Last year, when meeting a Malaysian senator in London, I was asked, as a political science enthusiast, who is my favorite political theorists. It did not turn out to be a shining moment for me. In two sentences, I blurted about my being a comparative politics student as a reason for never having given more thought on political theory than I should have. When I reached home that afternoon, I immediately racked my brain (and notes) on which political theorists who I find most agreeable with. I came up with Schumpeter.
When thinking of the days I spent reading Schumpeter, I would like to imagine that I may have strained my neck by all the nodding I did, agreeing with his understanding of democracy. Schumpeter’s democracy seems to me as the most realistic—and therefore the best—description of the system most countries aspire to these days. Democracy is not about rule by the people, it is about people choosing the best leaders to rule over them. My agreement with Schumpeter may have been the result of a previous teacher’s fervor in discussing Plato’s concept of the philosopher kings. In short, my view of democracy was an elitist one: I do not believe that every person who walks this earth is capable of making the best decision for the good of the community, less so to actually lead a country.
That was before I decided to mentally shift away my devotion from western precept of philosophy, ethics, and politics. Unfortunately, I have not had the opportunity to make the full intellectual transition to alternative views, but from what little knowledge I have acquired so far, I have come to question my own elitist beliefs. Mostly, it has to do with the same Quranic verse I cited previously (Quran 49:11). I am just one person among a sea of humans, with limited understanding of the challenges faced by others, thus I am not in a position to judge whose view of the world should take precedence over another’s. I am not better by my education or even ibadah. A different experience is just that: different. Forever, while on this earth and beyond, sovereignty belongs only to God, and all we can do as His slaves is to consult one another before promulgating laws that are to affect our neighbors alike. Democracy, as famously proclaimed by Churchill as the worst form of government except for the rest, should not be an institution that risks manipulation under a few elites.
Yesterday I did my part in the democratic process of my beloved country. After years of learning and reading about participating in an institution only imagined about in years past, I finally understand why democracy should not be left achievable through the stewardship of enlightened elite, because the idea that one could make a difference is an empowering experience that is to be shared. Maturity in a society is too valuable to be held at arm’s length.
As in any competition, there will be winners and losers; let’s all be good sports over the outcome.
Syaza
The Mind Is Where The Body Isn't
Monday, April 29, 2013
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Haqq (truth) over nafs (ego)
A learned Muslim once told us that a person’s true self will only be magnified as a musaffir (traveler). Meaning that if someone is nice when in a familiar environment, he or she will be nicer when away from home, and vice versa. When I heard this, I
immediately thought of the post I wrote a while back where I disagree with those accusing the ‘bad West’ for the straying of young Muslim Malaysians when they go off to study in a western country. Even then I believe (which turns out to be true) that being away only brings out a person’s true character not because of influence, but because of new-found freedom.
Personally, I love the freedom that I have had for the past four years, not because I can go crazy and do whatever I want away from the watchful eyes of a judgmental society, but because I can grow at my own pace, in my own space. I love being in America, and now in the UK, because I can fill whatever void I have by learning about Islam the way that is best for me. That may be a sacrilegious statement because according to people back home, you cannot cherry-pick Islam to best fit you; but I have recently learned that Islam is in fact discretion. That is the marvelous beauty of the Quran. Islam is not solely about a set of practices that is set in stone, but it is a rational and logical religion that is applicable to multiple people in different scenarios. I have always reiterate that I do not really favor our celebrity ustaz in Malaysia because they tend to discuss what to do and what not to do, which is important, I definitely agree, but I feel like they don’t truly educate. They don’t rationalize the rules that they preach when Islam is nothing less than rational.
I love being away from Malaysia because I can feel that I am a better person over here, I am calmer in this environment, and my relationship with God grows every day as a result. I am more at peace with who I am and how I interact with others and with God. Last year, when I told people I dread going back to Malaysia, they uttered about “Hujan emas di negeri orang…” But it is not even about that. I don’t dread going back to Malaysia because of low purchasing power; I dread going back because I do not like who I was in the twenty years that I was there. I was angry, resentful, spiteful, judgmental, easily frustrated, disappointed, and many other negative traits that I wish to erase from my memory. Mostly it was my own fault, but I won’t deny that the environment I was in was also highly toxic.
On that note, I recently learned that who I am in a country where intellectual discourse is highly regarded does not represent my true self—my true Islam—because it is easy for me. It is being in Malaysia which is difficult. So, if I want to practice being a good Muslim, I need to learn to control my nafs (ego) when I am in a trying situation. It is not fair for me to be content with myself right now, because—paradoxically—at the moment I do not face the challenges that I do in Malaysia. If I wish to be a good Muslim, it should start with my interactions with those I find to be most difficult. After all, being angry means I refuse to let haqq (truth) wins over my nafs, and that will spoil the faith that I have worked so hard to build while being in two Muslim-minority countries. After all, wasn’t it Muhammad Abduh who said, “I went to the West and saw Islam, but no Muslims; I got back to the East and saw Muslims, but not Islam.”
The question then is, why must I be angry? Just because I am annoyed does not mean I am correct.
“O you who have believed, let not a people ridicule [another] people; perhaps they may be better than them; nor let women ridicule [other] women; perhaps they may be better than them. And do not insult one another and do not call each other by [offensive] nicknames. Wretched is the name of disobedience after [one’s] faith. And whoever does not repent—then it is those who are the wrongdoers.” (Quran 49: 11)
Sorry for the much rambling recently in this blog. I just feel like it helps in my understanding of Islam to voice out what I am feeling rather than to have a one-sided debate in my head.
Thank you for reading.
Syaza
Personally, I love the freedom that I have had for the past four years, not because I can go crazy and do whatever I want away from the watchful eyes of a judgmental society, but because I can grow at my own pace, in my own space. I love being in America, and now in the UK, because I can fill whatever void I have by learning about Islam the way that is best for me. That may be a sacrilegious statement because according to people back home, you cannot cherry-pick Islam to best fit you; but I have recently learned that Islam is in fact discretion. That is the marvelous beauty of the Quran. Islam is not solely about a set of practices that is set in stone, but it is a rational and logical religion that is applicable to multiple people in different scenarios. I have always reiterate that I do not really favor our celebrity ustaz in Malaysia because they tend to discuss what to do and what not to do, which is important, I definitely agree, but I feel like they don’t truly educate. They don’t rationalize the rules that they preach when Islam is nothing less than rational.
I love being away from Malaysia because I can feel that I am a better person over here, I am calmer in this environment, and my relationship with God grows every day as a result. I am more at peace with who I am and how I interact with others and with God. Last year, when I told people I dread going back to Malaysia, they uttered about “Hujan emas di negeri orang…” But it is not even about that. I don’t dread going back to Malaysia because of low purchasing power; I dread going back because I do not like who I was in the twenty years that I was there. I was angry, resentful, spiteful, judgmental, easily frustrated, disappointed, and many other negative traits that I wish to erase from my memory. Mostly it was my own fault, but I won’t deny that the environment I was in was also highly toxic.
On that note, I recently learned that who I am in a country where intellectual discourse is highly regarded does not represent my true self—my true Islam—because it is easy for me. It is being in Malaysia which is difficult. So, if I want to practice being a good Muslim, I need to learn to control my nafs (ego) when I am in a trying situation. It is not fair for me to be content with myself right now, because—paradoxically—at the moment I do not face the challenges that I do in Malaysia. If I wish to be a good Muslim, it should start with my interactions with those I find to be most difficult. After all, being angry means I refuse to let haqq (truth) wins over my nafs, and that will spoil the faith that I have worked so hard to build while being in two Muslim-minority countries. After all, wasn’t it Muhammad Abduh who said, “I went to the West and saw Islam, but no Muslims; I got back to the East and saw Muslims, but not Islam.”
The question then is, why must I be angry? Just because I am annoyed does not mean I am correct.
“O you who have believed, let not a people ridicule [another] people; perhaps they may be better than them; nor let women ridicule [other] women; perhaps they may be better than them. And do not insult one another and do not call each other by [offensive] nicknames. Wretched is the name of disobedience after [one’s] faith. And whoever does not repent—then it is those who are the wrongdoers.” (Quran 49: 11)
Sorry for the much rambling recently in this blog. I just feel like it helps in my understanding of Islam to voice out what I am feeling rather than to have a one-sided debate in my head.
Thank you for reading.
Syaza
Monday, March 4, 2013
Whose current
About a month ago, I had a conversation with my flatmate on how our respective childhood quite unsurprisingly determined the person we were to become. While she was raised mostly at home, I had more freedom in terms of my activities beyond the gates of our previous home. Unlike most kids today, I rode my bicycle to the farthest corner of our residential area, climbed most of the trees surrounding the nearby playground, played on the rusty slide and bled as I scratched my legs and arms, fished tadpoles in the drain, and played happily with my friends until dusk. That had always been the rule: be back by 7. No matter where we went, what we did, I never failed to be home by 7 pm.
When I think of all those fond memories, I blurted how great my parents were to have so much trust in me at such a young age (a trust I believe that carried into my young adult life as they allowed me to get married so young). I believe I started hanging outside with my best friend, and neighbor four houses down, when we were probably five or six; that was how young we were! We had no adult supervision as we fell into drains, or hit a parked car trying to ride our bicycles with our hands off the handle. And we survived. I cannot say how much I admire our parents for allowing us to simply be kids as I cannot imagine young parents today do the same based on the increasing number of helicopter parents I see.
Along that line, I have argued for some time my firm determination to send my kids to a day care center as opposed to having my parents take care of them. I have my reasons. Yet, there is one argument that is thrown at my face over and over again, and that is other people may not care as much for your children as your family will. As much as I agree with that statement, sometimes a little scratch here and there can leave an invaluable scar toward a child’s future independence. But that is not even the point that I want to make today. Instead, I am saddened by such view because it is a pessimistic and sorry way to lead our lives.
Of course, we should always have common sense in our dealings with society, but I see so much distrust encircling us these days. Why don’t we trust our neighborhood nursery when their livelihood depends on our confidence? As an optimist, and someone with tremendous trust for the market and my fellow humans, I believe that these people will do their utmost best to keep your child safe, healthy, and satisfied because as a parent, you could easily use your feet in protest by finding another more competent day care center. But just like any modern society, we are easily spooked by the news, which being what it is, will always report on tragic events including those occurring at day care centers that were unfortunate to have employed careless workers. But what about the thousand other unreported children who grew up healthy and happy surrounded by their little peers?
I have always been a strong believer that the world is what you make of it. If you distrust your neighbor, or even your live-in helper, that you need to constantly check on you children during the day, it will become a cycle that you will eventually regret. Do you know how annoying it is when people do not trust you? One day they will give up altogether and be the person you feared most.
Nevertheless, I have recently learned that I should not be arrogant and judge the people who have a different worldview since they do not have the opportunity to experience as I do the amazing feeling when one lets go and learns to put one's entire trust in God and the people around. But I was also taught to never stop building that bridge of knowledge between myself and others so that we can all live in a better world, thus the decision to write this entry.
When people ask me, or indirectly say to me, that it is not save to be in America, or to live in a city like London, I am always baffled by their dim view. I am trying not to sound arrogant here, because as I said, common sense is very important, and we should always take precautions against risks. However, regardless of where I am or what I do, I always remind myself that the earth I am walking on and the air I am breathing belong to the same Master, even if the politicians are different. If I fear what other people might do to me, I am giving strangers more power than they deserved when the power to hurt me belongs only to God. It needs reminding that whatever happens, good or bad, will not happen if He does not will it to happen. Based on this logic, I should fear no one but God. Out of this fear, I recite the first nine verses of Surah Yasin every time I walk out the door, and praise the Lord in gratitude every time I arrive home safely. It is He, not mere mortal, who decides my fate.
In regards to the safety of your child, my favorite story is of how the mother of Prophet Musa A.S. (Moses) puts her entire trust in God when she sets her son adrift on the mighty Nile River. That is the purest form of a person whose depth of trust in the promise of God is bottomless. So, do not ever tell me the world today is different, because every generation has its own problems—even millennia ago. Plus, what today can even come close to being as scary as the thought of your child being killed by the most powerful man simply for being a Jewish boy?
Have more trust in your life. More importantly, have more trust in God, and you will see how safe this world really is to you and your family. Thankfully, my parents taught me that early.
Syaza
When I think of all those fond memories, I blurted how great my parents were to have so much trust in me at such a young age (a trust I believe that carried into my young adult life as they allowed me to get married so young). I believe I started hanging outside with my best friend, and neighbor four houses down, when we were probably five or six; that was how young we were! We had no adult supervision as we fell into drains, or hit a parked car trying to ride our bicycles with our hands off the handle. And we survived. I cannot say how much I admire our parents for allowing us to simply be kids as I cannot imagine young parents today do the same based on the increasing number of helicopter parents I see.
Along that line, I have argued for some time my firm determination to send my kids to a day care center as opposed to having my parents take care of them. I have my reasons. Yet, there is one argument that is thrown at my face over and over again, and that is other people may not care as much for your children as your family will. As much as I agree with that statement, sometimes a little scratch here and there can leave an invaluable scar toward a child’s future independence. But that is not even the point that I want to make today. Instead, I am saddened by such view because it is a pessimistic and sorry way to lead our lives.
Of course, we should always have common sense in our dealings with society, but I see so much distrust encircling us these days. Why don’t we trust our neighborhood nursery when their livelihood depends on our confidence? As an optimist, and someone with tremendous trust for the market and my fellow humans, I believe that these people will do their utmost best to keep your child safe, healthy, and satisfied because as a parent, you could easily use your feet in protest by finding another more competent day care center. But just like any modern society, we are easily spooked by the news, which being what it is, will always report on tragic events including those occurring at day care centers that were unfortunate to have employed careless workers. But what about the thousand other unreported children who grew up healthy and happy surrounded by their little peers?
I have always been a strong believer that the world is what you make of it. If you distrust your neighbor, or even your live-in helper, that you need to constantly check on you children during the day, it will become a cycle that you will eventually regret. Do you know how annoying it is when people do not trust you? One day they will give up altogether and be the person you feared most.
Nevertheless, I have recently learned that I should not be arrogant and judge the people who have a different worldview since they do not have the opportunity to experience as I do the amazing feeling when one lets go and learns to put one's entire trust in God and the people around. But I was also taught to never stop building that bridge of knowledge between myself and others so that we can all live in a better world, thus the decision to write this entry.
When people ask me, or indirectly say to me, that it is not save to be in America, or to live in a city like London, I am always baffled by their dim view. I am trying not to sound arrogant here, because as I said, common sense is very important, and we should always take precautions against risks. However, regardless of where I am or what I do, I always remind myself that the earth I am walking on and the air I am breathing belong to the same Master, even if the politicians are different. If I fear what other people might do to me, I am giving strangers more power than they deserved when the power to hurt me belongs only to God. It needs reminding that whatever happens, good or bad, will not happen if He does not will it to happen. Based on this logic, I should fear no one but God. Out of this fear, I recite the first nine verses of Surah Yasin every time I walk out the door, and praise the Lord in gratitude every time I arrive home safely. It is He, not mere mortal, who decides my fate.
In regards to the safety of your child, my favorite story is of how the mother of Prophet Musa A.S. (Moses) puts her entire trust in God when she sets her son adrift on the mighty Nile River. That is the purest form of a person whose depth of trust in the promise of God is bottomless. So, do not ever tell me the world today is different, because every generation has its own problems—even millennia ago. Plus, what today can even come close to being as scary as the thought of your child being killed by the most powerful man simply for being a Jewish boy?
Have more trust in your life. More importantly, have more trust in God, and you will see how safe this world really is to you and your family. Thankfully, my parents taught me that early.
Syaza
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Don't wreck it
I’m a sentimental person. I am not embarrassed to admit that I can cry at the sight of a skinny dog sleeping by the road in the cold night. So it was only expected when I get all teary-eyed while watching Wreck-it Ralph this past weekend. This whole idea of an intrinsically bad person—which Ralph was trying to prove he was not—has always been a nuisance not just in the mind where my body isn't, but it has also haunted much of my adolescent life.
When I was younger, a person in authority (an influential adult in my life), used to say to me, directly to my face, repeatedly, that I will be a naughty child. Is this pronouncement based on some sort of scientifically proven psychological test did on me? Nope. Instead it was based on some old wives’ tale that people with two hair whorls, which apparently include me, have some kind of genetically determined naughty streak. Maybe they are right, maybe they are not, but as a Muslim who believes in the bountiful mercy of God, I find it hard to believe that He purposely creates a batch of evil human beings.
Maybe I like my drink with more than a tad of rationality, but if I did exert some not-so-nice traits whilst growing up, I believe it has to do with the fact that I was told, repeatedly, that I am far from a submissive child. At such a young age, of course I was impressionable—back then I even believed that if I practice hard enough I could do the Kamehameha! When an adult tells you something, you tend to believe them, thus reinforcing an idea that was planted into your subconscious. It then becomes a devilish cycle that was not intended in the first place!
Why am I telling you my life story after all my hard work to focus on social issues on this blog? Because I feel that this is a social issue.
Especially as Muslims, we tend to see things in black and white. Good or bad. Pahala or dosa. We refused to accept the possibility of a grey area that God intended, not because He is imperfect in His creation, but because there is a lesson in us all. I recently read a quote that fits perfectly: “Nothing is evil in and of itself”. I love it. Think about it, most Muslims in Malaysia are so afraid of a few things, namely dogs, pigs, and alcohol. But these things are not bad in and of itself. Dogs are not evil, pigs are not evil, and alcohol is certainly not, especially with all the medical benefits it possesses. For example, I don’t understand the hysteria of finding alcohol in a cosmetic product. It is haram to consume alcohol because it makes you drunk. Touching alcohol? Not so much of a problem.
The same argument goes with any human being, singular or plural, a thief or the Jews. Nobody is bad in and of itself, but their careless actions, a reflection of their bad judgement, is usually the result of experiences that cumulated to a point of no return.
While I was doing research for this post, I was nudged by a friend of mine to a blog that I have been engrossed in for the past weeks. And just like any of God’s wishes, He wishes for me to find and read a khutbah on the blog on the nature of the relationship between Moses and Pharaoh. Not only did the khutbah mirrored my current flow of thoughts, but it also contains some other issues that I could not articulate more eloquently. Nevertheless, the basic argument of that sermon is to avoid thinking of Pharaoh, or any evil person you can think of, as the natural aberrant. More importantly, do not think you could never turn the same way, because even Pharaoh, the worst person who ever walks this earth, was not born evil; he consciously made the choices that he made.
Then the sermon went on to concisely express the problem with Facebook that I have so long had trouble discussing. I have wanted to dedicate an entire blog post on Facebook, but I realize that maybe I can convey my message in less words after all. To me, Facebook is the ordinary people’s reality TV. Say what you may, but do not deny that you are intrigued by at least one reality TV show. Why? Because it is entertaining to judge people living in a fish tank, and I believe on some level, we aspire that life because of the fame and fortune that follows them. But those celebrities who started off as genuinely likeable people with real issues soon discovered that they have to up the ante in order to keep people glued to their television set, thus creating these ridiculously over-the-top persona. We may mock them, but without realizing it, we are doing the same thing on Facebook. Suddenly our dinner becomes a topic of discussion; yet the real person behind the screen, who stalks the pages of their friends in hopes of finding a scandal, is not found online. I can cite countless research on the detriments of Facebook on our self-esteem, but I don’t need to because the numbers are out there if you care enough to look for it.
Back to my earlier discussion, we tend to do things subconsciously, either out of habit or out of reinforcement from an adult we trust. But that does not determine our essence, for beneath all that, there is a grey area within us all that becomes black or white depending on our choices. So stop declaring war and start supporting one another to where God awaits.
Syaza
When I was younger, a person in authority (an influential adult in my life), used to say to me, directly to my face, repeatedly, that I will be a naughty child. Is this pronouncement based on some sort of scientifically proven psychological test did on me? Nope. Instead it was based on some old wives’ tale that people with two hair whorls, which apparently include me, have some kind of genetically determined naughty streak. Maybe they are right, maybe they are not, but as a Muslim who believes in the bountiful mercy of God, I find it hard to believe that He purposely creates a batch of evil human beings.
Maybe I like my drink with more than a tad of rationality, but if I did exert some not-so-nice traits whilst growing up, I believe it has to do with the fact that I was told, repeatedly, that I am far from a submissive child. At such a young age, of course I was impressionable—back then I even believed that if I practice hard enough I could do the Kamehameha! When an adult tells you something, you tend to believe them, thus reinforcing an idea that was planted into your subconscious. It then becomes a devilish cycle that was not intended in the first place!
Why am I telling you my life story after all my hard work to focus on social issues on this blog? Because I feel that this is a social issue.
Especially as Muslims, we tend to see things in black and white. Good or bad. Pahala or dosa. We refused to accept the possibility of a grey area that God intended, not because He is imperfect in His creation, but because there is a lesson in us all. I recently read a quote that fits perfectly: “Nothing is evil in and of itself”. I love it. Think about it, most Muslims in Malaysia are so afraid of a few things, namely dogs, pigs, and alcohol. But these things are not bad in and of itself. Dogs are not evil, pigs are not evil, and alcohol is certainly not, especially with all the medical benefits it possesses. For example, I don’t understand the hysteria of finding alcohol in a cosmetic product. It is haram to consume alcohol because it makes you drunk. Touching alcohol? Not so much of a problem.
The same argument goes with any human being, singular or plural, a thief or the Jews. Nobody is bad in and of itself, but their careless actions, a reflection of their bad judgement, is usually the result of experiences that cumulated to a point of no return.
While I was doing research for this post, I was nudged by a friend of mine to a blog that I have been engrossed in for the past weeks. And just like any of God’s wishes, He wishes for me to find and read a khutbah on the blog on the nature of the relationship between Moses and Pharaoh. Not only did the khutbah mirrored my current flow of thoughts, but it also contains some other issues that I could not articulate more eloquently. Nevertheless, the basic argument of that sermon is to avoid thinking of Pharaoh, or any evil person you can think of, as the natural aberrant. More importantly, do not think you could never turn the same way, because even Pharaoh, the worst person who ever walks this earth, was not born evil; he consciously made the choices that he made.
Then the sermon went on to concisely express the problem with Facebook that I have so long had trouble discussing. I have wanted to dedicate an entire blog post on Facebook, but I realize that maybe I can convey my message in less words after all. To me, Facebook is the ordinary people’s reality TV. Say what you may, but do not deny that you are intrigued by at least one reality TV show. Why? Because it is entertaining to judge people living in a fish tank, and I believe on some level, we aspire that life because of the fame and fortune that follows them. But those celebrities who started off as genuinely likeable people with real issues soon discovered that they have to up the ante in order to keep people glued to their television set, thus creating these ridiculously over-the-top persona. We may mock them, but without realizing it, we are doing the same thing on Facebook. Suddenly our dinner becomes a topic of discussion; yet the real person behind the screen, who stalks the pages of their friends in hopes of finding a scandal, is not found online. I can cite countless research on the detriments of Facebook on our self-esteem, but I don’t need to because the numbers are out there if you care enough to look for it.
Back to my earlier discussion, we tend to do things subconsciously, either out of habit or out of reinforcement from an adult we trust. But that does not determine our essence, for beneath all that, there is a grey area within us all that becomes black or white depending on our choices. So stop declaring war and start supporting one another to where God awaits.
Syaza
Friday, January 11, 2013
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