There have been a couple of interesting rulings that are testing the very fabric of Malaysian society (tag). The latest concerns school attire:
PUTRAJAYA, July 12 (Bernama) — Islam is not about turban and beard, said the Federal Court in dismissing the appeal of three pupils who were expelled from school for refusing to take off their ‘serban’ nine years ago.
I like to recognize myself as a libertarian and so, I disagree with the ruling due to its clash with libertarianism. However, there is a quotable quote as the ruling was read:
“As far as I can ascertain, the Al-Quran makes no mention about the wearing of turban. I accept that the Prophet wore a turban. But he also rode a camel, built his house and mosque with clay walls and roof of leaves of date palms and brushed his teeth with the twig of a plant.
“Does that make riding a camel a more pious deed than travelling in an aeroplane? Is it preferable to build houses and mosques using the same materials used by the Prophet and the same architecture adopted by him during his time?”
Discounting the ruling itself, this quote matches my stance on Arabized Malay; conservative Malays need to learn to differentiate Arabic culture and Islam. They need to be educated on it.
