- Former minister Rafidah Aziz

CNN Host, Anderson Cooper Visibly FRIGHTENED as Trump Says The Truth About Islam

COMMENT | To be clear, “tolerant” is an odious word that is indicative of how fascistic lingual norms have become normalised in the Malaysian political and social landscapes.

Democratic societies are accepting or empathic of cultural and religious differences but fascistic societies tolerate such differences in the pursuit of compromised political stability.

Having said that, the question remains.

The recent announcement of guidelines for Muslims attending non-Muslim religious events by the prime minister’s religious czar was brazen in its disdain for religions other than that of the religion of the state.

It is a shocking display of the normalisation of demonising other religions and the fact that it happened in Parliament should tell us everything we need to know about the religious agenda of the state.

According to the religious czar, non-Muslim religious events, symbols, and even devotional music can offend Muslim sensitivities.

I have no idea if this is contextual or a general statement. After all, why would religious symbols for instance pose a threat to Muslim sensitivity in a specific time and place, even though such symbols are ever present in Malaysian life?

Now of course Madani has backtracked after the blowback this so-called policy received. But the damage has already been done.

The question we should ask is where was the National Unity Minister Aaron Ago Dagang when the religious czar first mooted this policy in Parliament?

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READ MORE: KINIGUIDE | Interfaith events: Old rules, new proposal, royal precedents

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Here we have the prime minister’s religious czar essentially calling non-Muslim symbols and devotional practices as something that offends Muslims sensitivities. What does this say about the kind of Islam Madani advocates?

fookchin : The fake reformist chameleon has a propaganda Czar, an unelected religious Czar n several psycophant ministers in his permaidani cabinet. The unity minister Aaron anak Dagang, just like the DAP ministers , are only cari makan ministers who dare not n will not lock horns with the chameleon n the 2 czar ministers!

Let us vote them out in GE16 in favour of credible unblemished independent candidates. If there is no credible candidate in your area, stay put at home on the polling day n enjoy a longer sleep n a late breakfast

Koel : Thank you, firstly, for making that crucial distinction between tolerance and acceptance. If memory serves, this distinction was actually documented in policy papers under ex-PM Najib Razak, but then it was promptly disregarded.

And, definitely, the language employed in announcing the recent guidelines had very little to do with acceptance. Religious messages of non muslim religions were characterised as "propaganda". Whether this was the actual word used or whether it was a poor translation, was not clear.

But if indeed that was the actual word used, it was offensive and derogatory in the extreme, pointing to extreme intolerance and ignorance of those who crafted the message. We must further assume that entire non muslim religious ceremonies whether in weddings, funerals or festivities were being deemed "offensive" in the proposed guidelines.

Mystifying, indeed. What on earth do they expect non muslims to do in their houses of worship? Sit in silent communion with the almighty for fear of "offending" some muslim present by praying, chanting or singing?

Were religious houses of worship also supposed to scramble to remove all signs and symbols of religious significance for fear of offending the muslim person attending the ceremony? The language and guidelines were offensive and abhorrent.

It makes a mockery of these offices that pretend great knowledge and it makes a mockery of the stated objectives of harmony and unity. And to those who say that these are merely guidelines, please note that a written document is all some people or political parties need to oppress people.

In the midst of all this, the Unity minister appears genuinely clueless about his position. It appears he thinks his portfolio is to organise some fun events and fake unity carnivals, sing a couple of meaningless propaganda songs about how united we all are and then go his merry way.

How has he tackled deeply entrenched problems of unity, inclusiveness, belonging and harmony? What attempts has he made to instil an appreciation of the key concept of acceptance and belonging?

We have a major problem in this country, YB Aaron Ago. And if you are recruiting a department or a ministry or a govt or a civil service to help you address the problem, you need to ensure that they understand issues and concepts first.

Breaking barriers and building bridges has to be an ongoing endeavour. It would be the greatest pity if you continue to behave as if this is not your problem. In failing to do your duty, you create a society that is worse off for all of us.