It is unsurprising that many of us in Malaysia were deeply disturbed by the recent incident in Johor Bahru, where a non-Muslim young man was allegedly slapped by an older Muslim man for eating in a convenience store during daytime.
A non-Muslim was vehemently castigated for eating during Ramadan in an allocated eating space.
This suggests that the seemingly self-righteous man has transgressed the legitimate space and rights of the non-Muslim.
Worse, it was committed in an unlawful manner. The case is being investigated under Section 323 of the Penal Code for voluntarily causing hurt.
In this regard, it is useful for the Muslim man concerned to be reminded of Surah Al Kafirun (109:6) in the Quran: “For you is your religion, and for me is my religion.”
In short, there should not be compulsion in religion.
Such improper conduct obviously has serious implications. For one thing, it can harm the now fragile ethnic and religious relations among the diverse people of Malaysia. It has stoked anxiety among them.
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To be sure, the religious practices of one group should not adversely affect the religious traditions and rights of another group. However, the red line has been crossed in this case.
Mind you, it doesn’t help when we have certain politicians in our midst who are ever eager to exploit race and religion for their dark designs of driving a wedge between communities.
Our country cannot afford to be constantly weighed down by the toxic politics of race and religion if we are serious about making socioeconomic progress.
Besides, the drastic changes in the geopolitics of the contemporarye world also demand that we, as a nation, address the challenges that emerge as a result.
A more serious implication is that the self-righteous behaviour of certain Muslims does a great disservice to the Islamic faith and could worsen Islamophobia within certain segments of society.
The man’s misconduct runs counter to the deeper meanings of fasting, which are to enjoin Muslims to exercise restraint, self-discipline, empathy, compassion, patience and respect and to steer away from backbiting.
Ramadan is also a month for practising self-reflection, enhancing piety and stimulating charity.
In short, fasting is more than mere abstinence from the human desire for food and water, which the man appeared so keen to emphasise.
So, despite such clear religious commandments, what drove the man to act in a way that the minister responsible for religious affairs, Na’im Mokhtar, condemned as un-Islamic?
Perhaps we could get a better understanding of the issue if we situate the incident in its wider social context.
Moral policing, which is what the Muslim man was, in effect, doing, is not a new social phenomenon.
Such moral surveillance has been conducted by Malaysia’s religious authorities and vigilantes over the years, not only during Ramadan but also other months.
For instance, in 2016, the Selangor Islamic religious department Jais resorted to modern communications technology to encourage Muslims to help police the morals of co-religionists.
Members of the public were urged to use its mobile app called ‘Hotline Jais’, which was available on Android devices, to report suspected Sharia-related crimes, such as khalwat (promiscuity) and ‘deviant Islamic teachings’, at a faster rate.
It would appear that, from the above case, vigilantism has been condoned by certain religious authorities in the name of protecting Islam.
Thus, it was no surprise that, for example, a vigilante group called ‘Badar Squad’ emerged in Kedah about a decade ago in a crusade of sorts to stamp out what it considered ‘sinful’ activities.
It would not be a stretch to argue that the kind of moral policing that the Muslim man in Johor Bahru committed could have the effect of turning self-restraint during Ramadan on its head. Surely, this is not intended in Islam.
What could be injurious to the image of Muslims in the country is that the insistence imposed on non-Muslims to steer away from doing things that could jeopardise the Muslims’ observance of fasting worryingly gives the impression of a fragile faith.
Put another way, do Muslims need non-Muslims to ‘help protect’ their faith? – Free Malaysia Today
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