Fatwas and reasoning
If the issue of touching dogs is the epitome of Islamic discussion in Malaysia and how it will determine whether one is faithful or faithless towards God, then we are on a sad spiritual path.
The easy labelling and accusation of liberalism and pluralism towards others without clear definition of what it really means is another sad turn.
And now with the case of the halal logo is placed next to an image of a Hindu deity becoming a national outcry, I think sad has taken a turn towards pathetic.
If we really want to be that petty, there are many issues we can actually raise:
Start paying zakat in rice
Since we’re so fussy about following the Shafi’i mazhab to the letter, then we should pay our zakat in rice. According to this school, we are not to pay our zakat in cash and should pay it in the main food source of a certain region. But other mazhabs like Hanafi allow zakat be paid in cash. Why then do we pay in cash?
Threaten all smokers and force them to apologise publicly for insulting Islam
If touching dogs is such a sin that it justifies making threats towards the organiser of the "I Want to Touch a Dog" campaign and accusing him of insulting the religion, then we should be fair and do the same thing to smokers.
In 1995, the National Fatwa Council had declared smoking haram. So that means that the millions of Malaysian Muslims who enjoy tobacco, nicotine and tar are being unIslamic.
If dogs are so dirty that it is a major health risk for human beings to come into contact with them, then I guess something that has been scientifically proven to kill human beings through diseases should be treated the same way.
Ban all investments in unit trust and forex
Anything that involves "riba", or usury and interest, is considered haram in Islam. And this is believed by all the major Sunni Muslim mazhabs. So wouldn’t that mean investing in our Amanah Saham Nasional and Amanah Saham Bumiputera sinful?
A quick search on the e-fatwa website (the official fatwa portal of Malaysia) shows that these kinds of investment have been declared not halal in 2001. But this was later changed to halal and "harus" (so fatwas can be reversed).
The fact is that so many things are decided for Malaysians by the authorities, that it seems we do not have the intelligence and the ability to think for ourselves.
And when we do start thinking, we are told that we just shouldn’t because it is beyond our capabilities to do so. How is that developing us into a knowledge-based society?
With all due respect and no intention of insulting anyone, as I do understand that I am just an ordinary citizen and not a religious scholar, a fatwa should not be used to silence society and to stop intellectual discourse.
In fact, it is supposed to encourage engagement and debate in order for people to be more informed.
If society does not understand the reasoning of a fatwa, then the authorities should engage them and help them to understand and not to just say quiet because they know what is best. – November 7, 2014.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.
