Wednesday, February 09, 2011

Valentine's Day: Refuting Tan Keng Liang

Referring to the post by Tan Keng Liang click --> here.

Stating my opinion, I would like to express disagreement towards the views expressed by Mr Tan in his post. I feel Mr Tan has poor understanding of Malaysian multiracial and multireligion society and thus leading him to produce such statement.

First argument:
Quoting his statement "I regret the statement by PAS Youth Chief that implied Valentine’s Day would be filled with sinful activities and immoral acts.",
followed by his other statement "This is clearly a blatant insult to those who celebrate Valentine’s Day in Malaysia. It would indirectly cast doubt over the morality of all those who will celebrate Valentine’s Day."

From these two statements it is clear that Mr Tan doesn't really understand the situation in our multireligion society in Malaysia. By saying that Valentines Day would be filled with sinful activities and immoral acts, PAS Youth Chief Nasruddin Hassan is generally viewing Valentine Day from the point of view of Islam. Mr Tan needs to understand that for Muslims, it is sinful even for unmarried couples to be alone together. Moreover in Valentines Day where most couples will take opportunity of this day to embrace each other in manners intolerable to Islam or in even worse condition leading to sexual intercourse between unmarried couples.

The reason for this is because Islam respect the value of women and the right of men. Value of women where women are to take good care of their chastity and good morality. This is important to ensure the 'right' for her 'future' husband is fulfilled because it would be unfair for the man to find out that his 'future' wife is no longer chaste and had been 'enjoyed' by other men due to various reasons, one of it being the reason of 'love'.

The second reason for this is to help prevent further social problems. All of us agree that abortion is immoral because it's the same as killing a soul with life. Having said this, we also agree to abandon newly born baby due to various factors is even worse. The problem is, Mr Tan, unmarried couples who get involve with sexual intercourse and then leading to the girl being pregnant, the result in most cases of unwanted pregnancy by unmarried couples is either abortion or the baby being born and abandoned. This leads to other social problems which will take another thousand of words to be discussed on so I'll leave it for now.

Second argument:
Quoting another sentence from the blog, "PAS Youth must understand the nature of Valentine’s Day with an open mind and do not interpret the celebration with their “narrow mind”"

Reversely, I would want to plead Mr Tan to view the issue of Valentine's Day from a 'bigger' and not such narrow perspective of celebrating love. We should see the issue of Valentine's day from a wider perspective of morality, social problems, value of women and the rights of men rather than only talking from the point of view of love. There are bigger implications from Valentine's day towards social problems and issues of morality rather than just celebrating love. Should this issue not addressed, Malaysia is in danger of being in serious social dilemma like what the United Kingdom is facing.

Having the chance to study in the United Kingdom I come to understand, among biggest social problems faced by the UK Government are 'alcohol consumption' and 'teenage pregnancy'. Even modern and developed country like UK is facing problem with teenage pregnancy which impacted them not only socially but also in many other aspects. So, why should us, Malaysia, which is still a developing country, take the issue of 'teenage pregnancy' lightly? Hence, Valentine's day play quite a significant role in contributing to unwanted pregnancy and teenage pregnancy because the day itself is used as a 'formal' platform where most teenage lovers will find opportunities to embrace each other.

Third argument:
Quoting his statement in the post, "Malaysia, a multiracial and religion country, has long been a moderate country and free of extremism." Being an active politician, Mr Tan should understand that a multiracial and religion country and society consist of people with different views and beliefs. Hence, in order to make decisions we will need to consider people of different beliefs. I would not say things on behalf of other group of people, instead I would refer to this issue from the point of view of Islam.

As a nationalist in Malaysia, Mr Tan should understand more than 50 percent of Malaysians are Muslims. The nature and teaching of Islams are such where we prohibit sexual intercourse before getting married. Having said this, it also means all actions directing to sexual intercourse before marriage should be actively discourage. Hence this is why our good Malaysian, Ustaz Nasrudin Hasan Tantawi is initiating a campaign to discourage such activities which happen rampantly during Valentine's Day.

I understand, being a non-muslim, Mr Tan might not comprehend fully the understanding and the preachings of Islam. However, there is no excuse for a politician like Mr Tan to disrespect the rights and beliefs of other group of people, in this case, the Muslims in Malaysia to discourage the celebration of Valentine's Day as this is our right.

Fourth argument:
Quoting another statement by Mr Tan: "This latest statement by PAS clearly signify more efforts by PAS (with the support of their partners in Pakatan Rakyat) to create their extreme version of Islamic State in Malaysia."

In my defence of the action, I would like to call upon Mr Tan to understand that what is done by PAS Youth Chief, is not in any sense considered as extremism. Instead we are trying to defend the teachings of Islam and at the same time will be benefiting Malaysia and Malaysian society by helping to prevent social problems from increasing.

On the other hand, I would like to point out that to disallow and disrespect others rights, in this case, the Muslims rights to practice the teaching of our religion which is to discourage the celebration of something detrimental to Islam and the society such as Valentine's Day among Muslims is a sign of extremism itself. So perhaps Mr Tan can reconsider the stance taken by yourself in this issue.

Lastly, quoting the last statement from Mr Tan: "PAS must learn to understand the culture of all Malaysians, comprising of various race and religion.". I would like to kindly urge Mr Tan to learn and try to understand the nature and culture of all Malaysians, comprising of various race and religion because if you do understand, then you'll know why are Muslims such as Ustaz Nasrudin actively discouraging the celebration of Valentine's Day. This is a friendly reminder to Mr Tan as it is important for yourself because if you want to develop your career and become successful politician, you will need to fully understand the context of pluralism in Malaysia.

Fifth argument:
Having done with my arguments rebutting Mr Tan's post, I would like to point out a statement from our Ustaz Nasrudin quoted from thestar online:
"In Penang, PAS youth is working closely with the Islamic Religious Department to check immoral activities among Muslims, he said."

Having said this, this activity of discouraging the celebration of Valentine's Day only involves the process to check immoral activities among 'Muslims'. Hence, if Mr Tan wants to celebrate Valentine's Day, feel free to celebrate. However, I would like to stress, the right to take care and monitor our own beloved brothers and sisters of Islam is still our right and I shall support this noble campaign as a Muslim.

Conclusion:
The intention of this post is not to undermine any individual but to educate the people as to why do Muslims are against Valentine's Day. Furthermore, this post is to stress that we should have proper understanding of certain issue to make a fair judgement to it. And to our Muslim friends, we should start educating our non-Muslim friends as to why we discourage the celebration of Valentine's Day so all of us can have the same understanding. From understanding then only will come tolerance.

This post is written and consist of personal opinion by,
Mohd Faiez Mohd Ali
A Malaysian undergraduate student.

53 comments:

  1. 2 words: Nicely done.
    Hope Mr. Tan would read this. Thanks for the post. =)

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  2. Hi Faiez I happened to see this! Anyway I wanted to say that I think Malaysians who make public statements really need to learn how to be more polite and more careful with their phrasing...I think most of the time that is the root of the problem.

    I don't know the exact intention of Nasrudin Hassan and the extent of 'immorality checks' he is planning to do (as in whether it is going to apply to Muslims only or non-Muslims too, I didn't do any research haha), but I do think that at first sight, the words 'immorality checks' sounds rather extreme, intrusive and almost dictatorial in a sense. I can understand how it can really piss people who just want to be with their girlfriends/boyfriends off.

    Of course, on second thought if we consider the intention of his efforts in the context of the broader picture, it is perfectly legitimate for him to want to curb immoral activities in a Muslim country and prevent fellow Muslims from committing wrongdoing.

    But there is a much nicer way to say that - for example "We understand that many people want to celebrate being with their loved ones on Valentine's Day, but we would like to remind Muslims not to go overboard and keep your principles in mind on this romantic day."

    There is no need to call the campaign a SIN-FREE campaign. Understandably, to Muslims, premarital sex/being alone with another woman/other similar activities are sinful, but Nasrudin Hasan needs to keep in mind that for many Malaysians such activities are perfectly normal, and when you immediately launch a campaign calling for a sin-free lifestyle many people will immediately think 'what the hell, how dare this man call my lifestyle sinful?!'

    Do you get what I mean? I perfectly understand his efforts, and I perfectly agree that in a Muslim country it is perfectly legitimate to remind Muslims to follow the right principles, but there is a way of doing this without antagonising non-Muslims but yet still achieving the intended outcome.

    Therefore, I understand Tan Keng Liang's reaction.

    However, I do think that Tan Keng Liang is being unnecessarily rude.

    Honestly, telling someone to 'mind your own business' is rude in any context - with friends, with your mom, with your siblings, with co-workers.

    SO therefore Tan Keng Liang should have a right to feel a bit implicated by what Nasrudin Hasan said, but saying that he should mind his own business is just rude.

    Okay, my two cents :)

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  3. Charo Summer: Thanks for the kind words. ;)

    Hui Lin:
    I do agree to your point that we shall need to be careful when uttering something in public.
    However I believe 'immorality checks' is the right word to be used because it refers to unmarried couples being alone together doing immoral actions according to Islam. From the point of view of Islam, kissing, embracing, touching, hugging another person (usually involves bf/gf) whom isn't your family, wife, husband etc are immoral. Yet I can understand why you feel the word is a bit harsh, because the doings which are immoral in Islam may not be considered immoral from your pov. So the problem is cultural difference and we can address this issue by trying to understand what other says in their own understanding. Still, I cannot find ways to justify the action of Mr Tan Keng Liang whom is a politician but disrespect the rights of Ustaz Nasrudin to initiate this campaign and tell ustaz to mind his own business. And by saying that he(Mr Tan) couldn't find reasons why such activity is immoral or sinful shows his lack of understanding of Islam, and he shouldn't express such view in public. Being a politician, his words may carry weight.

    However, thanks for the two cents and good discussion. ;)

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  4. Have you ever consider that there are tons of non-Muslim in Malaysia? Why u sound like PAS and want to impose u religion and views on non-Muslim? To me, I can why Tan Keng Liang is angry. I am angry also when someone say Valentine Day is celebrated with immoral & sinful act. What do you mean by immoral and sinful act? Is eating out with my boyfriend at Pizza Hut a sinful & immoral act? I think it is the lack of knowledge that cause this Ustaz from PAS to be ignorant of other non-Muslim culture. I will slap him if he say I am immoral or sinful when I celebrate Valentine Day. Shame on those PAS people

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  5. very nice argument faiez.

    well susan, not everyone celebrates valentine's day like you do... enough said

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  6. ayoyo susan, that ustaz said they will only check any indecent or immoral activity done by muslims.thet wont kacau you la.i think you didnt read that ustaz tweet la.ini macam pun adakah.

    kelab penyokong pas

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  7. Hang on, with all due respect to our muslim brethren, non-muslims have also been the target of these so called "moral police". Many a time we have been unfairly chastised simply because we want to celebrate this day as it should be, and the rational = because we are a bad influence to our muslim brethren's.
    I do agree that Mr Tan's outburst could have checked first but I also believe Ustaz should also made it clear the rights of non-muslims will not be interfered by the morality police.

    just my thoughts

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  8. Somehow, I kept on seeing there are more emphasis given to rather "small" sins like this, than those major ones like what we are seeing around us everyday.

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  9. I m non-muslim and i did not celebrate the anniversary of Valentine. It is just another day for me. We need to cherish every moment we have whether it is good or bad day that day.

    I did not get offended by ustaz Nasruddin but i would not consider him as ustaz first but a politician first.

    For Mr. Tan, i really feel he is not matured enough. Just want to score some points for his political journey. Please ignored this person.

    For the non-muslims that get offended, please ignored the statement.The ustaz will not check on you. You are free to celebrate whatever day you like.

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  10. Kadang-kadang ini orang bukan muslim ni perasan byk lah, ustaz bagi komen dia orang sudah macam mau naik gila...

    Hari Valentine ini hari apa? Ini budaya import lah. Barang import sure bagus punya lah, jadi budaya import pun bagus lah....

    Hari ke 15 Tahun Baru Cina juga macam hari kekasih tetapi budaya ini dari Timur bukan Barat, apasal dia orang tak komersial kan hari ini? Tak cukup romance mah...

    Dia orang ni bukan paham sama ajaran Islam..takut ini tak boleh lah...itu tak boleh lah..Minda tak ada bukalah...masih berangan-angan kut....Pergi negara Islam pun ada tempat jual arak lah, boleh makan pizza jugak, boleh buka bilik juga...jangan jadi katak lah...

    Lagi best kalau dia orang ni mau bebas sangat...gua lagi happy mah...sudah balik zaman purbalah...

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  11. Valentine's Day is not a public holiday in my kalendar kuda.
    But Maulidur Rasul is.

    With 'tons of non-Muslims' fighting for the right to makan babi, minum beer and "make up" on Valentine's day, not let's say, vegetarian food at PLKN camps, I can see why tokongs and churches don't get much peruntukan from govt. Because these 'tons of non-Muslims' only fight for their westernized lifestyle, not for their religious practices.

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  12. Susan: He doesn't say about getting check on immoral activities by non-muslim. Please read thestar article linked above.

    Att: Thanks for the kind words. ;)

    mutu: there are people who say things but don't read, that's the problem.

    Observer: I believe the ustaz doesn't imply to check on the non-muslims. If that happen to you or your friends, then it's a 'kes terpencil' and you must understand in everything there are people who take things into extreme, but not this case.

    Anonymous (6.23pm): If this is small sin, then what are the big sins? Btw small sins may lead to big sins, don't you think so? Like pepatah melayu, "melentur buluh biarlah dari rebungnya"

    Anonymous(6.45pm): Agree. But if he's taking his politician stance, it's a bad move as the campaign leads to unrest among non-muslims who doesn't understand the issue and also leads to unrest by his counterpart, the DAP. so in this case, he's taking it from the pov of an ustaz.

    Otaksakit: We're living in a secular and liberal culture. That's why this is happening. Semua mau tiru barat, what to do? Even our education system guna pakai edu-system barat tahun 70an.

    Serious Shepherd: Their rights are their rights yet we must educate them in things like this to give them understanding. "immoral checks' on the muslims because hugging, kissing, touching your unmarried partner is consider immoral in Islam. Kan? But they don't understand.

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  13. The non-Muslims should understand by now that there's always a lot of paranoia among the Muslims over nothing so much so that they over exaggerate the immoral activities that the Muslims will be engaged in on Valentine's Day. Just leave the Muslims alone, don't get into debate with them. They are just different, very different.

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  14. Personally, I feel there are more greater sins that just immoral activities supposedly & likely to happen on Valentine's Day; irrespective of religion.

    This debate here on Mr Tan's statement has got out of proportion. We should see the bigger picture of what is the root cause of all these immoral activities which is not confined to Muslims alone. It happens to other people of other faiths as well.

    Without any scientific research, one cannot postulate or worst still put forth unfounded hypothesis; whether it is from Mr Tan or from Ustaz Nasurddin. That includes you and I here.

    I am quite sure all these woes come from lack of education. We must tackle the basic tenet of immoral activities by way of education rather than by treating symptoms.

    I rest my case

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  15. Anonymous(10pm): Words used by you such as 'paranoia' & 'exaggerate the immoral activities' show your lack of understanding of Islam principles. And Yes! we are different. ;)

    clear conscience: I agree there are greater sins, still that doesn't mean we shouldn't focus on the small sins. And yes I do agree that all these woes come from lack of education. You see, education(in general) in Malaysia is based on secularism and liberalist pov. That's why we can understand why people have differences in interpreting 'immoral' actions. The core argument I believe is for Mr Tan, not to criticise the campaign done as it only involves Muslims and the term 'immoral activities' is used based from Islamic point of view. As simple as that.

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  16. My response to your article is here : http://zakizainudin.blogspot.com/2011/02/time-out-man-in-mirror.html

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  17. Dear Reverie,

    I believe there is a few issues to address.

    Your first argument:
    I think you, Tan and PAS Youth Chief are making a lots of generalization and stereotyping. As Susan said, she does not celebrate V-Day with immoral activities. And sarcastically Att Ashburn pointed out that not everyone celebrate as Susan. And Att Ashburn is right.

    I don't celebrate V-day with immoral activities too. In fact, different people celebrate differently.

    Therefore it is wrong for Nasruddin to insinuate that most people practice immoral acts on V-Day. We really don't know and there is not hard facts to suggest otherwise. Btw, did Nasruddin already claimed that he was mis-quoted?

    And Tan is also wrong. Not everyone is insulted. Some people practice immoral acts knowing they are immoral. Some people do not consider certain acts to be immoral.

    Further, most people when they say they celebrated V-Day, they are not actually celebrating Valentine's Day. It's just an excuse for some people to go out for a romantic dinner. And what about married Muslim couple going out for a romantic dinner? Sinful? You think people really sit down and contemplate the history of Mr. Valentine? No.. they don't. (In fact, I don't actually celebrate V-Day)

    Oh yes, business taking the opportunity to make a killing.

    So, I would certainly respect Muslim to discourage fellow Muslim to say NO to immorality. Everyweek Christians are urging fellow Christians to say NO to immorality too.

    I humbly suggest that Muslim stop demanding others to be sensitive to their feelings all the time. It makes them looked like little kids. I should qualify that obviously not all Muslims are immature.

    Btw, have you guys watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YVkNzGj4XA

    Here you have someone representing Muslims, publicly states that it is the Traditions of Christians to practice maksiat. Would you go on record and condemn her lack of knowledge in History? Would you condemn her for her insensitivities toward Christians. Would you condemn her for polluting the minds of Muslim youth? Did you hear Christians calling for her blood?

    Let me go on record to say these. I fully support your position to discourage your fellow Muslim from celebrating V-Day. But let me suggest that there is no point in trying to banned them or spying on your youth to prevent acts of immoralities. Not everyone practices immorality on V-Day. It is just another commercial celebration.

    Those who are immoral will commit acts of immoralities on V-Day, New Year Day, Christmas Day, Chinese New Year Day, Merdeka Day and every other day.

    You don't think all Muslim act like saints on Hari Raya do you?

    And to Anon 10.00pm, Don't debate because they are different? C'mon, I cannot accept your insinuation that all or most Muslims are immature and unreasonable. I personally known Muslim friends that are intelligent, reasonable, fair and god-fearing.

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  18. Ken Chan: Thanks for the reply. I believe what you said is a bit far from our point of discussion. Ustaz Nasrudin doesn't imply all people who celebrate v-day does sinful and immoral activities, instead he initiate a campaign to check on 'immoral and sinful activities' during v-day among muslims. So to say that he implies all acts during v-day is sinful is an argument out of context.

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  19. Kan Chan: About someone representing Muslim saying publicly the tradition of Christian is to practice maksiat, I would disagree to him or her if he or she is saying the wrong things. I stand by the truth and we must understand people who say they represent Islam isn't necessarily representing Islam. People say Osama bin Laden represent Islam but I feel what he did is wrong and not the teaching of Islam as Islam is the religion of peace.

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  20. my goodness!! the issue has been blown out of proportion!
    in the first place, im glad that AT LEAST someone is urging the authorities to check the extend of our so called valentine's celebration. can u imagine a campaign promoting a 'no panties' day AGAIN?! like he said 'we are not against love, but merely raising awareness on self dignity and moral values'. there's nothing wrong with that. so please, DONT POLITICIZE the issue. its a campaign against IMMORAL ACTIVITIES. what is so wrong about that? if you are not involved in these kind of activities, you shouldnt feel insulted. in fact you should ENCOURAGE our leaders to do this kind of crackdown!
    okay, regarding the 'immoral activities'.. he's obviously refering to the muslims. so buddhist, christians, hindus (and others), why the reaction? he's not talking about YOUR youth. this is a free (so-called. hehe..) country. every leaders can preach to their own followers. after all he's representing parti islam se-something.. note the word ISLAM there? so there you go ;)
    next, mr tan oh mr tan.. im sorry for you. nuff said!
    peace and out
    ps: nak buat campaign pakai tutup aurat tapi tak cukup kain kat melesia ni. huhu..

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  21. Gay Islamists demanding everything to go their way again. Sigh...

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  22. Someone pls tell Mr. Faiez Ali dat he seriously needs to get laid.

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  23. "And Yes! we are different. ;)"

    Pls go back to the planet where you belong then. Earth is a place too dangerous for you aliens.

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  24. Jakim also launched anti-Valentine's day.

    Let's not expect Tan Keng Liang to say anything about it, although I hope he would organize a protest one day after Valentine's day, which is a public holiday. Then let's see whether Pekasam will say 'Gerakan disrespects Maulidur Rasul'.

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  25. In this case, the main issue is not the question of moral policing by any Muslim authority. All legal authorities has the rights to 'police' their 'members' whenever they want as long it is within their authority.

    If the Muslim or any authority wants to do moral policing on their followers, they can do it any day.

    The issue is, why should they annouce and state glaringly their intentions that they want to do it on Valentine day.
    By stating their intentions to check on their own Muslim following on VALENTINE Day is implying and associating a bad negative to Valentine Day and thus indirectly to the Christian religion. (btw I am not religious)
    This is where the insensitivity arises.

    If Muslims want to do moral policing on Valentine Day, they should do it quietly so as not to stoke the sensitivity of the issue.

    From another perspective, the fact that there are so many Muslim couples being influenced by Valentine celebration implies that there are some ineffectiveness and weakness in the religion itself in preventing and controlling the issue in the first place.
    This is merely fire-fighting.

    In this case, Muslims should find out the root causes of why their religion is not effective in controlling the negative behaviors of their followers.

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  26. Reverie,

    I do agree with you that it is way out of context, but I'm mere going along with the discussion. I do like to highlight that it is the perception being portrayed. What we say he implied is merely our interpretation and could well be wrong.

    Thank you for pointing out that NOT all who claim or seen to be representing Islam is NOT actually representing them.

    Similarly, let's not get the ideas that any groups are really representing the people the claimed.

    MCA does not represent the Chinese. The National Church Council (can't remember the full name) does not represents the Christians. And I gather PERKASA does not represent the Malays, right?

    And all Tan Keng Liang represents is himself. Obviously he said what he said because he thot it will advance his own cause.

    Skyewalker: Just because some stupid fella came up with the idea of a "No Panties" day, it does not represent the majority. It's so easy for someone to publicized something and get all of us chasing phantoms.

    Just because Ibrahim Ali or PERKASA made a few stupid statements, we are not suppose to think that Malays generally are racist do we? I should think not.

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  27. skyewalker: Thanks for some common sense here. Appreciate the discussion rather than people slandering and giving personal attacks, not contributing at all. ;)

    Anonymous(12.13pm): The campaign needs publicity for early prevention. So that when people read they'll know not to do any immoral actions if they're planning to. Take note the campaign and its publicity are for muslims, so why should the non-muslims want the campaign to be stopped and label us as extremist and stuffs? I do agree we also need to work out the root cause of the problem. That's why such campaign is one of the ways to address the issue.

    Kan Chan: But we'll need to consider accountability as well. If what I said aren't right, it'll be detrimental to the muslims in a way that it gives bad pictures to the muslims. Hence I'll need to be careful in wording what I want to say. However I do agree, it's unfair to judge the majority from the statement of a group or some people.

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  28. Good to have some level-headed discourse here. Too many people in Malaysia are saying things that give a bad pictures of Muslims and Malays. And too few people are setting the records straight.

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  29. Don't you think the phrase we are different is not right is Islam? From the point of view of Islam,everyone is the same. Maybe our religion, races and so on are different but in Islam, the only difference is Iman. You should not say we are different but just the point of view of our religion is different. I'm not pointing who wrong or right here, but the most important thing is we as a Muslim need to explain to the non Muslim so they understand our point of view in Islam. I think you should know how hard Rasulullah S.A.W try to make Arab Jahiliyyah understand what he going to convey. But as long as they dont understand, WE as a muslim need to try our best to make sure they understand it. Jzkk

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  30. The fact is you busybody holier-than-thou brats don't have any right to bump into other people's private life, Muslims or non-Muslims alike. Like hellooooo, I'm a Muslim too! Who the heck are you to control what I should do and what I should not do, huh? Sedangkan tok imam pun ada batang konek... aduhai... Mr. Faiez Ali, as far as I know, the govt is investing money on you hoping to bring back new Malaysians, thus new changes, turns out that you are just as rotten as those local fags who called themselves "pejuang Islam" (kononnya pulak sdgkan perangai cam beruk). I hope I won't be seeing you on the streets of Malaysia cos' if I do, I'll give you a big fat bitch slap.

    Damn gimme' back my taxpayers' money!!! :(

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  31. "Who the heck are you to control what I should do and what I should not do, huh?

    I think sasha tried to say that she's still "virgin" on last valentines day ..
    but she lost it in last new year ;)huhu

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  32. i think muslims' silent majority will boycott both DAP & MCA leaders in next G.E especially to those who criticized Muslims right to practice their religion.

    lets our vote do the talking

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  33. Anonymous(9.55pm): Referring to my statement that we are different. I'm sorry for not making it clear. The statement is made due to Rasulullah hadith that Islam came from the state of being a ghuraba(alien/ not normal) and will come to that state again. We can see right now, people who practices Islamic teachings and those who try to share the teachings of Islam are label as extremist and people who are not normal. And yes I do agree to your statement that we should educate the non-muslims, this is what I'm trying my level best. I'm sorry if what I said cause confusion, perhaps because it was understood out of its context.

    Sasha: Your doings are your doings and it's up to you to stand up to Allah in judgement day. However I have responsibility to share my knowledge so that when I got asked, I can say, I've done my level best to educate, I've done my part.

    Kan Toi: insyAllah. ;)

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  34. Kan Toi: Well, on the contrary, the silent majority will ditch PAS with its Islamist credentials and of course the present government. Fact. What have you been smoking lately? : ) And yes, I'm a Muslim too.

    Thumbs up to Sasha for speaking out your mind. Malaysia is in serious need of more people like you to stand up against religious fundamentalism that is slowly overrunning the country.

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  35. To be good engineer u need to learn,understand & practise the fundamental of engineering concept..

    To be a good accountant, u need to understand & practise the fundamental of accounting principle..

    So dont u think to To b a good muslim we need to undrstand & practise fundamentals of ISlam..

    Anonymous u may b a muslim..the BIG question u & shahas should ask yourselves..R U a GOOD muslim??

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  36. Dear brothers and sisters in Islam (especially Sasha and Anon @9:49pm),

    I would like to ask you to ponder for one moment. Why are we so against any Islamic movement in our countries?

    I believe that we are God-fearing Men and Women who would not think of crossing the boundaries set out by our Lord. We believe in the Quran and we believe in the Sunnah of our dear Prophet (SAW). Hence, why should we be so against such movements? We do not want to commit the crime, we are already in the safe zone.

    I mean, the only ones who should feel uncomfortable are the ones who have desires towards the disobeying side. Only they are in the danger zone. Besides, even if we were caught because we were on the wrong place at the wrong time, if we are innocent, God will prove it because He sides with those who are close to Him.

    Have faith and just let those people do whatever they want. We already know that we are in the safe zone.

    However, with that being said, I am a bit concern about how to implement such idea without offending our Non-Muslim cousins. We do not want to be grouped with those who do not know how to respect other religion. I think the non-Muslims' feedback are invaluable if it concerns them. I am quite confident that our non-Muslims cousin would not interfere in telling us what we should be doing in our religion since most Non-Muslims I met are more mature than some Muslims I met.

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  37. I don't have problems with the Muslims minding the other Muslim's problem because that is what their religion ask them to do. What I detest most is when the Christian religion is being associated with the immoral activities purportedly occurring during Valentine's Day! The National Fatwa Council erred when they made a decision to say that "Valentine's Day is a Christian tradition". What an utter nonsense!

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  38. Immoral activities are occurring every second. minute, hour, day, week, month. Vice activities does not only occur during Valentine's Day and it does not know any race, religion, gender. Even as we go about our daily lives, man/man, woman/man, boy/girl, ustazah/husband, ustaz/wife, Ministers/wife, Ministers/mistress, and so forth are making love. How can you police all these?

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  39. Dear Reverie and NekoNyan,

    I can't speak for others but I certainly have no issue with Muslim URGING and ENCOURAGING fellow Muslims to avoid sin and be obedient to the God whom you believe it. I support fully.

    I would like your opinion... When authority like JAKIM who claimed to represents Muslim, went around TELLING LIES about Christians and inciting HATRED, would you consider that as SIN?

    Oh yes, I have seen with my own eyes the brochure for "Kempen Awasi Jerat Hari Valentine", they are telling LIES.

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  40. Dear Kan Chan, could you please share with us the content of "Kempen Awasi Jerat Hari Valentine"? I am still in UK and I am not aware of it. Also, I have never seen such brochures before.

    Yes, I believe that JAKIM and Ustazah S** were wrong for spreading false information about Christians. They might have done it by accident. I hope that they will apologize to all Christians.

    Anyonymous,
    there is no concept of spying in Islam. Islamic crime law's aim is just to close the path to do sin in public. It is not the job of the officer to spy on individual's houses or homes. In other words, we are only concerned about public moral crimes - outside one's home. We may not be able to stop it completely but we hope that it will to some extend discourage Muslims from doing such practices in public. Whatever they do in the comfort of their homes is between them and God. We are not accountable for things that are out of our hands.

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  41. Here is a link about Islam's stance on Valentine's Day written in English (Not written by JAKIM):

    http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1209357709208&pagename=Zone-English-Living_Shariah%2FLSELayout

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