Structuring liquid

About a century and a half ago, the study of Orientalism flourished in the West following Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt. Orientalism is a field of discipline that not only tries to dissect the Middle East, but also one that writes a representation of it to be consumed by the rest of the world. What I find funny is the paradox of letting someone else represents us, Muslims, and people of the East. If they have never lived within the society, communicated with the people, and grown up with a certain worldview, how are they suddenly able to represent us, unless wrongly?

This idea of misrepresentation did not end decades ago, neither did it stop with them misrepresenting us. What I see today, sadly, are us, Muslims, with our proud proclamation of one ummah, one brotherhood, yet we reflect unto other nationalities our own (false) ideas of who they ought to be. Worse, this inclination of ours leads to an imagined hierarchy of nations based solely upon the color of our passports.

If I wrote a while ago that I have to stop myself from throwing a punch towards someone who discriminates others based on race, I now realize that the same bodily reactions happened when someone says something to the effect of, “Ew, I’m not Indonesian!” Why must there be an 'ew' in that sentence? Why is it such an insult if we Malaysians are mistaken as Indonesians? Once, I asked a fellow tourist, quite innocently, if she’s Indonesian. I was later warned by another that my honest mistake might be seriously taken as an insult. I was very taken aback! How could mistaking one’s nationality be an insult? I wouldn’t mind at all being mistaken as an Indonesian—matter of fact, I wouldn’t mind being mistaken as a Kenyan, Pakistani, or Kazakh!

The only reason why someone would be offended by my question is if they look down on another and think less of them, which is something I could never understand, ever! What makes Malaysians superior over Indonesians? Just because they have to travel the sea to find employment in our country does not make them less than us. In fact, to the contrary, their actions are actually laudable! They had to go through hardships after hardships in order to provide for their family. To me that’s admirable.

But it’s not just the Indonesians who are victims of this cruel mentality some Malaysians possess. I have heard people say things like, “Ew why are there so many Indians and Pakistanis!” What’s wrong with having these people around? If they go to the same school as you do, that means they are as qualified as you are. If they are in the same place as you are, that means they have an almost identical goal as you do. Rather than looking down on them, why not embrace them as your fellow comrades in an alien place?

Maybe I’m reading way too much into things, but maybe I’m not. What I’m trying to say is, if you truly want to call yourself good Muslims, good persons, then belittling others is definitely not the right place to start. If you have this tendency to think lowly of random strangers based upon their nationality, only God knows what you think of those who actually do something you disapprove of, when we know only God almighty shall judge, as only He is all fair.

Currently I’m reading a book by Benedict Anderson called Imagined Communities. We always take for granted that we belong to certain nations and not others. But do we realize that the concept of a nation is a new term in human history? If Israel is a human creation, so are Malaysia, Spain, Chile, and the United Kingdom. We imagined ourselves as belonging to one of the nations. But Islam is beautiful; Islam reminds us that we are all equal in the eyes of God. Our mosques are open to everyone of every race and every nationality. We are brothers in faith. If we deem one of our own as being spoiled, then so are we. So are we.

Syaza

A Call to Work

Since I started my internship, even months prior, I have been back and forth on the matter of capitalism versus socialism, especially when having discussions with my husband. For years, I believed not in the superiority of a welfare state, but in its importance to nurture a healthy society. I remember being stupefied three years ago when a classmate in the States declared his detestation over high taxation; my understanding about taxation back then is limited to its similarity to the concept of zakat—to help. So how can high taxation possibly be bad? 

But after doing my own research, through reading and understanding, I am proud to call myself a capitalist today. I now support a liberal market economy not because I support the accumulation of wealth primarily through capital, but through labor, which should be at the heart of a strong economy, and not welfare.

A hadith of the Prophet of God reads, “Nine-tenths of all rizq is derived from commerce.” And I believe most Muslims know of the story of how the Prophet instructed a beggar to sell his only belonging in order to use the capital gained for trade. Plus, have we forgotten that the Prophet himself was a trader and that Mecca was the center of caravan trade? Free trade is encouraged back in the day! In fact, during the early days of Islam, the government’s role was limited to combating fraud in business and to uphold justice, which is something every Muslim could agree is the cornerstone of our faith.

“And in no wise covet those things in which God hath bestowed his gifts more freely on some of you than on others: to men is allotted what they earn and to women what they earn: but ask God of His bounty: for God hath full knowledge of all things” (4:32).

The difference between capitalism in Islam and western capitalism is the importance of a safety net to protect those who are less well-off through zakat. Unlike taxation, zakat is a voluntary act of charity. It is not in the interest of the government to coerce citizens to part with their earnings so that wealth is spread equally. Instead, zakat acts as a trampoline only to launch a person into the right direction.

The practice of zakat is no different to what Germany practices. Germany, being the strongest economy in Europe, has a social market economy. A social market economy is also called a Christian democracy, because it seeks to apply Christian values of justice and fairness in economy—isn’t this similar to what Islam calls for? In Germany, free market is practiced throughout, but the government intervenes in such matter as pension, healthcare, and unemployment insurance, to name a few, through a combination of contributions and subsidies. In Islam, another word for that contribution is zakat.

I am not, however, promoting absolute capitalism as that found in the United States (before President Obama, that is). Absolute capitalism is about caring for oneself, and none other, which goes against the teachings of Islam. But to quote the Quran’s warning on riba as a testament to Islam’s support for socialism is also erroneous. Islam does not allow monopoly, but that is as far as it goes regarding government intervention. To ask for the government to go beyond by demanding a total welfare state is not only economically suicidal, but also un-Islamic.

Syaza



References:
http://istanbulnetwork.org/archives/715
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_market_economy

Light in a jar

As Muslims, we believe that during the holy month of Ramadhan, God locks away the devil in hell. Therefore, it becomes the only month of the year when we are to be introduced to a person's true character, because whatever he or she does in that one month, it is not by any means under the influence of evil spirit.

Ultimately however, we are not supposed to judge the actions of others'. Yet, years back, I used to ponder over this seemingly simple statement of one shall not judge. In the opinion of my younger self, if a person is better than his neighbor spiritually and morally, why couldn’t he exert a holier-than-thou attitude? How does he become the bad person for thinking the obvious?

But then maturity caught up. Now, I understand that if one is truly as good as one thinks, one should not judge another by the sparse façade he or she puts up. After all, what is a mere second in the life of a human being? To be truly good, we need to understand that God created all of us equally, with some being better at something and not at nothing. To be truly good, we need to leave the act of judging to God because only He sees and hears everything at all times; we don’t.

To put matters in perspective, I find it funny when fellow Muslims feel superior by performing the five daily prayers. In fact, even if one stays up all night praying and crying to God, it does not make much difference if one has no respect for the law, no sympathy toward other beings, no love for the environment, lacks patience, and is wasteful. Being a good person is a work-in-progress and it involves a holistic approach. Not even a person at his or her deathbed can say they have come full-circle.

One of the better radio shows I heard in the past months since being back is about our attitude toward those we deem of a ‘lower’ rank. The easiest manner to catch a glimpse of a person’s real personality is to observe him or her at an eatery. Most of us, especially Malaysians, think of waiters (in fact any other blue-collar and pink-collar workers) as our slaves. We demand service harshly, thinking that we are better by our position around the table. To differentiate the better person from the good, all we have to do is to wait until the end of our meal; a good person would pay and leave, but a better person would stack their plates aside to make it easier for the waitress to clean up. In other words, a better Muslim—or just a better person—would not feel above another that he refuses to do menial work. This is proof of a person who truly refrains from judging.

Now Ramadhan has passed and the devil is let loose again. Both figuratively and literally. Now that we are no longer fasting, nothing is holding us back from those acts we tried so hard to avoid in the last month. My only tiny little suggestion is that if we cannot confidently say we are free from faults, stop judging those who do not wear headscarves, do not pray, do drugs, or commit any other sins we deem incomprehensible for Muslims to do; after all, the same people might be in your circle of family too.

Even if your relationship with God is good, how certain are you that you can say the same about your relationship with others?

Syaza

Beyond thoughts

My batch of peers who are returning home from our three years venture in the United States is currently active seeking employment. Thus with it came the quandary of finding a job that not only fits one’s personality, but also one’s educational background. Unfortunately, the right fit seldom comes by.

For me, I believe in two things: rizq and happiness. I don’t easily go for the job that pays the most at the expense of my happiness. If that had been my line of thinking all this while, I would have immersed myself in the study of medicine five years ago—but the thought of becoming a doctor does not make me happy.

Neither does the idea of doing something I am not passionate for in the name of stability.

I believe that rizq comes in many shapes and sizes, and material wealth is just one of them. Just because I would probably spend the rest of my life fighting for a cause that does not pay well does not mean my life is utterly doomed.

Yet, it still breaks my heart when the following question is asked regarding my impending internship: “How much does it pay?” They didn’t try to understand what an amazing opportunity it would be for me to intern with one of Asia’s top think tanks; they didn’t try to understand that this is what I signed up for when I chose political science as a career path; they didn’t try to understand how happy the thought of working with the best brains make me feel. There will always be costs and benefits to everything, but the benefits don't always have to be in greens.

Sure, you can either do what you love or learn to love what you do. Both equally excellent advices, but I would rather let my heart be the leader than be led because I believe that if you find happiness in doing what you love, it will be difficult to find yourself feeling empty once everything has come to pass.

Maybe I’m not being realistic, or maybe others are simply too pessimistic.

As a result, I find it baffling when others are baffled by my lifelong dream which is to be a stay-at-home mom. For as long as I can remember, I have always talked about being married and becoming a mom—not just any mom, but a suri rumah. I find it to be the most rewarding job to be able to raise your own children and to watch them grow up. It may not be the most financially ambitious dream; nonetheless, just the thought of it gives my heart such pleasure. It is not a great compromise at all.

In summation, as Muslims, we believe in the concept of rizq. We’ve heard stories of the rich man who goes to bed feeling lonely and the pauper who enjoys the warmth of a family in his small hut. Happiness is subjective and there are many winding roads to choose from to reach that feeling of contentment we all crave.

At the end of the day, it all boils down to one word: priority. My priority in life has always been to lead a life that I am proud and happy of, even if it may seem unconventional to most.

It may be a mistake to have spoken mightily soon about the future, but it is not a mistake to dream of one where wealth is just a commodity that could keep you sheltered from an increasingly soulless existence.

Syaza

To the finish line

What does race matter? The color of our skin is only but the result of millennia of evolution from our origin out of Africa. Without contact with one another, this idea of racial differences is reinforced until it reached its zenith in the nineteenth century when the idea of a ‘Master Race’ was presented to the trepidation of non-whites. Why then does Malaysia continue stressing this concept that could never be scientifically proven in the first place?

We talk about globalization, about being a country that is ‘Truly Asia’, and of a 1Malaysia, yet there is a deeper division that if never solved, will forever be a hindrance to what we could only aspire to be as a nation.

Truthfully, I am annoyed by the fact that Malaysians are divided by race. We are classified and pigeonholed the second we were born into this world—in fact, it more than often happened before we were even conceived. Unfortunately, the problem arises for those who are the result of a biracial marriage. How disheartening it must be for them having to put a check next to lain-lain just because they are considered neither one nor the other.

On the other hand, a newborn of at least one Malay parent would automatically be considered a Malay for it is inane to do otherwise considering all the benefits that come with being a Malay in Malaysia. But that’s not fair. Those children are of mixed heritage, so why aren’t they officially acknowledged as so?

According to the constitution, a Malay is a person who practices Islam, practices Malay customs, and speaks Bahasa Melayu. Therefore, I guess, if a person fulfills all three criteria, and associates with being Malay, then he or she should not be denied the right to be called one.

My vexation however is with those who are obviously of mixed parentage, but are more conservative in their views regarding race relation. To put it bluntly, I have a problem with those who have at least one non-Malay parent, grandparent, or great-grandparent yet talk lowly of other races; basically, I find it ironic for them to speak about protecting Malay privileges when they themselves are not 100% Malay!

Nonetheless, I am not insinuating that a person with two Malay parents can raise a keris and call the rest as pendatangs, but it is more sickening when the former group of people I discussed fail to realize that being Malay for them is a choice, not a fact. Thus show some respect to the people of your own ancestors’.

When talking about race, Muslims love to quote this from the Quran: 

Mankind! We created you from a male and female, and made you into peoples and tribes so that ye might come to know each other. The noblest among you in God’s sight is that one of you who best performs his duty. God is All-Knowing, All-Aware (49:13).

Today, I would like to add another quote from the Quran which I find fitting and inspiring: 

O ye who believe! Stand out firmly for Allah, as witnesses to fair dealing, and let not the hatred of others to you make you swerve to wrong and depart from justice. Be just: that is next to piety: and fear Allah for Allah is well-acquainted with all that ye do (5:8)

My blood truly boils every time someone uttered things to the effect of alienating another race just because they are not Malays. For example, when people say, “Don’t go to that store because it is owned by a Chinese,” I have to physically restrain myself from throwing a punch. So what if it is owned by a Chinese? If they sell basically the same things as the next store, but offer them at a better price, why deny them their rezeki? Or just because it is by a Chinese manufacturer, that doesn’t necessarily make the product haram (unless stated in the ingredient). Allah says be fair; so how is it fair that you make your choices based on the person behind the counter? How is it fair that the Malay grocer who provides horrible service keeps getting customers just by the color of his skin? That is not fair to  you who have to bear with his impudence; that is not fair to the Indian grocer next store who greets you with a smile and better options; most importantly, that is not fair to the Malay grocer for he will never learn to improve himself.

If race becomes obsolete, we would all be judged by our actions, our merits, and our virtues. How is that a bad thing?

Syaza