Isma, or those whom, in my state of total disapproval, I purposefully call ‘the Islamic State Malaysia,’ are demonstrating poor science and bad theology from their worldview and consequential non-rational arguments. Their actual name or formal nomenclature is Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia or IMM but are called Isma for short.
But maybe, much like with Umno, their English acronym may in the longer term become a linguistically Malay ‘word’ and may mean ‘the application of poor science and bad theology’, as is currently already being propounded by the madmen of Syria and Iraq. They, too, did it in the name of their religion. They are not like any Muslim I have known for more than 60 years.
Isma made the Malay Mail headlines on Oct 1, 2014, with their lead story: ‘DAP will not bring you closer to Islamic Justice, says Isma to ‘confused’ Muslim recruit’. The story attracted my attention and I therefore read it with a keen eye reviewing their clarity of arguments with two sets of ideals; rational, objective scientific logic or cause and effect, and the explication of Islamic theology.
My conclusion is – theirs is both poor science and bad theology. Isma is the one who is confusing the unscientific Malay world, and with collaboration of very uncritical media outfits or equally poor journalists; especially those who ‘highlight them merely for the purpose of media sensationalism’. I am thankful for reading the story because MM Online highlighted it.
Why is Isma wrong?
Under the Malayan and Malaysian constitutions, every citizen of Malaysia is given a real freedom of true choice. Such true freedom is a freedom of thought, of conscience, and the same freedom therefore to associate with whoever we want to and prefer to be with. Therefore, these values are counted among the basics of human rights freedoms.
These freedoms are also explicitly guarded within the Quran and the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
If a human being does not have such freedom of thought, or of conscience, or of association, then we live in a rather restricted, feudalistic, communalistic society where there are no freedoms. There is no point then to talk about any other kind of freedom. There is none; and neither would we have the freedom to talk about it.
For one simple example to make my point; at a forum co-organised by the Oriental Hearts and Mind Study Institute (OHMSI) and the Islamic Renaissance Front (IRF), the Member of Parliament for Lembah Pantai, Nurul Izzah Anwar, in response to a question from the floor responded to the question of freedom of conscience with a direct quote from the Quran: “There is no compulsion in religion.”
But, what then happened was even more curious: the now infamous Utusan Malaysia quoted her as having said that ‘Muslims can become apostates, or can choose to leave their faith’. She never did say any such thing.
Much like Utusan Malaysia , Isma is sounding equally ‘idiocratic’ in pursuing the wrong agenda of trying to trip another Malaysian who is only exercising her constitutional, democratic, and divine right of the freedom of both thought and association.
Worse still, these idiocrats, Isma, whom I call IS Malaysia, have probably never studied the federal constitution as our foundational document of destiny, and consequently they practice poor science and bad theology. Objective truth does not matter to them.
Their ignorance abuses a younger member of Malaysia who is obviously idealistic and wants to become a true-blue democrat within the parameters of our constitutional guarantees. If anyone is such a democrat, frankly, there is only one party one could join at this moment of time in Malaysia. Only they seem to espouse and seek to apply the democratic model of governance.
Nonetheless, it will always remain only their particular model of good governance. There will be yet others.
False rubric of modern science or theology
In my doctoral journey, I had to deal with less-than-professing professors who abused me about my desire to undertake a study on ‘dignity in the workplace’. They could not accept the fact that I was using a scriptural definition of ‘dignity’ as a God-ordained idea and ideal, as a pre-given, at the time of creation. They said that modern western science had since rejected all ideas of any absolute nature.
Little did they realise that theirs was an equally absolute position on this matter. I then rested my case without any more rational arguments.
In everyday life, it is normal to come across people who practice both poor science and bad theology; almost always under the false rubric of modern science or modern theology, but they have rejected all absolutes in thoughts, words, or deeds. They are consequently absolutely wrong.
Isma’s abusive way of life
“The devout Muslim is covered in a veil, which only exposes her eyes. She has penned a novel, which raised eyebrows due to its erotic elements. Among others, the book \’Pelacur Kelas Pertama\’ (High Class Prostitute), purportedly based on a true life incident, is about marital sex abuse. And now, the 22-year-old Universiti Selangor (Unisel) graduate is bound to raise the controversy bar a notch higher, with her decision to join DAP.”
With the above words, Malaysiakini introduced Jamila Rahim ( right ) to the world with the headline, ‘I wear a veil and I am with DAP’. The story had received 985 shares, 103 tweets, and 82 comments, when I read the article before this column.
Actually, some of us, Old Puteras of the Royal Military College (RMC), did a somewhat similar evaluation to make a decision about how we can help to move this country forward in the light of so much abuse and denial of our traditional culture of good governance.
We therefore met up with some of the newer leaders in DAP, two Malays and one Chinese, to get honest views, opinions, and feedback about the DAP culture, philosophy, and nature of democracy practised. We left convinced that if we have choose a party to join, it would be the DAP; but I only speak for myself,
Isma’s public statement about the newest DAP member seeks to abuse her, actually trying to bully her into subservience, and to send an even broader message that it is not only ‘sinful to join the DAP’ but more so, that one cannot pursue an ‘Islamic model of Justice’. This is blatantly totally untrue, even if DAP is far from perfect. True democracy creates more options which other system do not.
All justice belongs to God and never to any group of ‘interpretive faith promoters’. As we all seek to interpret our personal understanding of faith and correct understanding of science and even, good theology; it will always remain ours only. Our forum in Subang Jaya, held at Wisma Eagles, where MP Nurul Izzah was misquoted, was in fact entitled, ‘Islamic State: which version; whose responsibility?’
The CDs are available at US$10.00 per copy from our webmaster. We are equally prepared to co-organise another forum with Isma on both theology and science, if they are interested. May God guide us with truth matters.
