and worship whichever of the 360 gods that they happen to believe in.
The Jews of Arabia, in particular in Makah, were heavily ‘Arabised’, as were the Arabs heavily influenced by Jewish beliefs and customs. There was a lot of cross-pollination between the Arab Allah and the Jewish Yahweh, which made sense since both regard themselves as children of Abraham. The same can be said about Christianity. Arabia was surrounded by the Syrian Christians in the northwest, Mesopotamian Christians in the northeast and the Abyssinians in the south, so the Christian influence was also very strong. The Arabs were actually quite sophisticated and knowledgeable in matters of religion and they borrowed a lot of practices and rituals from both the Jews and Christians.
The Jews and Christians themselves had many different variations of their religion (now called sects) and it was not just one form of Judaism or Christianity -- so it was quite a mixed bag indeed. For example, the Romans, who in 451 declared Jesus to be fully God and fully man, viewed all those Christians from Arabia as heretics. The Modalist Christians however considered the Trinity as representing three successive modes -- the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Nestorian Christians argued that Jesus had two distinct natures -- one human and the other divine. The Gnostic Christians in turn claimed that Jesus only appeared human but is in fact God. On the other end of the scale, the Arians rejected the Trinity altogether.
Nevertheless, as much as the Christians and Jews may differ in doctrine, in the Ka’bah all cohabited peacefully and were accepted by the Arabs alongside the idols of the 360 other gods and deities. What therefore were the Arabs? It is difficult to define the Arab religion as it may be to explain it. Those unable to explain this unique situation would just call the Arabs pagans. Pagan is a word invented by the Christians during the Inquisition to classify all those who are not Christians -- in fact, not only not Christians but not from their brand of Christianity who would be considered deviants. But the Arabs were far from pagans. They in fact had a very complex and well-organised religion that encompassed every known religion from the beginning of time and they did not require priests or holy books to guide them to the ‘right path’. In that sense, the Arabs were protected from manipulation by ‘holy’ people, avoided corruption or distortion of their religion, and spared disputes due to misinterpretation of what the holy book says or meant to say (since they had no holy books and no priests to interpret or misinterpret them).
It must be remembered, Muhammad was raised in this environment. His father died before he was born and his mother died soon after. He was then raised by his uncle from the very prominent Quraysh clan and grew up with his cousin Ali, who never left his side (Ali was his first convert after his wife Khatijah). Invariably, Muhammad not only followed but believed in their generations-old religion -- which was not only influenced by the different variations of Judaism and Christianity but Zoroastrian as well, an ancient religion from Persia that made its appearance 1,000 years before Christianity (some say 6,000 years). It is no surprise therefore that Judaism and Christianity, as well as Islam, borrowed heavily many of the rituals and practices from this ancient Zoroastrian religion.
Muhammad never claimed he was introducing a new religion. In fact, he did not introduce a religion at all, as the Quran (Koran) itself says that one must follow the ‘religion’ of Abraham -- the word ‘religion’ here being loosely used merely because mankind subscribes to the concept of religion and the use of the word allows man to better understand the issue. What Muhammad introduced was the doctrine of the one God -- “There is no God but God”. Everything else down to the rituals was inherited from pre-Islamic days. In fact, many were inherited from pre-Christianity and pre-Judaism days (such as the Haj). And that is why some Jewish and Christian sects share the same method of praying as the Muslims and which are consistent with the earlier Zoroastrian method.
We must remember that the doctrine introduced by Muhammad was that of submission. There was no Shariah or Islamic laws during the time of Muhammad, as all these came later, long after Muhammad had left the scene. Muhammad was of the Quraysh clan, the most powerful clan in Makah, and tribal laws were the order of the day. These laws were mostly based on the concept of retribution; an eye for an eye. If someone hit you on the head, then the punishment would be you are to hit him back on exactly the same spot and with exactly the same force, nothing more than that. If someone from a certain clan steals your camel, then the clan must replace it with a camel of exactly the same age, weight, etc.
In short, submission and the acceptance of the one God was what were demanded of one. Laws were based on ancestral tribal traditions. And punishment was based on the decision of the ‘court’ headed by clan chieftains who would decide what the punishment would be; and in most instances the punishment would comply to old traditions and based on you get back what you give out (retribution).
There were instances when traitors and spies from amongst the Medina Jews were discovered during the many wars between the Makah and Medina forces. The punishment for treason according to tribal traditions was that all the men would be put to death, their women and children became slaves, and their property would be confiscated. When Muhammad pardoned the criminals but exiled them from Medina while allowing them to take all their property with them, there was an outcry because this went against tribal traditions. Subsequently, when a minor Medina Jewish clan was found to have collaborated with the Makah Quraysh (who the Jews were doing business with and therefore had links with them), Muhammad was forced to hand them over to a bigger Jewish clan to deal with. The judgement delivered was according to tribal tradition. History would of course judge Muhammad as cruel but in actual fact he had no choice in the matter. Tribal laws came first and even Muhammad was not able to go against this.
The argument that Muhammad set up an Islamic State and introduced Islamic laws is certainly not true. The laws were pre-Muhammad and even Muhammad was forced to honour them. There was no Shariah like that we know of today. Later, after the period of the four Caliphates who ruled after Muhammad had died --Abu Bakar, Umar, Uthman and Ali -- the rulers began to lose their powers and the theocrats took over and introduced the Shariah which bound all Muslims. In fact, Medina itself lost its place as the centre of Islam.
Islam was still in the process of trying to define itself right up to the time of Muhammad’s death. Before Muhammad died he did not name a successor and while Ali (his close companion, cousin, and son-in-law, all in one) bathed his body and prepared it for burial, Abu Bakar ‘grabbed’ power, so to speak, and became the First Caliphate (Caliph or Khalifah) after Muhammad. The pro-Ali movement, now known as the Shi‘ah, claim till this very day that Ali was ‘robbed’ of this right. Abu Bakar then appointed Umar as his number two and disinherited Ali and his wife Fatimah, who was also Muhammad’s daughter, and put them on state welfare.
Abu Bakar gave himself the title of Khalifah Rasul Allah or ‘the successor to the Messenger of God’. This was actually a very vague title and no one really knew what it meant. Basically, Abu Bakar would replace Muhammad as the leader of the ummah (community) but would have no prophetic (religious) authority. For all intents and purposes, the Caliphate was a secular position. Nevertheless, his secular authority was extremely limited as all decisions were made by a council based on collective consultation (shurah), thereby still maintaining the tribal traditions of the olden days.
It must be noted that Abu Bakar’s selection as the Caliphate was not unanimously agreed as it was done in a closed-door meeting attended by only a handful of Muhammad’s prominent companions. They justified by-passing Ali on the excuse that he was too young. The Banu Hashim and Ansar clans both protested bitterly and refused to swear allegiance to the new Caliphate.
Umar succeeded Abu Bakar on his death two and a half years later. Umar attempted to make his peace with the Banu Hashim though he refused to reinstate Ali’s and Fatimah’s inheritance. Umar believed in the concept of separation of the prophethood and the Caliphate, thereby still maintaining the secular status of the Caliphate. Meanwhile, Ali’s popularity was increasing but Umar refused to endorse him as his successor, preferring instead to allow the clan to decide the successor based on the traditional shurah or collective consultation method.
As Umar lay on his deathbed (due to a stab wound inflicted by a deranged assassin), he summoned the six possible candidates who would succeed him; Ali included; and told them to decide within three days who would succeed him as the Third Caliphate. The candidates were eventually short-listed to two, Ali and Uthman, who were then asked a simple question by the interviewer, who also happened to be Uthman’s brother-in-law. The question was: if they were appointed the Caliphate, would they continue with Abu Bakar’s and Umar’s traditions? Uthman replied that he would while Ali replied that he would only follow God and his own judgement. And with that Uthman got the job and Ali was yet again bypassed.
The decline started to set in thereon. Uthman replaced all the existing Amirs (Emirs) throughout the Muslim land with his own family members. He then gave himself the title of Khalifah Allah or ‘Successor to God’, a title that Abu Bakar had rejected, plus he dipped into the state treasury to hand over large sums of money to his family members. Eventually, all the clans turned against him, including his own brother-in-law who had given him the Caliphate job in the first place.
Now, one very significant thing that Uthman did in his time was that he compiled the Quran into a book. Before this, the Quran that we know of today did not exist. In Muhammad’s time it was never compiled but was scattered here and there and mostly committed to memory. In 650, Uthman, as the ‘Successor to God’, authorised a single universally-binding text of the Quran. However, in doing so, he antagonised many other Muslim communities who considered their version of the Quran as the more accurate version. Uthman then instructed that all the different variations of the Quran be brought to Medina where he had them burned. And anyone who questioned this or disputed it was branded an unbeliever or Kafir.
Five years later there was a revolt and Uthman was assassinated as he sat reading the very Quran that he had compiled into a book. Civil war broke out and Ali was asked to take over but he refused. The Muslim world was in turmoil with revolts not only in Medina but also in Iraq and Egypt. The prominent clans -- such as the Quraysh, Ansar and Banu Hashim -- plus a few companions of the Prophet got together to form the ‘Party of Ali’ or Shi‘atu Ali; Shi‘ah for short.
Only after he obtained unanimous support and pledges of allegiance from the many rival clans did Ali agree to take over as the Fourth Caliphate. He then called for a period of reconciliation and declared an amnesty on all those involved in the death of Uthman. But he refused the title of Caliphate which he believed had been tainted by Uthman.
Ali was eventually assassinated as well. After Ali’s death, the Umayyad Dynasty of Iraq began to grow and took control of the Muslim lands and the Caliphate was transformed into a King with the ummah or various clans united under a single empire. It was during the Umayyad Dynasty that an attempt was made to revive the Ali succession but Ali’s son, Husyan -- Muhammad’s grandson -- was brutally killed at Karbala (they cut off his head). Husyan’s brother, Hasan, had earlier been poisoned to death (two violent deaths involving Muhammad’s grandsons). Until today, the Shi‘ah commemorate this tragic event by holding mass public processions of mourners complete with wailing and beating of the chest almost similar to the Hindu Thaipusam tradition. And this was one of the reasons for the nine-year Iran-Iraq War that took one million lives. It was basically the Shi’ah taking their long overdue revenge, 1,000 years later, on the Karbala massacre.
The Umayyad Dynasty lasted less than 100 years and was replaced by the Abassid Dynasty in 750. No doubt this dynasty lasted until the 11th century but the Caliphates had very little power and were mere figureheads. It was during this dynasty that the various Caliphates unsuccessfully attempted to wrest control of religion from the ulama (religious leaders or scholars) so that the Caliphate could be both head of state and head of religion.
The instant Muhammad died and before his body could even be buried, the Muslim world was embroiled in power struggles, intrigue, conspiracies and assassinations; in short, anything and everything that modern politics is about. Even the many so-called holy wars were not really holy wars as such but wars to dominate trade and commerce. Makah was then the centre of trade and commerce while Medina, then called Yathrib, was a poor agricultural community whose main produce was dates. But the dates had to be sold to the rich Makah merchants and the business was monopolised by the Medina Jews. To compete with Makah, Muhammad proclaimed Yathrib a city, ‘The City of the Prophet’ (Medinat an-Nabi) or Medina for short.
The Makah leaders were not too worried about Muhammad’s new ‘religion’ as Makah had 360 Gods representing all known religions anyway, and one more God did not make any difference. But when Yathrib was turned into a city to rival Makah as the centre for trade and commerce, then this became a threat to Makah and Muhammad now had to be defeated.
It must be remembered that in pre-Islamic Arabia, caravan raiding was not considered robbery but a legitimate means for the poor to benefit from the rich -- as long as there was no bloodshed or else the tribal law of retribution would apply. These raids allowed Muhammad’s followers, who had lost everything when they emigrated from Makah, to earn a living. Furthermore, these raids would help cripple Makah’s economy and allow Medina to compete with it.
In 624, Muhammad received information that a large caravan from Makah would be travelling to Palestine. Muhammad made his way to Badar with about 300 men to lay in wait but a spy had leaked this plan to the Makah people who arranged an escort of about 1,000 men. Both sides did not actually want to fight and for two days it was a stalemate when all they did was eyeball each other, no one wanting to start the fight. It is not clear who fired the first shot but by the time the fierce fighting ended, Muhammad lost about a dozen men while the Quraysh, who lost more, admitted defeat. This famous war, the Badar War, a caravan raid turned awry, was the turning point and is marked by Muslims as the first holy war and the defeat of the infidels at the hands of the believers.
The following year, however, at the Uhud War, the Medina force was defeated while Muhammad was injured and lost a tooth. The Uhud War was initially in Muhammad’s favour until the archers atop the hill decided to break ranks and come down to collect their bounty whereby the Makah forces regrouped and counterattacked leaving Muhammad and his people caught in the open without the protection of the archers.
These two famous wars plus the dozens thereafter have been touted as the Jihad or holy wars which the Muslims were supposed to have launched against the disbelievers with the aspiration of setting up an Islamic State. Actually there were no holy wars, only conflicts over economic domination -- and there was no State, Islamic or otherwise, in existence yet. The State or Nation State, in the real sense of the word, did not come about until long after the death of Muhammad and the four Caliphates. Even then, the dynasties created thereafter, outside Makah and Medina, were secular in nature with the Caliphate having very little power and hardly any say over religious matters. It was the religious leaders or ulama, who most times were in conflict with the Caliphates of the Abassid Dynasty (Hanbal of the Hanbali sect being one), who introduced the Muslim code of conduct called the Shariah, hundreds of years after the death of Muhammad.
You must remember that the Arabs were fiercely protective of their tribal customs and traditions to the point even the Prophet of God (Rasul Allah) could not circumvent them but had to include them as part of Islamic rituals, though these practices may have dated 1,000 years before Islam or Christianity. Muhammad applied the tribal laws of retribution as the form of punishment, as did the four Caliphates after him -- most who met violent deaths at the hands of rival clans that did not endorse their leadership and refused to pledge allegiance to them. Umar, for example, brought back the tribal custom of death by stoning for adulteresses and imposed segregation of the sexes so that men and women could not mix freely in the mosques like they did in the time of Muhammad. There was of course an outcry from the much-liberated women of that time who had grown accustomed to the equality of the sexes they had enjoyed under Muhammad. However, since it was men and not women who made these laws, women were very much at a disadvantaged position and soon enough lost their place alongside men (who before this even fought wars alongside the men) and again got relegated to ‘second-class’ citizens.
ADDENDUM
There are many variations of history and the history or story of Muhammad is no less spared these variations. For example, many believe Muhammad to be illiterate and they argue that the revelations he received must have come from God since he could neither read or write. Others, however, dispute this and they quote the following verses from the Quran to support their contention that Muhammad was in fact learned.
44.14
PICKTHAL: And they had turned away from him and said: One taught, a madman?
25:5
PICKTHAL: And they say: Fables of the men of old which he hath had written down so that they are dictated to him morn and evening.
They also argue that Muhammad was a successful businessman so he could not have been illiterate and at least knew arithmetic and how to write to be able to record his transactions.
Then we have the matter of the first four ‘disciples’ or converts -- Khatijah (his wife), Abu Bakar (the first Caliphate after Muhammad), Ali (his cousin and son-in-law) and Zayd (some say in that order). But there are others who say that Ali was the second convert while Abu Bakar was the third. Then again, others relate it as all four having converted at the same time.
On Ali’s age when he converted, some say he was 10 and others say he was 13.
There is also the matter of the ‘early converts’ which puts the figure at 130. However, the dates of their conversion (they did not convert all at once) plus their names, except for a few, are not clear.
The matter of Muhammad’s birthday is also not clear and different dates have been quoted by different writers and historians.
As for Muhammad’s ignorance of other religions, this is also in dispute, as his wife Khatijah’s cousin was a learned Christian who knew the scriptures well. That is why she consulted him to seek advice about Muhammad’s dreams and to interpret what they meant. On the first revelation that he received, Muhammad ran home shivering with fright and there are two accounts as to what happened next. Some say Khatijah went to see her cousin while others say that she brought Muhammad to see him.
As you can see, history is not an exact science and variations do occur. Who is reporting the more accurate account may never be known and until today experts dispute the many versions of history, not only that of Muhammad.
These are but just some of the variations and you are free to believe in whichever version you are most comfortable with.
