PAS’ politics of desperation, lies and deception

 

Are my ears fooling me, or did I hear PAS president Abdul Hadi saying that the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition was formed to fight extremist forces in the country?

Did he say that these extremist forces are now operating in Melaka?

The self-righteous Hadi thinks that he can say whatever he wants simply because he comes from the holier than thou religious party, the bridge between heaven and earth.

As they say, it takes a thief to know another thief.

It is well known that Hadi is a racist and religious extremist. His political strategy is based on the principle of divide and rule, not just non-Muslims but also among Muslims.

Hadi thinks by labelling others as extremists, he can emerge as a moderate and respectful leader.

But unfortunately, it is too late in the day for this. He and his party are beyond redemption.

Gone are the respectful days of PAS’ former spiritual leader, the much beloved Tok Guru, Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat.

Maybe Hadi, since he knows so much about the extremist forces, should go one step further to name and shame them.

Maybe he should elaborate on the extremist forces that sought to amend the Constitution. What was the amendment about?

It is typical of wishy washy Hadi to say things in general to escape the responsibility of getting into specifics or details.

He fears that once he gets into these details, he might be exposed for his lies and deception.

Can Hadi name the extremist forces operating in Melaka. Is it the much disliked DAP and its allies?

By talking about extremism in Malaysian politics, is Hadi pressing the panic button in anticipation of a possible electoral disaster in Melaka?

Is there a real fear in the ranks of the members of the PN coalition that the Melaka election might be their Waterloo?

Hadi is a very desperate political leader.

If the PN is wiped out in the state election, PAS and Bersatu might not have a national presence to face the next general election (GE15).

Calling others extremists is an indication that all is not well with PAS or its leadership.

Its role in the federal government with ministerial appointments has certainly dented the religious stature of the party.

P Ramasamy is a Penang deputy chief minister.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.

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 Sudan ends 30 years of Islamic law by separating religion, state<br />
Islam is getting in trouble. Sudan is the first country to ban Islam: See how the world is acting fast on the  threat posed by Islam and its barbaric Sharia Law!

Many Christians in US, Europe who became Muslims are doing Ghar Vapsi

Japan has  always refused Muslims to live permanently in their country and they  cannot own any real estate or any type of business, and have banned any  worship of Islam.Any Muslim tourist caught spreading the word of Islam will be deported immediately, including all family members!

Cuba rejects plans for first mosque!

The African nation of Angola and several other nations have officially banned Islam!

A record number of Muslims (over 2,000) deported from Norway as a way of fighting crime. Since these Muslim criminals have been deported, crime has dropped by a  staggering 72%. Prison Officials are reporting that nearly half of their jail cells are now vacant, Court Rooms nearly empty, Police now  free to attend to other matters, mainly traffic offenses to keep their roads & highways safe & assisting the public in as many ways as  they can!

In Germany alone, in the last year, there were 81 violent attacks targeting mosques!

Austrian police arrested 13 men suspected jihad recruiters!

A Chinese court sends 22 Muslim Imams to jail for 16 to 20 years for spreading Islamic hatred & have executed 18 Jihadis; China campaigns against Separatism (disallowing  Islamist to have  their own separate state).Muslim prayers banned in govt  buildings & schools in Xinjiang (Western China). Hundreds of Muslim families prepared to leave China for their own safety & return back to their own Middle Eastern countries!

Muslim refugees  beginning to realize that they are not welcome in Christian countries because of their violent ways & the continuing wars in Syria & Iraq whipped up by the hideous IS who are murdering young children & using  mothers & daughters as sex slaves!

British Home Secretary  prepares to introduce 'Anti-Social Behaviour Order' for extremists & strip dual nationals of their Citizenship. Deportation laws also being prepared!

The Czech Republic blatantly refuses Islam in their country, regarding it as evil!

Many US states- A new controversial amendment that will ban the recognition of "foreign laws which would  include Sharia law"!

The Polish Defense League issues a warning  to Muslims. 16 States have all Introduced Legislation to Ban Sharia Law!

Many Muslims in Northern Ireland have announced  plans to leave the country to avoid anti-Islamic violence by Irish locals. The announcement comes after an attack on groups of Muslims in the city of Belfast, Groups of Irish locals went berserk & bashed  teenage Muslim gangs who were referring to young Irish girls as sluts  & all should be gang raped, as per ''Sharia  Law''.

Even hospital staff were reluctant to treat the battered Muslim Patients, the majority were given the Band-Aid treatment & sent home with staff muttering ''Good Riddance''!

North Carolina bans Islamic "Sharia Law" in the State, regarding it now as a  criminal offence!

Dutch MPs call for removal of all mosques in the Netherlands. One of the Members of the Dutch Parliament said: "We want to clean Netherlands of Islam"! Dutch MP Michael DeGraaf spoke on  behalf of the Party for Freedom when he said, "All mosques in the  Netherlands should be shut down. Without Islam, the Netherlands would  be a wonderful safe country to live in, as it was before the arrival of  Muslim refugees''!

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The real Malay dilemma: race, religion & politics messed up!

Let’s go back to basics

The right fundamentals: By cutting out the ‘fanciful non-productive’ elements, we can beef up our core curriculum that would increase the standards of our education at no additional cost overall.

Reforming Malaysian education can be affordable and simple – if we put our minds to it.

THIS piece was prompted by a very interesting exchange during a “townhall” dialogue session with the Education Minister at the Malaysian High Commission in London last month. In the said townhall, the Minister had reportedly alluded that “70% of education budget is spent on salaries, hence the remaining 30% is not sufficient to radically revolutionise and reform our education agenda”.

This reminded me of an open letter by the Perlis Mufti, Datuk Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin, to the Prime Minister and Education Minister on Dec 22 last year.

Now I am not prone to quoting muftis and ulamaks, but when one makes sense, I will acknowledge it. This letter makes so much rational and economic sense that it is amazing that it has been basically ignored by the government and the mainstream media.

The Mufti lamented the breakdown of social harmony between the various races, attributing it towards an education system that is – from Year One – “by habit” (“secara tabiat”) exclusive in character to a specific race or religion, be it Malay-Islam, Chinese or Indian.

He even conceded that we could not deny that our national school (Sekolah Kebangsaan) environment has become Malay-Islam dominant.

In a nutshell, here are the Mufti’s proposals:

1. One school system for all, being the national schools, must be truly Malaysian in character, which would allow all race and religions to learn in comfort.

2. Eliminate all religious elements that tend to produce unconducive learning environment for all races in the schools.

3. Carry out Islamic education outside of the normal school session, not during the hours where children of all races and religions are learning.

4. Revamp the Islamic education content such that it is enhanced and improved, and it does not disturb the character of the national schools, which is the domain of all races and religions.

5. All costs for Islamic education should be borne only by Muslims from zakat and/or the respective Islamic state departments. The same should be for other religions, borne by their respective communities.

6. All Islamic schools, Chinese and Tamil primary schools can carry on as supplement to the national schools as an evening session after the main school sessions are over.

Tell me now, is that not one of the most progressive and impactful ideas forwarded by anyone in a long, long time with respect to Islamic education and its possible impact on our school system, children and society?

We need our Government to take these ideas seriously. It is consistent with our Constitution’s requirements that funding for religious activities should only in principle be from that community itself.

There is, however, one issue that needs to be thought about when implementing these suggestions. The Chinese national-type schools have today became a refuge for students from all races wanting to have a more secular and challenging learning environment compared to our national schools. In fact, even the Tamil schools are becoming more credible primary learning institutions compared to before. They are no longer a place where parents seek ethnic identity but more a place where the parents feel more assured of its standard of education than the national schools.

In fact, the educational standards at the national schools has eroded so much that Chinese national-type schools are the school of choice for demanding parents who cannot afford international private education. Therefore, while the aspirations for a single-school system devoid of religious classes and environment are laudable, we need to also address:

1. A transitional strategy to convert Chinese national-type schools into a single-school system without losing their high standards.

2. Strategies and plans on how to raise the standards at national schools.

We cannot do one without the other. In fact, the second need is more important and critical and must be achieved first, i.e. that the standards at national schools be raised first such that a single-school system would be of high standards overall.

To do that, we need a revamp of the school curriculum. A secular and scientific school curriculum and learning content will achieve such objectives. Recall that prior to the 80s, that was the emphasis of our primary and secondary schooling.

We need to remember that primary and secondary educations are basic education. A time to learn the fundamentals of thinking and basic methodology and principles of the different disciplines – through subjects like mathematics, science, biology, physics, chemistry, history, geography, art and language (or literature). Our students completed their O-Levels or SPM in those days and had no trouble being accepted in tertiary institutions all over the world. It is not that hard. We just need to return to the old fundamentals of education, the way we did it in the 70s. Specialised knowledge and skills are for tertiary education – vocational, colleges and universities.

This then takes us back to the Education Minister’s claim that since 70% of his budget is for salaries, therefore the remaining 30% is insufficient to revamp and revolutionise our education system. This cannot be further from the truth.

If we were to implement the proposal put forward by the Perlis Mufti – to remove Islamic classes and any other religious influence activities from national schools – no additional cost would be incurred; in fact the budget would be reduced. This would allow us to allocate the freed cost to increase other classes that would raise the standard of national schools – mathematics and science related ones, especially.

We would be able to enhance our curriculum for even primary students to encompass a more in-depth learning in the sciences such as in history of science, evolutionary biology and genetics, astronomy and cosmology, and modern technology that would perk their interests going into their secondary schooling.

And as suggested by the mufti, the religious classes provided as an option in the evening or outside the formal educational curriculum or session for the national schools will be financed by the religious bodies, including funds from zakat.

Everybody wins.

I would like to point out another aspect to our primary and secondary national education, which in my opinion is excessively unnecessary. We put our children through too many hours of Bahasa Melayu and English. There is no necessity for that. Language is learned primarily by practice, not by attending classes. Reading is the biggest contributor to learning a language. The next one, will be listening and practising. That should be the emphasis in the learning of Bahasa Melayu and English.

We can again halve the hours spent in language classes and beef up our other core curriculum that would increase the standard of our education at no additional cost overall.

My 70s and 80s Malaysian education served me well then and so did it for my friends, who took up very difficult disciplines in science, medicine, engineering, business and many other challenging vocations.

Malaysian primary and secondary education needs to return to its fundamental roots, curriculum and teaching. It needs to rid itself of all the fanciful non-productive elements of religion and those associated with it. It needs to focus on what is real knowledge and preparing our children with the thinking methodology and skills needed for them to survive and progress and be competitive as world citizens in the 21st century.

Go back to basics.

 by Siti Thots

Siti Kasim

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Nabbed Briton in Malaysia among five terror suspects, married 12 times

KUALA LUMPUR: A part-time English teacher from Britain who fought as an al-Qaeda militant in Afghanistan and Bosnia, is among the latest group of five men arrested for being involved in Islamic State (IS) and other terror groups.

Bukit Aman Special Branch Counter Terrorism Division nabbed the 44-year-old Briton together with a 25-year-old Bangladeshi, a 29-year-old Nigerian, a 31-year-old Indonesian and a 59-year-old Malaysian, who is also a Rela member, in a series of raids in Selangor, Kelantan, Johor and here between Nov 16 and Dec 1.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said the British national, a Muslim convert who had been under surveillance for some time, was arrested in Jalan Duta on Nov 16.

“He fought in Afghanistan and Bosnia after joining al-Qaeda. He was working as a part-time English teacher in Penang and we have been monitoring him closely,” the IGP said.

The Nigerian, who had been using his guise as a student in a private college in Petaling Jaya for his terrorism-related activities, was arrested a day later.

Investigators believe that he is actively connected to terror groups in Africa.

Both the Briton and Nigerian have since been deported.

The three other suspects, an Indonesian, a Bangladeshi and a Malaysian, are believed to have links to the IS.

The Indonesian, identified as the leader of the cell, was nabbed on Dec 1 in Benut, Pontian, where he was working as a mechanic.

The IGP said the man had performed the bai’ah (pledge of loyalty) to IS’ “Caliph” Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi via Facebook in mid 2014.

“We also believe that he is one of the main persons recruiting and sending trained militants to Syria. We suspect that he has been arranging travels for IS followers in Malaysia and other South-East Asian countries,” he added.

It was learnt that the Indonesian had direct connections with known Malaysian militants, including former “The Ukays” band drummer Akil Zainal.

Akil, a Universiti Teknologi Mara graduate, was among the first batch of Malaysians who went to Syria and publicly declared support for militant groups.

The two other cell members, the Malaysian and the Bangladeshi, were arrested in Kota Baru and Klang respectively.

At a separate event, the IGP said Bukit Aman would always be on the alert with threats from the IS and other terror groups.

“We will not compromise when it comes to security. Every action will be taken to prevent bad things from happening in this country,” he said.

The IGP said terror groups, including the IS would not be allowed to gain a foothold in Malaysia, he added.

Asked whether any of the suspects had been planning to launch attacks in Malaysia, he said that was their main agenda.

Nabbed Terrorist Married 12 Times

KUALA LUMPUR: The British national nabbed along with four others for involvement in terrorism activities has a reputation of being a Casanova besides his militant tendencies.

The man has so far married 12 women, including five from Malaysia.

His other past and present wives are from the United Kingdom, Bosnia, Germany, Philippines and Indonesia.

“You could call him a Casanova terrorist,” a source told The Star.

“We have not come across a terrorist who has married so many women. He has been busy on the terror front but his love life is interesting as well.”

Apparently, his modus operandi has been to marry the women and divorce them after a few years.

“He is also suspected of duping the women into marriage for their money,” the source said.

It was learnt that a general manager of a bank was among his former Malaysian wives.

The man, who worked as a part-time English teacher in Penang, had been travelling in and out of Malaysia since 1998.

The authorities suspect that the Briton, who had been interacting with students, could be the head of a sleeper cell for the al-Qaeda in the country.

Source: The Star/Asia News Network

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Freedom & hate speech hypocrisy

Freedom per se has no value. It is what freedom is for. It is the use to which it is put. It is the sense of responsibility and restraint with which it is exercised. 

THE crude and disgusting video by some American citizens mocking Prophet Muhammad has caused great anguish to Muslims around the world. Blasphemous provocations by some media mavericks in France are adding insult to injury.

Even before the sacrilege perpetrated by the video Innocence of Muslims, the deeply-wounded Muslim community was living in humiliation and helplessness.

The 65-year-old American-aided genocide in Palestine continues to rage unabated.

In Syria, Western mercenaries are leading the civil war with overt and covert help from the Western alliance. Iran is under daily threat of annihilation. In blatant violation of international law, American drone attacks continue mercilessly to murder innocent civilians in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Somalia and Pakistan.

There is in most Muslim minds a perception that Islam is under attack; that Muslims are under siege; that behind the beguiling rhetoric of democracy, human rights and the war against terrorism, there is a cunning plan to re-colonise Muslim lands and seize their wealth for the insatiable appetite of Western economies.

It is in this background that the exploding Muslim rage against blasphemy must be understood.

However, understanding something does not mean justifying it. Human life is sacred and no idea and no theory can excuse the murder of innocents.

It is with sadness and shame that I note the violence and deaths resulting from the airing of the obnoxious video. Equally painful is the mindless damage to Buddhist religious places in Bangladesh because of Facebook insults to Islam.

Having said that I must state that we all have a duty to show respect to others and to not denigrate what they hold as sacred.

We have a duty to censor ourselves when we speak to others about what lies close to their hearts and souls.

Blasphemy violates the sacred; it trespasses boundaries that must exist in every civilised society; it causes pain to millions.

God and all His prophets must not be defiled. Blasphemy should be a punishable criminal offence in much the same way sedition and treason are.

Unlike free-speech advocates who place this freedom at the heart of their new abode of the sacred, I think that freedom per se has no value.

It is what freedom is for. It is the use to which it is put. It is the sense of responsibility and restraint with which it is exercised.

Blasphemy is a form of hate speech. Andrew March admits that “many in the West today use speech about Muhammad and Islam as cover for expressing hatred towards Muslims”.

Geert Wilders and makers of Innocence of Muslims are hate mongers, not human rights pioneers.

Behind hate speech is the ideology of racial or religious superiority. Hate speech amounts to discrimination.

It promotes denigratory stereotypes. It attacks basic premises of the human rights system, premises as deep as equal human dignity, respect for others and equal protection.

It must be asserted that Islamophobia is a new form of racism.

Further, the claims by Western leaders, including President Barrack Obama and Secretary of State Hilary Clinton that the constitutional principle of free speech permits no state interference is an overstatement.

In the US, the First Amendment of the Constitution has since the beginning been interpreted to mean that “prior restraints” on freedom of expression are not allowed.

But this does not exclude the legal possibility of post-event prosecutions and sanctions. For example, defamation is actionable. Contempt of Court is punishable.

For much of its history the USA has had a Sedition Act. Supreme Court decisions over the decades have vacillated between various criteria for determining the justification for invasion of free speech.

But there has always been the possibility of post-event restrictions to avoid danger to society. There is freedom of speech but sometimes no freedom after speech!

An Espionage Act exists. Whistleblowers are prosecuted. Under the Obama administration, six prosecutions under this Act were all directed against journalists exposing government wrongdoing.

At the Food and Drug Administration, they spy on their own employees’ email. At the Department of Defence any soldier who speaks about government lies in Afghanistan or Iraq is jailed. Twenty-seven laws exist to monitor social media content.

The State Department blocks Wikileaks with its firewall. The founder of Wikileaks is being hounded.

European record is even more reflective of double standards. Public order laws are used regularly in Britain and Germany to criminalise “politically incorrect” expressions or pro-Nazi ideas and to punish any comment, research or analysis that departs from the officially sanctioned version of the holocaust.

In February 2006, Austria jailed British historian David Irving for three years for denying the holocaust.

Overt and covert censorship is very much part of Western societies. Only that it is more refined; it is non-governmental; it is de-centralised. Its perpetrators are publishing houses, financiers, advertisers, interest groups, editors, publishers and other controllers of the means of communication.

Obviously free speech in the USA and Europe is not absolute save when it demonises, dehumanises and denigrates Islam and Muslims. Then it is part of the new abode of the sacred.

COMMENT
By PROF SHAD SALEEM FARUQI

Shad Saleem Faruqi is Emeritus Professor of Law at UiTM 

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Misrule worse than no rule!

Can someone be charged for an offence when at the material time there was no offence?

KUALA LUMPUR: The Federal Territory Islamic Religious Department (Jawi) does not need any court order to seize the book ‘Allah Liberty & Love – Courage To Reconcile Faith & Freedom’ by controversial writer, Irshad Manji, following its contents infringing Islamic laws, said Jawi senior enforcement assistant principal director Wan Jaafar Wan Ahmad.Malaysians Must Know the TRUTH: JAWI DOES NOT NEED COURT ...

NIK Raina Nik Abdul Aziz is accused of committing a crime, the “crime” being the distribution of a book which the Federal Territory Islamic Religious Department (Jawi) does not like.

If the sentence above sounds a bit odd, that is because it is.

Nik Raina is a manager in a bookstore. She is not an owner of a bookstore, she is an employee.

Therefore, she does not have any say with regard to what book is being sold. She just manages the shop, as her job title entails.

Now she is being charged in the Syariah Court for distributing a banned book.

But it is a book, it must be said here, that at the time of the supposed offence was not actually banned.

Therefore, it was not illegal to sell the book at the time.

Jawi raided the shop she was working in on May 23. Copies of the book were confiscated during the raid. The book was effectively deem­ed illegal on June 14.

So, on what grounds was Jawi confiscating the books? It is not based on the law, that is for sure, because no law was passed banning it until 22 days after the raid.

The only reason that can exist is that Jawi disapproved of this book and took it upon itself to take action even though there was no legal ground upon which it could do so. In other words, they didn’t like the book so they decided to raid a shop and take the book.

Does this sound odd to you? Does it sound like the action of a despotic state? It does to me.

How can a person be charged for an offence when at the time of the so-called wrongful act, there was no offence? You can’t possibly do that to a person.

There are constitutional provisions against such things. It is known as protection from retrospective legislation.

In other words, if you decide to make it illegal to wear yellow today, you can’t charge someone for wearing yellow yesterday. To do so would lead to an incredible injustice and the complete breakdown of the rule of law.

Now, because Jawi is an Islamic body, there are some who believe they are above criticism. I beg to differ; it is because they are a religious entity that they must be open to criticism, especially if they behave in a way that is unjust.

This is because as a religious agency they have an even greater responsibility to not tarnish their actions with acts of cruelty, meanness and vindictiveness. For by doing so they demean the very faith that they are supposed to be upholding.

But that is by the by. Any agency, be it religious or secular, has no right to treat people in this way.

They have no right to seize private property on their whim, and they have no right to charge someone for a crime that does not exist.

That is the bottom line. If we allow anyone to do so, we are simply throwing away our democracy and the protection that the rule of law provides us.

Brave New World  By Azmi Sharom

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Practise 'Addin', a Malaysian way of life? PAS Vows Hudud for Malaysia!

The PAS leader's statement that Islam's status in the Federal Constitution would be changed from official religion' to Addin' if Pakatan Rakyat captures power is the latest example of the party pushing its Islamic agenda without consulting its coalition partners.

PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang needs a quick lesson in history and the best person to give him that is his colleague and fellow traveller in Pakatan Rakyat DAP national chairman Karpal Singh.

Abdul Hadi had told a press conference in Terengganu last week that the status of Islam in the Federal Constitution would be changed from “official religion” to a “way of life” if Pakatan Rakyat captures power in the next general election.

The unilateral statement was also justified by an attack on the Reid commission, which drafted our constitution in 1956, with Abdul Hadi claiming that there were no Muslim members among its five members, headed by Lord William Reid.

As Karpal Singh has rightly pointed, Hadi was wrong on both scores.

Political analysts and political parties, including the MCA, followed suit in severely criticising Hadi for wanting to unilaterally amend the constitution.

The matter was certainly not brought before the Pakatan Rakyat leaders' council for discussions.

Pakatan leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who advocates a pluralistic approach to religion, was noticeably missing in the controversy because Hadi and PAS, while colleagues in Pakatan Rakyat, have an entirely different approach in that they believe Islam is the only true way to God.

On his part, Hadi has always been pushing for more recognition for Islam and its primacy as the only path to God.

“In the world today, people know of two ways to describe the faith: one is what is adopted by the West by calling it a religion, which denotes the spiritual relationship between human and God, without mentioning it as a way of life,” Hadi was quoted as saying after launching the Terengganu PAS Youth annual meeting in Kampung Kubang Lembek, Manir.

“The second option is by calling it Addin the way of life which is more apt as it includes everything, from the spiritual to all other aspects of life.

“It is not right to say Islam is a religion. The right way is to describe it as Addin, a way of life,” Hadi said.

His interpretation of Islam clashes with the country's multi-ethnic society populated by different races practising different religions.

If an amendment is done it can seriously affect non-Muslims and their way of life which is radically different from that of Muslims.

Although all religions have similarities in moral values and concepts of human justice, their methods and practices differ greatly.

When religion is imposed as a way of life on the majority, the amendment will impact on the rest who practise different faiths and cultures.

It will create many “dos and don'ts” issues like the banning of alcohol, rules on entertainment, dressing and also the intermingling of sexes.

Such amendments will be a recipe for disaster as it can result in the various races drifting further apart and living separate lives instead of coming together into a harmonious, multi-ethnic melting pot.

Hadi also argued that the current definition of Islam as “the official religion of the Federation” did not do justice to Islam and suggested that legislation in this country be interpreted according to the tenets of Islam.

While PAS is under pressure from its Islamic clientele to speak up for Islam, it is also under pressure from its non-Muslim supporters club to desist and behave like PKR or DAP, in wanting to be better than Barisan Nasional at ruling.

Unlike them, PAS is a party that has dreams of creating an Islamic theocracy, something that is unsuitable in this multi-racial society.

This is one reason why PAS is obstinate and unyielding on implementing hudud law and speaking up on many other social issues and the current one to amend the constitution.

PAS' increasingly “superior behaviour”, however, is a by-product of unquestioning support from the DAP.

It shows that neither the DAP nor even the PKR can control PAS any longer and its acquiesce to its demands, like the statement from Hadi that PAS will implement hudud law if elected to Putrajaya.

PAS has a tendency to declare its Islamic agenda without due consultation with its coalition partners and in doing so, it is impinging on non-Muslims' right to freely practise their religion and rights that are guaranteed under the very constitution the party wants to change.

Originally, PAS championed an Islamic theocracy but later following pressure from PKR and especially DAP, it changed to championing a welfare state.

Now the party has come up with its “Addin” or Islam as the way of life proposal, with hudud law included.

The motive is to win the conservative Islamic vote but at the same time, try to satisfy non-Muslim voters.

Comment by BARADAN KUPPUSAMY

Islamic Party Vows Hudud for Malaysia

OnIslam & Newspapers

"If we have enough majority (of seats), if Pas is stronger than our allies, we will implement hudud," Harun said. >>

CAIRO - Seeking to lure more voters in next year’s election, Malaysia's main Islamic party has pledged to amend the constitution to allow the application of hudud in the Asian Muslim-majority country.

"We will implement hudud and amend the Constitution even if (it is) not with the current partners we have in Pakatan...may be there will be other pacts (Pakatan) that will lend us their support,” Harun Taib, chief of PAS Ulema Council, was quoted as saying by the New Straight Times on Saturday, May 12."If we have enough majority (of seats), if PAS is stronger than our allies, we will implement (hudud and the amendment to the Constitution)."

Hudud (Penalties) in Contemporary Legal Discourse

The issue was first raised when the Islamic party’s president Abdul Hadi Awang said that PAS had never backtracked on their intention to put hudud (Islamic penalties) to law and that it will seek to implement it if it takes federal power.

But the staetments drew fire from Karpal Singh, the national chairman of the secular Democratic Action Party (DAP).

Harun reiterated the party support for Hadi on the issue of hudud, saying that the party views Karpal’s criticism as a “personal opinion as a lawyer.”"I think whether it is against the Constitution or not is just his (Karpal's) personal opinion and comment as a lawyer,” Harun said.

"As a PAS member, I am fully behind Hadi."

With an estimated 800,000 members, PAS is the main rival of Prime Minister Najib Razak's United Malays National Organization.

A few years ago, PAS has enacted the hudud laws in Kelantan, to be imposed only on Muslims who represent about 90 per cent of the state's 1.5 million population.

The laws introduced Shari`ah punishments for theft, robbery, adultery, liquor consumption and apostasy.

Adamant

The leader of PAS Ulema council confirmed that hudud can only be implemented through a parliamentary majority."If we have enough majority (of seats), if Pas is stronger than our allies, we will implement (hudud and the amendment to the Constitution)," Harun said.

He added that hudud remains PAS’s intention despite the criticism it received from both its allies in Pakatan and rivals Barisan Nasional.

The Islamic party had already enacted the law in Kelantan and Terengganu but faced constitutional restraint in its implementation.

"We are a party that is championing Islam,” Harun said.

“Of course we will implement what is required by Islam. Pas will always be behind Hadi and the party's struggle to uphold Islam in the government and administration of the country."

Malaysia’s parliamentary elections are due in 2013, but expectations are high that the polls could be called much earlier.

Muslim Malays form about 60 percent of Malaysia's 26-million population, while Christians make up around 9.1 percent.

Buddhists constitute 19.2 percent, Hindu 6.3 while other traditional Chinese religions make up the rest of the population.

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Speaking up for religious tolerance 
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Get set for Malaysian politics of the young!

Speaking up for religious tolerance

Differences of religion should not make people fight one another, rather they should cooperate in doing good and warding off evil.

AS a Muslim I am deeply distressed and perplexed at the incendiary view, allegedly emanating from the Saudi Grand Mufti, that all churches in the Arab peninsula be destroyed.
This view, if it were really expressed, is offensive. It violates all canons of decency, international law and the human rights of our Christian brothers.

It contradicts many exquisite passages in the Quran and the practices of Prophet Muhammad. It runs contrary to centuries of Islamic history of peaceful co-existence with other religions. The syariah gives ample guidance on inter-faith relations.

Multiplicity of faiths: In innumerable passages, the Quran recognises religious pluralism. In 2:256, it is stated: “There is no compulsion in religion.” In 109:6, there is the exquisite passage: “Unto you your religion, unto me mine.”

In Surah 11:118, it is declared: “If thy Lord had so willed, He could have made mankind one people: but they will not cease to dispute.”

In Surah 10:99, Allah gave this admonition: “Had your Lord willed, those on Earth would have believed, all of them together. Will you then compel people against their will to believe?”

In 18:29, it is commanded: “Let him who will, believe; and let him who will, disbelieve.”

Common fountain: In the Quran 42:13, it is implied that the divinely-revealed religions all stemmed from the same source. “He has ordained for you the same religion which He ordained for Nooh (Noah) … and which He ordained for Ibrahim (Abraham), Musa (Moses) and Esa (Jesus) saying you should establish religion and make no divisions in it.”

“Every nation has its messenger” – 10:47. “Nothing has been said to you save what was said to the messengers before you” – 41:43.

Respect for all prophets: Plurality of prophets and multiplicity of revelations reflect a divine will. The Prophets of all revealed religions are brothers and there is no difference between them with regard to the message. Muslims are obliged to believe in them all.

In Surah 2:136, it is stated: “We believe in Allah and that which has been sent down to us and that which has been sent down to Ibrahim (Abraham), Ismail (Ishmael), Ishaq (Isaac), Yaqoob (Jacob), and to Al-Asbaat (the offspring of the 12 sons of Yaqoob), and that which has been given to Musa (Moses) and Esa (Jesus), and that which has been given to the Prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and we are Muslims in submission to Him.”

According to the renowned Malaysia-based Afghani scholar Hashim Kamali, “Islam sees itself as the third of the Abrahamic religions.

“The Hebrew prophets and Christ are deeply respected by Muslims. The Virgin Mary is given the most exalted spiritual position in the Quran: a chapter of the Quran is named after her, and she is the only woman mentioned by name.

“The tombs of the Hebrew prophets, who are also Islamic prophets, are revered by Muslims to this day.”
All Christians and Jews are given the special status of ahle-kitab (believers in a book).

Respect for places of worship: All places of worship are sacred and must be defended. In Surah 22:40, the Quran speaks of monasteries, churches, synagogues and mosques “as places in which God is commemorated in abundant measure”.

In Islamic history, the clergy in the churches were given full authority over their flocks with regard to all religious and church matters. Mosques were often built next to churches. When the Muslims conquered Egypt, they gave the Coptic churches back to the Copts and restored their rights.

In the early history of Islam, Muslims and Christians often prayed simultaneously in many churches, e.g. at the Cathedral of Saint John in Damascus. Likewise, Prophet Muhammad allowed the Christians of Najran to pray in Muslim mosques. When Prophet Muhammad migrated to Madinah, there was a large number of Jews in the city. One of the first affairs of state that he dealt with was to establish a treaty with them, according to which their beliefs were to be respected and the state was obliged to ward off harm from them.

Duty of civility: In the book Civilisation of Faith by Mustafa as-Sibaa’ie, it is stated that the Quran obliges the Muslim to believe in all the Prophets and Messengers of Allah, to speak of all of them with respect, not to mistreat their followers, to deal with them all in a good and gentle manner, speaking kindly to them, being a good neighbour to them and accepting their hospitality.

Differences of religion should not make people fight one another or commit aggression, rather they should cooperate in doing good and warding off evil (Quran 5:2, 5:5).

“Allah alone is the One who will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection” – Quran 2:113.
“And do not argue with the People of the Scripture except in a way that is best” – Quran 29: 46. “And insult not those who invoke other than Allah, lest they should insult Allah wrongfully without knowledge” – Quran 6:108.

In the light of the above, it is obvious that any view that exhorts Muslims to destroy Christian places of worship is in serious conflict with the letter and spirit of tolerance in the Quran.

The Malaysian Consti­tution honours this spirit. Article 3 states: “Islam is the religion of the Federation; but other religions may be practised in peace and harmony.”

The alleged view of the Saudi Mufti has been repudiated by the top Muslim cleric in Turkey, Mehmet Gormez, who has stated categorically that the Islamic civilisation is not hostile towards previous religions.

Those whose hearts are filled with hate and whose lips drip the blood of vengeance must remind themselves of the caution administered by Kamali that fanaticism is not part of Islam, as the Prophet confirmed in a hadith: “One who promotes fanaticism (asabiyyah) is not one of us, nor is one who fights for asabiyyah, nor the one who dies for asabiyyah.”

Shad Saleem Faruqi is Emeritus Pro-fessor of Law at UiTM and a consultant to USM.

A show of peace and harmony

CERITALAH By KARIM RASLAN

In London, the British Museum puts on an exhibition on the haj and all aspects of the pilgrimage through the ages. Nearby, artifacts of Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms are on show. It is a place that unites people of diverse faiths and backgrounds.

Image via Wikipedia

MECCA is a city of surprises. The landscape may be bleak, but everything changes once you’re within the city as the extraordinarily rich texture of the Muslim world unfolds around you, from the sleek magnificence of the Masjid al-Haram to the liveliness of the street markets and souks.

Ten years ago, when I first visited the Holy Land for an umrah swiftly followed by the full haj a few months later, I remember being enthralled by the amazing diversity of my fellow pilgrims: their weather-worn faces were redolent of history, romance and drama.

There were dignified-looking Persian clerics in their long flowing black gowns, ebullient West African traders who were tall, big-boned and wearing white robes, deeply tanned Tajiks and tens of thousands of Bangladeshi villagers.

Regal Sudanese rubbed shoulders with Baluch and Pathan tribesmen, haughty-looking Cairo housewives, Levantine shopkeepers, Javanese and the occasional European or American.

Watch Obama's Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=tCAffMSWSzY#t=28<http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=tCAffMSWSzY#t=28>
 (This is a video that Sean Hannity of FOX News has been trying to show that has consistently been blocked by the Obama Administration for several weeks. Watch it now before it gets pulled from the Internet!)

There was a moment when I felt as if the entire world was alongside me as I circumambulated the Kaaba.

Even back then, the city was undergoing tremendous change as increased prosperity in the Muslim world fuelled the number of pilgrims.



Roads and tunnels were being blasted into existence; buildings were being torn down or hastily constructed — a mishmash of styles that left me wondering what the originals looked like.

All of this came back to me as I walked around the British Museum’s very elegant exhibition titled Hajj: journey to the Heart of Islam (open until mid-April).

For anyone interested in understanding the haj, the exquisitely-curated show (in partnership with Saudi Arabia’s King Abdulaziz Public Library and sponsored by HSBC Amanah) is a superb eye-opener.

The haj is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, something every Muslim must do at least once in his or her lifetime if possible.

For many Muslims, it is one of the most important events in their lives, a journey to save and sacrifice for.

Last November, it’s estimated that more than three million Muslims converged on Mecca for the five-day ritual, one of the largest annual human assemblies in the world.

The British Museum’s exhibition is thorough and thought-provoking. Located inside the museum’s iconic Atrium, the exhibition focuses on all aspects of the pilgrimage through the ages.

The displays ranged from the haj’s origins and rituals, down to the long (and often perilous) journeys that the pilgrims were forced to take.

Indeed, much of the exhibition is devoted to the great distances and dangers that the pilgrims were forced to brave – crossing the Sahara and Gobi deserts or traversing the Indian Ocean.

Despite the diversity, there remains an underlying unity, an inexplicable oneness of sorts.

Of course, the ihram (white pilgrims’ robes) and the starkness of the landscape reinforce a sense of purity and simplicity of purpose.

But then again, maybe it’s also present in the determination and resolute faith of those undertaking the haj – a fixity of purpose that unites pilgrims whether they’re from Mali, Azerbaijan or China, not to mention the rich and the poor.

Having had my fill of the exhibition, I wandered out of the Atrium and onto the Asia exhibits in the gorgeously laid-out Hotung Gallery.

Artefacts imbued with faith were also on display here: Thai and Khmer sculptures of the Buddha stood next to bronze statues from Hindu temples in southern India.

And yet for some reason, I, as a Muslim from South-East Asia also felt very much at ease as I strolled past these historic items.

Could it have been because they were also part of my heritage and my past?

I also found it profound that the haj and Islam – a faith of complete submission to Allah – should be so celebrated in a museum, the product of the humanistic enlightenment with its opposing and single-minded focus on mankind.

Another thought struck me: the majority of the visitors to the exhibition were clearly non-Muslims, people of many different faiths who were eager and sufficiently open to want to learn more about Islam.

It occurred to me that I would have to wait a very long time to see a similar exhibition on, say, Easter or Hindu rituals at a major museum in a majority-Muslim city such as Cairo, Karachi or even Kuala Lumpur and this thought saddened me.

So, in a corner of London not far from the traffic of Oxford Street and the echoing courtyards of the Inns of Court, I came across an exhibition that united peoples of diverse faiths and backgrounds – uniting them all momentarily in a quest for knowledge, as a museum became a haven of harmony and peace.

Irrational fear abounds, jetting the Malay psyche!

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Irrational fear abounds

MUSINGS By MARINA MAHATHIR

Prejudice and discrimination, both rooted in fear of the unknown, can always be dispelled with better knowledge, at least in those willing to learn.

TEN years ago the world turned a decidedly nastier place for Muslims. Although Islamo­phobia already existed before Sept 11, the events that day ratcheted it up several notches. Suddenly Muslims in the United States and all over the world found themselves under intense scrutiny, much of it hostile.

Stereotypes abounded. Although Islam is a religion of peace, all Muslims were branded terrorists, undemocratic, violent, oppressors of women.

The only images seen in the media were of angry bearded men wielding weapons and shouting threats to the West. Only Muslim women covered head to toe in dour black, were seen. It did not help that some Muslims themselves provided fodder for these images.

Tales of aggression against Mus­lims abounded. Headscarves were pulled off, insults hurled and, at airports, anyone with the slightest tinge of an Arabic name was pulled out for special inspection. Some people suffered even more violence, resulting in injury and even death.

New perspective: One of the biggest boosts to the image of Islam and Muslims has been the Arab Spring where young Muslims, including women, were seen at the forefront of the revolution. – Reuters 

Sometimes entirely wrong people became victims of the prejudice. A Sikh man got shot because he wore a turban, a bunch of Orthodox Jewish rabbis were pulled off a plane because they were praying in a language other passengers didn’t understand.

Fear ruled and with it came prejudice and discrimination, much of it fuelled by the media. Most of it stemmed from ignorance about the world of Islam, which is not only large but also diverse.



A Muslim in the Middle East is culturally different from a Muslim in Asia, but that was not appreciated in much of the West. Indeed Middle Eastern Muslims comprise only 15% of the entire Muslim world. Further­more there are many Western Muslims who look and act no different from their fellow citizens.

Meanwhile, the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq only angered Muslims, who then reacted in ways that ingrained the stereotypes about them.

The early post-Sept 11 Islamo­phobic madness only lessened when much better information and knowledge about Islam and Muslims became available. This took two forms.

One, many Muslims took it upon themselves to educate non-Muslims about Islam, and in particular reached out to other faith communities to talk about their commonalities, rather than differences.

And two, thousands of students flocked to universities to learn more about Islam. Both Muslim and non-Muslim scholars of Islam did much to teach students about the real religion, rather than the one perpetuated by the media.

Ten years later, although it cannot be said that Islamophobia has disappeared, Western perspectives on Islam have become more measured and based on better knowledge. One of the biggest boosts to the image of Islam and Muslims has been the Arab Spring.

Suddenly the images of Muslims were young, modern, and protesting not about the West but about their own corrupt leaders. Although they did not explicitly talk about religion, in 2011 the Middle East became associated with the yearning for freedom and democracy, one not too different from what developed countries enjoyed.

Women were seen at the forefront of the revolution, both head-scarved and not, and changed the image of the oppressed Muslim woman.

It just goes to show that prejudice and discrimination, both rooted in fear of the unknown, can always be dispelled with better knowledge, at least in those willing to learn. There are of course many who simply refuse to open their hearts and minds to such enlightenment, but progress has been made in incremental steps.

It is also clear that very often those who steadfastly refuse to eliminate their prejudices do so because they think it is politically profitable to them. The loudest Islamophobes always seem to be politicians trying to win the populist vote. And the only way they maintain those votes is by keeping people ignorant. Hence, their refusal to engage at all with Muslims.

Every phobia about groups of people who are different from us works in the same way. They rely on stereotypes and on the fear that allowing these minority people the same basic rights as others would mean that they would demand more.

Thus, although no Muslim ever asked for it, some people in the US insist that there are plans to impose syariah law there. The media stokes the hysteria and stigmatisation. Unjust accusations and calls for depriving them of citizenship becomes the norm.

Although those baying for blood are small in number, they still make innocent people suffer. People who have never harmed anyone else suffer distrust and hostility from their former neighbours. Violence against them is justified, sometimes with religious backing. The entire atmosphere is poisoned by hate.

This past week, where some people seem to be proudly picking on the powerless, has reminded me of that Islamophobic hysteria. I fear for our country and where we are heading.

OWC stirs controversy again: Taking sex to the PhD-level? Anti-climax in ‘Seks Islam’ book!

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Founder: A man can have simultaneous, spiritual sex with wives in separate locations. Sex is the main reason people get married. The climax is like heaven on earth - Hatijah



PETALING JAYA:  The Obedient Wives Club (OWC) stirred up fresh controversy when its founder claimed that spiritually, a man can have sex with all his wives simultaneously.

Club founder Hatijah Aam, who is also the author of the controversial book Seks Islam Perangi Yahudi Untuk Kembalikan Seks Islam Kepada Dunia (Sex in Islam Wage War Against Jews To Return Islamic Sex To The World), said that when a man reached the highest spiritual level, “he can appear in multiple apparitions and have sex with his wives even though they are in separate locations”.

“We never said that a man can have an orgy with all his wives on the same bed.

“That is not allowed.



“What we meant is when a man has reached the highest spiritual level, he will be granted the ability to have sex with his wives spiritually,” she said.

“This is how men who were at war in the past satisfied their needs,” she said at a press conference here yesterday from Mecca, Saudi Arabia, via Skype.

The club is going ahead with the global launch of the controversial sex guide despite protests from women's groups.



Hatijah said the book would soon be launched globally in countries where OWCs have already been set up, including Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Britain and France.

However, the club does not intend to launch the book in Malaysia. “The book was meant to be circulated among our members only.

“We knew that the public's reaction to the book would be negative because they do not understand the concept,” said Hatijah, who is also the wife of late Al-Arqam founder Ashaari Muhammad.

Women's groups like Sisters in Islam, All Women's Action Society and the Women's Aid Organisation described the book as a cheap publicity stunt designed to raise the profile of the club.

Hatijah defended the importance of the detailed sex guide on grounds that sex is God's gift to married couples and they should be educated on the ways to approach it.

“Sex is the main reason people get married. And in a way, the climax is like heaven on earth,” said Hatijah.

She also explained that like praying, sex between married couples was also a pious act.

“So, why can't we teach people how to do that in a pure way?” she asked.
 (The Star)

Taking sex to the PhD-level?

One Man's Meat
By PHILIP GOLINGAI

The Obedient Wives Club wanted to keep it under the covers but since it leaked out, interest for its sex-guide book has yet to reach a climax.

FRIDAY’S press conference by the Obedient Wives Club (OWC) reminded me of Salt-n-Pepa’s 1991 hit song Let’s Talk About Sex.

The hip-hop song goes: “Let’s talk about sex. Yo, I don’t think we should talk about this. C’mon, why not? People might misunderstand what we’re tryin’ to say, you know? No, but that’s a part of life.”

That about sums up the exasperation of the club embroiled in a controversy after it published a pocket-sized 115-page Malay-language book titled Seks Islam, Perangi Yahudi Untuk Kembalikan Seks Islam Kepada Dunia (Islamic Sex, Fighting Jews to Return Islamic Sex to the World). 

Embroiled in controversy: The sex guide which was published by OWC.

To clarify media reports that the book encouraged a man to have an orgy with all of his wives, five OWC officials (including two men) met the press.

At the start of the 90-minute press conference in Petaling Jaya, OWC national chairman in Malaysia Fauziah Ariffin read a statement from Hatijah Aam, the club founder.

Hatijah, one of the wives of the late Al-Arqam founder Ashaari Muhammad, said the sex guide was only for OWC members who were married.

“We are disappointed with those who distributed the book without our knowledge until it created a misunderstanding,” she said.

Fauziah then tackled the controversial issue of “seks serentak (simultaneous sex)”.

“Simultaneous does not mean that on the bed there is one man and four women,” she said with a sarcastic laugh.

“When a man has reached a high level of spirituality, his wali (spiritual guardian) can come in contact with his wives wherever they are.

“Maybe one wife is in Ipoh, another in Kuala Lumpur, in Singapore or in Johor but he can ‘come’ to his wife simultaneously. That is the wonder of spiritual sex.”

Wow! I thought. Note to myself: evolve from missionary position. But was “spiritual sex” possible, I wondered.

As if reading my thoughts, Dr Azlina Jamaluddin, a dentist and OWC leader, said it was not something a common person could comprehend.

“To you there might be no logic to what we are saying,” Dr Azlina explained. “But when Prophet Noah built an ark on a mountain at that time there was no logic in what he was doing.”

Mohd Rasidi, a male member of the panel, claimed what was taught in the book was “high level” sex. “It is PhD-level,” he said.

“To understand the book,” said Fauziah, “the author of the book herself wants to talk to the media via Skype from Mecca.”

And Hatijah’s voice filled the conference room.

In an exasperated tone, the 57-year-old Malaysian woman based in Saudi Arabia said the club purposely did not sell the book to non-members because the public would not be able to comprehend it.

In other words, you and I are practising “kindergarten-level sex” as compared with “PhD-level sex”.
And, quoting the Quran, Hatijah went deep into the theory of “spiritual sex”.

Here are some of Hatijah’s insights on sex.

> If your spirit is pure you can have sex with your wife even though you are abroad fighting a war.
> God allows sex sports. And to be good in sex you need practice.

> Orgasm releases a pain killer and helps with fever. But don’t have affairs on the pretext of curing your fever.

> Orgasm prevents wrinkles.

> Sex can make you younger. Jogging can be replaced by “sexcercise”.

> Only animals have sex without mukadimah (foreplay).

> It is important for a woman’s breasts to be sucked in order to prevent breast cancer (quoting a BBC news report).

During the Q&A session, I asked: “I’m curious, has the panel experienced simultaneous sex? Have you reached the PhD-level of sex?”

And – I’m not sure whether I imagined this – the panel members lowered their heads as if they felt sexually inadequate.

After a hush-hush discussion among themselves, Mohd Rasidi said: “So far, it is a knowledge that we are still trying to understand.

“We have not experienced it as our roh (spirit) has not reached PhD-level,” he explained.

“How about Hatijah?” I asked.

And Azlina, the dentist, said: “We have not experienced it yet. We are still trying. The person who has experienced it is Hatijah Aam. Hopefully one day, God willing, we can reach that level.”

Hatijah also revealed that she was writing a second sex guide book.

“The first book revealed 20% (sex knowledge). But the second book will reveal 100%. But we will make sure the public will not get their hands on this book about heaven on earth,” she added.

Anti-climax in ‘Seks Islam’ book

One Man's Meat By PHILIP GOLINGAI

The Obedient Wives Club (OWC) controversial pocket-sized Malay-language sex guide sold exclusively to its members is more of a mother’s labour of love for her son who was getting married. 

IF I got RM50 for every time someone asked me a copy of Seks Islam, I would be as rich as Alex Comfort, the author of The Joy of Sex.

On Oct 21, in Petaling Jaya, at a press conference organised by Obedient Wives Club (OWC), the author of Seks Islam, Perangi Yahudi Untuk Kembalikan Seks Islam Kepada Dunia (Islamic Sex, Fighting Jews to Return Islamic Sex to the World), Hatijah Aam (pic) gifted the book to journalists.

Speaking via Skype from Mecca in Saudi Arabia, Hatijah, the OWC founder, told the club members: “Please present the book now to the media representatives.”

“We don’t want to hide it. We want to be transparent.

“We want to show that we are not hiding our (sex) knowledge,” she said.

And the dozen or so journalists became proud owners of the controversial pocket-sized Malay-language sex guide sold exclusively to OWC members for RM50.

Instantly, When I – @philipgolingai – “live” tweeted that I had a copy, I received several requests for a copy.

In my office, almost everybody I met was excited over my owning THE book except for this one guy who got aroused for the wrong reason. He thought I had a copy of the Auditor-General’s Report.

It seems everyone I knew lusted for the knowledge on how to graduate from kindergarten-level sex to PhD-level sex.

Who wouldn’t want to read a book advocating “spiritual sex” (a man could “come” spiritually to all his wives simultaneously even though they’re in Ipoh, Kuala Lum­pur, Singapore and Johor)?

And, by the day, the book is getting more notorious. Last week, the Sarawak government banned the distribution of Seks Islam in the state.

As my friends flipped through the book, their initial remarks were: “No picture ah?” or “No graphics ah? All words?”.

Sorry to disappoint, but the book isn’t the Comfort’s titillatingly illustrated Joy of Sex.

In fact, the 115-page booklet was a mother’s labour of love for her son who was getting married.

The preamble to Seks Islam – from its research – OWC found that what a woman sexually provided her husband was 10% of what his real sexual needs were.

“The wife thinks her 10% is 100%. She’s also dumb not to want to be taught about sex. She has a prejudiced perception that sex is obscene,” wrote Hatijah.

Chapter one explains why OWC was formed, chapter two talks about Hatijah’s husband, the late Al-Arqam founder Ashaari Muhammad, chapter three about giving 100% loyalty to your husband, chapter four is a guide for the future groom and chapter five is a letter to the bride.

Yawn. Yawn. Nothing that really makes me blush.

Hatijah also explained the difference between a man and a woman.

A man is held hostage by his desire. In order words, just like peeing, when a man has to go, he has to go.
A woman, however, can turn off and turn on her sexual desire as if it were a switch.

“If a wife loves her husband, she must instantly fulfil his sexual needs,” she advocated.

The climax of the book is in its conclusion.

Hatijah writes about her two-month training with Ashaari to become a heroic and angelic wife.

And she revealed her late husband could perform sex simultaneously with his wives, spiritually.

“Intimacy is much more pleasurable and ‘lighter’ through spiritual sex compared with physical sex,” she wrote.

Hatijah writes about seks seren­­-tak (simultaneous sex) but she does not reveal how to do it spiritually.

Perhaps, as she said in the press conference, what was taught in Seks Islam was just the tip of the iceberg (20%) of her sex knowledge.

So what has the book – as its title suggests – got to do with Jews?

From what I gather Jews have been propagating “extremely pornographic” illicit sex.

Am I missing something in life?

I’m not sure what I was expecting from the book. Techniques on how to please a Uranus chick with eight breasts?

For all its hype, reading the hyped book was an anti-climax.

Related articles

• Malaysia: The Obedient Wife Club... from the makers of the Polygamy Club (telegraph.co.uk)
• Malaysian Obedient Wives Club Launches Sex Guide to Fight Judaism (blogs.wsj.com)
• Obedient Wives Club revealed that wives could only satisfy 10 percent of what their husbands wanted (drkokogyi.wordpress.com)
• OBEDIENT (Muslim) WIVES CLUB publishes explicit sex book (barenakedislam.wordpress.com)
• Explicit Islamic sex manual encourages group sex (telegraph.co.uk)
• Niceties of Obedient Wives Club (OWC), Obedient ...
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• A matter of opinion