[1251] Of religious conservatives are driving on the wrong side of the road
June 3rd, 2007 by Hafiz Noor Shams
Religious conservative Muslims have an odd siege mentality. They feel that everybody is trying to get them. They feel that:
The West is trying to get them.
Christians are trying to get them.
Hindus are trying to get them.
Buddhists are trying to get them.
Chinese are trying to get them.
Jews are trying to get them.
Thais are trying to get them.
Pagans, atheists, etc, are trying to get them.
The Liberal Islam movement is trying to get them.
The real liberals are trying to get them.
Feminists are trying to get them.
Communists are trying to get them.
Scholars are trying to get them.
Orientalists are trying to get them.
Secularists are trying to get them.
Project Petaling Street is trying to get them (ha, ha, ha!).
The moderates are trying to get them.
The progressive are trying to get them.
Even somebody in their group is trying to get them.
Paranoia? Maybe but an old story might offer better perspective of what is going on.
Once seemingly long ago, on one spring day while sitting on a bench somewhere in Ann Arbor, reading Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, I overheard two girls (later, we became friends) sharing joke with each other: There was a guy driving on a highway while listening to the radio. On the radio, an announcement warned motorist of a car driving on the wrong side of the road. He blurted out, “What? Just one? All of them are driving on the wrong side of the road!”
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Is this supposed to be a mockery of my post?
Note that conservative Christians in America have a similar discourse of fear against Muslims, atheists (think Dawkins) and liberal german protestants. And don’t think it is only religious conservatives – what about Turkish secularists’s conspiracy theory concoctions against Erdogan, Gul and their sympathyzers?
No, I did not have you in mind. (But that orientalist part was added as an afterthought, after seeing a line at PPS. I did not realize that it was you)
But I agree, there are many xenophobes out there. And religious conservatives in Malaysia (and everywhere, regardless of religions; I am glad that you highlights the conservative rights in the US that share this similarity with conservative Muslims in Malaysia. It has always occur to me that religious conservatives, be it Pat Robertson or somebody from PAS always share the same logic but hate each other) is one of them.
Xenophobia, be it from any side, is wrong. The key is not to fall into xenophobic politics.
Talking about Turkey, I have written earlier that I do not quite agree with Turkish secularism.
I support Project Petaling Street.
Haha.
reality about perception? and some have a screwed perception? when everyone is just going along ignoring the paranoid? world conspiracy against conservatives?
what an idea! incredible! or an incredible idea?
They’re not Conservative Muslims, and definately not religious, We lack conservative and religous Muslims.
You should never refer to these guys as religious, they are everything but, not a conservative either.
I’d much rather refer them as Uneducated-Muslims.
Insecurity, me thinks, is one of the root causes of this kind of paranoia. That and the emotionality associated with the issue.
Incidentally, someone forwarded me an editorial/article from yesterday’s Berita Minggu, written by the Perlis Mufti. I’ll try to get it translated and post it at some point.
It hits home – hard – on some of the emotions exhibited by certain people in relation to the Lina Joy decision…
Maybe the biggest bigot in the world is not religious fanatic?
but Liberals and Atheist bigot.
More people have died in the Name of NO GOOD than in the name of any other religion
kukuman,
Observe if there is any accusation of bigotry before you.
Also, note the meaning of liberal (i.e. tolerant) and the meaning of bigotry (i.e. intolerant). Liberal do not mind difference as long as it is not imposed on them without their will. Religious conservatives however have issues with tolerance.
I assume you are a religious conservative given that you seem to have taken offend from this entry. Now, answer this: are you tolerant enough to peacefully accept Lina Joy’s choice to leave Islam? To delete the word Islam from her identity card?
I know I do not mind.
Please do not call others of bigotry if you were looking for one while looking in the mirror.
Liberal is an new name for communist?
but communist is also a good name…for the community! same left…
*This isn’t a personal accusation(not about you)
But it is only bigotry, when the religious says offensive things to another group…
but when the atheist says offensive things to others, suddenly then it becomes ok?
is it not bigotry too?
Like it or not…
we are bigotry in one form or another?
I am Bigot, Bigot to Gays, Bestialities and Pedophiles…
———————————————
Religion is a believe system…
Secular humanist is also a religion!
a religion for the masses in the new age of science.
(where people actually becomes more dumb down)
*and they say… take religion out of our state?
*take God away from our schools?
And then that is when the killing start to happens?
but the states is embodied by the people and
the people are embodied by their believe(religion).
So Now, we can take the State away from the people!
Mind you Again..
I am not talking to you personally or exclusively.
and the Lina Joy case has not much interest to me,
There is many schools of thought, here and it is an issue that have been debated for thousand of years.
So we must go on and see the bigger picture.
I am neither conservative nor Liberal…
not left…. not right…. so you assume wrong…
Senor Hugo Chavez… he is a socialist but I like him,
He is very good for the people of Venezuela!
It is a great blessing that countries like Malaysia, Russia and many other do not have those two polars!
because if you are in that paradigm. which I seem you are trap in!
your mind and soul will not be own by yourself anymore!
Your thought is their thought!
But Your choice is yours though,
Cos you can choose any color you like….
As long as it is black and white!
Let’s cut to the chase and see how different we are..
let’s take biggest crime of this century!!!!!
The Day of Sept 11!
What happen? and Who did it?
—————————————————
In the holocaust of the Ukraine and Armenian Genocide…
Those forgotten Genocide up to 30-40 millions ‘Christian’ have been murder in the name of a NO GOD!
More People have Died in this Godless War than in any other war of religion!
Since when being a bigot is about being offensive?
One could be offensive without being a bigot. Bigotry is about being intolerant to others opinion. I kindly suggest you look up for the word bigot in a dictionary.
Regardless, let us make this clear, there are atheist bigots as there are religious bigots.
You say that we are all a bigot. Respectfully, you speak for yourself. I want no part in that your self-proclaimed bigotry. If in any case, you have just confessed to the same accusation to made to others.
Further, you claim secularism is a religion because it is a belief system. What if I believe I love my grandmother. Would that love be a religion too? If I believe that it is going to rain today, would that belief be religion too? What if you believe that are thinking? Would that belief be a religion? What if you think that you need to pee? Would that belief to pee a religion too?
Absurd does it not? Religion maybe a belief system but a belief system is not necessarily a religion.
If you are not a religious conservative, then why are terrible offended as if I was attacking you?
And no, I am not thinking in two dimensional. Who is talking about socialist-liberal dichotomy anyway? It is you.
Observe how that there is no mention of dichotomy before you mention it. I used no black and white argument here. I know that \”conservative\” is but one of out many options out there. It is you that are taking this into a 2-dimensional argument. Please do not commit a red herring because it does not work.
And really, genocide done in the name of no god? No kukuman. Those crimes were done in name of nationalism, not \”no god\”. Those that committed the crime probably believed in god.
Keep this straight: a war fought for other reasons that is no related to religion is not a war fought for no god. Do not think two-dimensionally. You are thinking in false dichotomy.
My mind and soul is not mine any more because I disagree with you? What would make it mine? By agreeing with you?
Who do you think that did that? Martian?
But really, answer that Lina Joy question. Or are you afraid that the answer would incriminate you?
[...] 注：本帖子內容改編自Hafiz Noor Shams。 [...]
to mr hafiz,
i think u left islam and now u are a christian. betul tak?
plez e mail me. zc_andrew@yahoo.com
nope.
[...] distributed mainstream media. Criticisms by outsiders are deemed as threats to national harmony, strengthening siege mentality. Hindraf through sheer stupidity played into BN’s tactics. This further solidifies the BN-led [...]