LRTQ2: Woe to the foolish aggressors

Technorati tags: Quran, Reading, Blog campaign, Shah Alam Section 23, Protest

If it were not for the alternative online media, Malaysians would not have known about this shameful incident (via The Malaysian Insider). The mainstream press has since refused to even acknowledge that such a thing happened. They won’t bloody touch it with a ten-foot pole – not the print, nor electronic media.

And what you are about to see happened yesterday, Friday August 28. In the month of Ramadhan, no less. Walski has chosen to put the YouTube video up so that you are aware of what happened yesterday. For in it is a great lesson.

What you have seen is a great example of those who do all the wrong things while invoking God’s name to justify their bad behavior.

What they have done – marching with a severed cows head, then desecrating that torso-less animal – was a premeditated act of incitement, aimed at insulting Hindus. Hoping, in their minds, that their insulting actions would raise the anger of the Hindus.

Their intentions were crystal clear – both from their actions and harsh words – they were trying to provoke violent action. 

Fight in the way of Allah against those who fight against you, but begin not hostilities. Lo! Allah loveth not aggressors. (Surah 2, Verse 190)

By no stretch of the imagination, these were the aggressors. 
(rude and insensitive actions speak for themselves, and more, in the full post)

Were they defending themselves against attack? No. Instead, they were threatening bloodshed if their demands are not met. Their demand? That a Hindu temple not be relocated to their section of Shah Alam, Section 23.

The portion of Section 23 where the temple (currently in Section 19) is to be relocated, lies in a designated industrial zone, some 200m away from the housing area of the same section. Some background information can be read here, taken from Khalid Samad’s blog (in Bahasa Malaysia). Khalid is Member of Parliament for Shah Alam.

The 50-odd protesters have vowed bloodshed if plans to relocate the temple to Section 23 go ahead as scheduled. But were all the protesters residents of Section 23?

Walski was clued in to a blog posting from Cucu Tok Selampit, in which, a letter of support from Gabungan Badan NGO Malaysia was posted, one which myAsylum has chosen to re-post here.

Letter from Badan Gabungan NGO Malaysia
(originally from here - click on image for a larger view)

Not that Walski wants to politicize this issue, but while the protesters claim in the video that their action was not politically linked, and claimed that participation came from across the political divides, looking at the list of organizations supporting the protest tells a different story.

All the organizations are known supporters of one single political party. The letter is a press release, of sorts, inviting the media to a meeting held 2 days before the protest on Friday. Clearly, it indicated the participation of the 10 organizations listed in the protest efforts. So, what is the leadership of that one single political party going to do about this affront?

It is on these grounds that Walski states the protest on Friday was a premeditated attempt at provocation. To underline that provocation, feisty rhetoric aside, a severed head of a cow was paraded and defiled, aiming to raise the ire of the Hindu community.

Fellow LRTQ2 participant, Rapera, has articulated his thoughts on the incident on Friday. In short, and Walski agrees, the actions of the protesters were far from being Islamic. They protesters have, in fact, defiled themselves, and in the process, put Islam into bad repute.

One of the verses quoted by Rapera was the following, which Walski would like to echo:

Call to the way of your Lord with wisdom and goodly exhortation, and have disputations with them in the best manner; surely your Lord best knows those who go astray from His path, and He knows best those who follow the right way (Surah 16, Verse 125)

It would take a fantastic stretch of the imagination to even think that what the protesters did even resembled one iota of what the verse above recommends. In fact, the actions were 180-degrees polar opposite.

Not to mention the ludicrous statement at the end, by Mahyuddin Manaf (time counter 4:48 onwards), putting the blame of their bad behavior (which Mahyuddin himself admits) on the leaders for “showing them the example”. And this kind of idiocy is to be respected? If Mahyuddin Manaf knew (and indications are that he did) the blatant disrespect and rudeness of the protests, why go along with it, and then blame others for their sentient actions?

According to the Quran, wisdom is not a given for those who have professed “faith”. In fact, God chooses to whom true wisdom is granted, regardless of their creed.

He granteth wisdom to whom He pleaseth; and he to whom wisdom is granted receiveth indeed a benefit overflowing; but none will grasp the Message but men of understanding (Surah 2, Verse 269)

From the actions of the protesters, it’s quite clear that they acted without what most intelligent people would consider “wisdom”. Of any degree.

Finally, here’s one last verse for your thoughtful consideration.

Thus it is due to mercy from Allah that you deal with them gently, and had you been rough, hard hearted, they would certainly have dispersed from around you; pardon them therefore and ask pardon for them, and take counsel with them in the affair; so when you have decided, then place your trust in Allah; surely Allah loves those who trust. (Surah 3, Verse 159)

This rather interesting thought had crossed Walski’s mind: what if the Hindu community chooses to ignore this rude affront, and brush it off as an isolated action of totally insensitive louts? And to go further, forgive these blatantly disingenuous individuals. Who would actually be acting in a way that’s more “Islamic”?

Thus far, yesterday’s protest has been condemned by a wide cross-section of Malaysians, regardless of creed. As should be the case. Such blatantly insensitive, and direct, provocation has no place whatsoever in our multi-cultural, multi-creed nation, that Walski is sure, everyone loves.

Walski’s campaign topical cross-referencial footnote: Apart from Walski, several of the other LRTQ2 campaign participants have posted their thoughts on the protest yesterday. These include:

• Rantings By MM: Barbarians at the Gate
• Rapera: Hindu Brother, Sisters, Please forgive these wayward folks
• Anas Zubedy: NEW BOB AGENCY - What the Quran says about Non-Muslim places of worship
• OutSyed The Box: Allegories, Analogies Or Similitudes In The Quran
• Lunch At The Lake Club: LRTQ2: This Cannot Be Islamic….