Malaysiakini: “People have been murdered over cartoons. End of moral analysis."
- Sam Harris
COMMENT | Perlis mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin has “defended his poem saying that no rational Malaysian would find cows sacred and revere them.” You read that right. According to this mufti, Hindus who hold a belief that the cow
represents something spiritual are not rational Malaysians. I suppose
you could also add vegans and vegetarians while we are at it, who for
different reasons hold that the slaughter of animals for consumption is
verboten in their belief systems.
Of course, a Muslim who is supportive of someone like Indian preacher
Zakir Naik holding forth on what is rational is an extremely unfunny
joke. Does any rational person believe what Zakir Naik or anybody who
supports him, think about religion as rational?
Asri claimed that his poem was meant for the Modi government, then
the question is why did he not simply refer to the Modi government and
instead of insulting Hindus in general? For instance, if I were to write
a poem denigrating Muslims but I claimed that the poem was aimed at the
House of Saud and not at Muslims here, would this be something that
Asri would understand? Would he and the rest of the cottage industry of
extremists get their knickers in a twist and claim I was hurting the
sensitivities of Muslims?
If Asri was really concerned about Muslims in India, why not write an
open letter to the prime minister of India and see to it that it is
published in every mainstream paper in the country? If this was really
about murdered Muslims, then why write a poem? If this was about the
anger of a hate preacher like Zakir Naik and the tyrannical government
he is escaping from, why not write a letter to the United Nations?
The cow is a sacred animal in the Hindu belief system. This was why
the protesters against a Hindu temple were kicking a cow head around as
if it was a football. This was about not respecting the religious
beliefs of others, which was why reporters spat out the Holy Communion,
when they “investigated” a church.
I do not aim to please anyone. This is my blog, there is no blog like this. I am not mainstream. Read my disclaimer before posting comments and threatening me. Not to worry, I will not quiver in my boots. If you are not happy, no problem, just take a hike!!
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I do not aim to please anyone. This is my blog, there is no blog like this. I am not mainstream. Read my disclaimer before posting comments and threatening me. Not to worry, I will not quiver in my boots. If you are not happy, no problem, just take a hike!!