In less than 140 characters…

…or the how many characters allowed by Facebook to write a status update. It was a stupid, sleep-induced mistake for me to assume my friends could get the gist of what I meant in a short paragraph. Therefore I’m going to use this other mean I have as a vehicle to explain what happened.

The whole situation escalated partly because I did not stand my ground on what I meant. Even though I wrote that I was angry, most of all I was disappointed. Let’s just say that seeing the picture was kind of the last straw for me. I did not mean to point my finger at anyone. That was the reason I did not point Zaim towards her profile page; I felt it unnecessary. I wasn’t mad at her, I was mad at the state of affairs of Muslims in general; the same reason I am mad at Turkey, the nation; the same reason I wrote that post a while ago about the Adam Lambert concert. I am disappointed that people, who proudly proclaim they are Muslims, are also questioning the word of God. Maybe I’m the weak one for being unable to comprehend their thinking, but I find it absurd.

If an individual makes a mistake, I have absolutely no problem. I’ve had friends who love wearing revealing clothes and enjoy a good party since…since we were at the age where we were allowed to go out without supervision. She was not the first Muslim-Malay I saw wearing a bikini, and neither is she the first who posted the picture online. I’ve never had a problem with individual choices. But my problem is when a person mixes being proud of a wrong, with being proud as a Muslim.

I have to thank Kumayl for doing a better job at explaining. Of course someone who drinks has the right, and is encouraged to, remember and thank God. A person’s iman, much like mine, fluctuates all the time. But how can a person who is drinking remembers God at the same time? It shows how shallow that person is till a point that God is just part of a sentence you blurted out of culture, not out of true belief. It becomes fitnah. Islam is a very, very beautiful religion, where it is a religion of faith and practice. Just believing in God is not enough, and that is where the five pillars of Islam comes in. Islam is beautiful if it is practised as a whole. Yet, everyone has the right to act the way they wish, but please, don’t drag Islam’s beautiful name with your acts.

I know the famous argument made by people who disagree with me, including a former Minister of International Trade and Industry: “But people who are clad from head to toe in an abaya are also sometimes rude, selfish, arrogant, and loves to gossip, thus degrading their status as a Muslim too.” I totally agree100%. Just because someone is covered from head to toe does not justify her having a filthy heart. But I will always remember my favorite defense made by a teacher to that argument: “If someone who remembers God enough in her everyday activities to cover herself is still not a perfect person, just imagine what kind of things a person who doesn’t respect God enough to follow his rule is willing to do.”

This blog may sound arrogant, but these are not my words, these are the words of the Almighty you profess to believe in, and He, the creator of all, has the right to be proud, even though He is not.

At the end of the night, I discovered who my true friends are. Friends are people who when they argue and fight, they focus on the specific issue at hand. Friends, when they disagree with you, do not attack your personality. Friends, when realized they had make a mistake, will immediately apologize as a friendship is worth much more than an inflated ego. I learned last night who my true friends are.

When I went to sleep last night, I slept like a log because of two things:

1. I was happy that I had the strength to spread a piece of God’s words, even though it was a risky thing to do in a world – especially on the World Wide Web – where everyone is concern over conformity.

2. Because of the risk, I discovered who my true friends are :)

Now the story hasn’t ended yet. Right before I went to sleep, I received a very sweet, emotional, and sincere personal message from the girl I was supposedly attacking. Not only did she forgive me, but she also apologized for her behavior because as a Muslim, she knows what’s right and what’s wrong, and that it was just a matter of lack of judgment, not of questioning God’s laws. And for that, I know I did the right thing.

-C-

White lies, white secrets.

To a certain degree, I am more liberal than most Malaysians. With Reason, I believe that human beings have the rights and the capabilities to make his or her decision based on various rules and guidelines. But recent events showed me that on the international platform, I am very conservative than most young idealists my age.

I do not like what Wikileaks is doing to the world. I firmly believe that there are many things in this world that not everybody can understand, thus, they do not need to know of these things - much like how we could not possibly understand some of God's great creations. I am talking about international diplomacy. Diplomacy is 'sacred'. Why do you think diplomats get to live in the big houses and drive the big cars? Diplomacy is difficult and the decisions made can be fragile. If the public get their hands on these information, the fanatics will most probably than not infer from them what they only wish to believe.

Pessimism is permitted when one is talking about the general public. It is true, though, that people who seek information on Wikileaks are those who are most interested and therefore more informed about specific matters, but I am more afraid of those who are making their judgment on issues bigger than their lives thinking that they can belittle the power of the states.

The general public needs to understand that diplomacy and militaristic decisions have to be made behind closed doors because they need to be frank in order to achieve immediate result. Yes, the consequences are not always pretty but this is international diplomacy, not a petty argument between two nosy neighbors. If everybody wants to have a say in it, nothing can ever be done, only creating a world where we are enslaved to a majority that really does care about their next meal.

If states cannot trust other states in a flat world, no states would be able to protect their citizens from the bigger enemies out there. No states would want to share important information for fear of irresponsible leaks, and we will soon return to a time when snails carry our mails.

-C-

Water In The Sand

She walks on barefoot looking for strength
Reached the sea to walk right back
She finds nothing reflecting the laugh
Once so jovial not rotten enough
I stooped and looked for trace of light
A barren land provide with none
In absence we find thee, pride
Tears of salt for none we felt
Finding the cloak void with answers
Vomiting words from empty thought
Circling where she sought to after
A crescent faith shall not discover
Guns and barrels in ways of both
Foreseeing ash
Still wind and black cloud
My undesired love speaks none but death
She scratched the wall of green and white
Bitter is the name of might
Never good was any side
Once shallow fog encloses the lies
She danced with legs up to her eyes
Invisible hand behind her arms
The power of voice she so despise
Far from sight those who decide
To ride a shooting little star
To wave old solemn days behind
Impossible for a scar to resemble
Scarcity of life not to remember
People in green blew and shoved
Though red is violent splashed on Blue
A hollow throat there came a shout
Please, please, please
Her head I hold
Her body I see
Falling bombs of piercing cold
History entangles two entities
History of a future need to escape
Not to be caught in wars of faith
Into the sea the stones are slipped
Love is all kinds of blind that bleed

-C-

When a snake with two toungues disguises as a blue bird

On Thursday Adam Lambert performed his first concert in Malaysia. Similarly to other artists before him, his visit was highly criticized. But this time it is not because of his performance, but because of his lifestyle. It is also not a wonder that the most vocal of the protests came from PAS.

I’m no stranger to concerts. I’ve been to my share of concerts by western musician and had honestly enjoyed myself. So you could trust me that what I’m going to say is purely rational, not emotional.

When PAS protested, they have their reasons. Maybe not everyone agrees with them, but on what basis, may I ask, do these people counter-protest PAS? PAS stands for Islam. Obviously they do not have a lot of fans, but if Islam, or PAS, compromises to the demands of the people who do not know what’s up in the sky and below in the ground, then the religion defeats its purpose as a mechanism to keep society peaceful.

I am fully aware that Adam Lambert took it to his twitter account to say that he finds the commotion uncalled for because he is not preaching for gay rights, but solely for the rights to love. Sounds acceptable to a liberal’s mind. But if the liberals want their rights to be respected, they need to be sensitive of Malaysia’s Muslim-majority population and what these people believe in. I know Malaysia is a multi-cultural, multi-religious country, and those who do not believe in the teachings of Islam should have the freedom to lead their life without the constraints of Islamic teachings – including their freedom to go to concerts. But what saddens me is when MUSLIMS question the actions of PAS members, and are embarrassed by how the western media portrays Malaysia.

Let me start with the western perception. Borrowing from Plato (an obviously non-Muslim philosopher), we should NOT care about what the masses think because the masses DO NOT KNOW what is the right thing in the first place. They (the media) do not have knowledge of what’s beyond their senses. So who cares if TMZ ridicules Malaysia? First of all, they do not hold the same values as us, and second of all, their words do not matter except to those who pay attention! And those who pay attention to entertainment news make up a very small number of the population.

My second argument is a much simpler one. If as a Muslim you are embarrassed of the RIGHT thing, then don’t call yourself one. It is more embarrassing that when Facebook has a “Draw Muhammad” competition you called them insensitive, but when at home you want to be the bully and call other Malaysians embarrassing. You are the embarrassment for you speak out of ignorance, and do not have a coherent opinion.

Finally, I repeat that I am a concert-goer myself. If Adam Lambert comes to Pittsburgh, I’ll be among the first to get his tickets. Not to mention that I have a couple of friends who are gay, therefore I am not homophobic. I acknowledge my friends for who they are, without publicly condemning or accepting their lifestyle. That is between them and the God they believe in. All I know is that my knowledge is limited and I do not intend to act all-knowingly on such fragile ground.

Thus neither should you.

-C-

Mine

Just HAVE to post this song. Cried the first time watching it.

"...you...left a small town never looked back"

"I was a flight risk, with a fear of falling"

"you made a rebel of a...careful daughter"

"you learned my secrets and you figured out why I'm guarded"

"...bills to pay, ...nothing figured out"

"...that fight 2:30 am"

"braced myself for the goodbye...you took me by surprise...you said, 'I'll never leave you alone'"

"THE BEST THING THAT HAS EVER BEEN MINE"

Story of moi :)

-C-