[958] Of the moral police is too proud to apologize

Good day,

Without doubt I would deem \’moral policing\’ a possible way to help Muslims live within the limits of appropriate behavior, and to the Will of Allah. The fact that some media sources have taken it upon themselves to label a well intentioned suggestion by a Muslim organization to improve our local Ummah as a \”snoop squad\” is an attack on Islam.

A snoop squad is an attack on liberty. If you take opposition to the violation of privacy as an attack on Islam, so be it. I – and any other like minded – won’t grant any authority that forces other to adhere to their moral while failing to notice that different people has different moral beliefs.

Muslim groups within our community, when they observe a social/moral problem arising, have every right to suggest a plan of non-punitive moral policing.

No they don\’t. It\’s a violation of privacy. And those suggestions almost always are punitive in nature. These religious department could throw you in lockup and fine you.

This must, of course, be done within the law of the community and with the consent of the government.

In history, some government consented genocide. But that doesn\’t make it right, does it? As far as I\’m concerned, I\’m not consenting to moral police and will oppose it.

All Muslims, and non-Muslims living in a Muslim country, should both accept and welcome an attempt to improve the moral quality of life within the community. Do not ever forget that as Muslims we are subject to the clear revelation Allah has provided to guide us along the path of righteousness.

Attempts that do not violate individual liberty is alright. Attempts that do violate is not. The problem is moral policing is that it violates individual liberty. Preaching is already, forcing others to do what you preach is wrong.

And we don\’t live in a theocracy. Don\’t forget, to yours your own and mine is mine. If you respect my rights, I\’ll respect yours. Enforce your own moral on yourself instead of somebody else that disagree with your moral.

If you go into someone\’s home and spy on them then that might be called an invasion of privacy, but if someone is doing something wrong in public then if other people notice your wrong behavior and make a comment on it that could never be called an invasion of privacy. Keep your bad behavior out of public areas where people will see you and no one will bother you, but if you want to show an example of wrong behaviour in public you should expect to have someone command the right and forbid the wrong. I hate it when some people or groups try to demand their \’right\’ to act immorally in public in a Muslim country.

The moral police in Malaysia is doing exactly that – invading other person\’s privacy at their home. These moral police bother everybody regardless of private or public space. The fiasco with the American couple happened in private space. It must not escape anybody that moral police was supposed to \”take care only\” Muslims\’ moral, not non-Muslims.
However, I agree that \”bad behavior\” in public is unfavorable. Indecency in public is unwanted. In my dictionary, having sex in public is indecency. Holding hand in public however is okay with me. Not wearing headscarf is okay with me. Women wearing bathing suit on the beach is okay with me. They pay tax too you know.

Point to note is that, the term \”bad behavior\” is opaque at best. Killing could be a bad behavior too. So, what is your definition of \”bad behavior\”?

If you can\’t stand seeing ppl holding hands, don\’t go out of your house. It’s that simple.

I hate it when some people or groups try to demand their \’right\’ to act immorally in public in a Muslim country.

Sorry to hear that you\’re unable to tolerate other people and need to hate others that disagree with you. Perhaps, that\’s the reason why the Muslim world is in shamble today. Too much intolerance and hatred just because people refuse to submit to Muslims\’ moral preferences.

Allah Almighty says, \”Let there be a community among you who call to the good, and enjoin the right, and forbid the wrong. They are the ones who have success.\” (3:104)

That ayat sounds very much like an authorization for the suggestion by a kind and loving group of sincere Muslims who desire to carry out what is called \”moral policing\” to help bring more goodness to our community.

Great! Show me a country that have powerful moral police and also a first world nation.

I’m sorry to say that you need more than a passage from the Koran or the Bible or any holy book to convince me.

How can you possibly justify labeling an action to \”command the right and forbid the wrong\” in accord with the Will of Allah an “intrusion of privacy”?

There where you fail to notice why many \”liberals\” disagree with you. A person like me don’t use religion to justify anything as how secular people don’t. Only rationality or provable events appeal to people like me.

Again, sorry to say that you need more than a passage from the any holy book to convince me.

Of course, I fully agree that the empowerment of human responsibility is essential. But this can only properly take place if appropriate social sanctions were put in place to avoid the moral standard of society from drifting to the lowest common denominator.

Moral standard is too relative in nature that it\’s useless and costly to enforce high and self-righteous moral standard on already a diverse society. You have to understand, people are diverse. The easiest way is to adhere to the lowest common denominators. Only the lowest agreed common denominator will allow a peaceful tolerant and progressive society. Only a tyrant would try to assimilate the people by force.

Attempt to unilaterally increase that standard and enforce it – like what many religious conservatives want – would cause the society to concentrate on pitiful patty issues and not on education, economy, the environment and other important issues that push the society well-being higher than previously. That’s why, conservative religious societies are backward compared to the more liberal society.

Religious conservative societies are too busy controlling everybody’s life that in the end, most resources are given to religious institutions to control people’s and not too much left available to bring people out of poverty and make the world a better place.