Tag: religious conservatism

Categories
Humor Liberty

[1243] Of the state chooses your religion

It is official. A Christian, if the state says so, is a Muslim!

PUTRAJAYA, May 30 (Bernama) — Azlina Jailani, the woman who converted to Christianity, today failed in her appeal to get the Federal Court to compel the National Registration Department (NRD) to drop the word “Islam” from her identity card.

In a 2-1 majority decision, the court ruled that Azlina, 42, who changed her name to Lina Joy, should obtain a Syariah Court order confirming her apostasy before the department could delete the word. [Federal Court Dismisses Lina Joy’s Appeal To Drop Islam In IC. Bernama. May 30 2007]

But oh well, if the majority says 1 plus 1 is 3, the majority wins.

On more serious note, there is really no point of having the identity card stating which religion does one belong to. Unless, of course, if one wants to practice discrimination.

In fact, if most Muslims in Malaysia are obsessed in keeping that label, they should label themselves just like how the Nazi labeled the Jews back in the 1930s and 1940s. These Muslims however would probably wear it proudly anyway.

Categories
History & heritage Mudslinging

[1222] Of re: re: why Malacca but not Srivijaya?

It continues:

The low-level economist (not a historian, mind you!) does not seem to know when to quit. So he decided to harp on a slight faux pas that I committed, namely of Demak attacking the Majapahit empire. In that sense, yes, I made a historical error there in attributing that attack as to being on Srivijaya and I stand corrected. [Where Srivijaya is concerned, no confusion at all! Critical Thought. May 16 2007]

He made mistakes and he calls me a low-level economist. And he sneers at how I am not an historian. Mind you telling me dear readers, is he a historian?

That does not, however, change the fact that Perlak and Pasai were Islamic sultanates that were contemporaries of Srivijaya. As I mentioned before, the topic was discussed in a monograph by S.Q. Fatimi, Islam Comes To Malaysia (edited by Shirle Gordon, MSRI, 1963)which discusses in detail the tombstones of the previous Sultans of Pasai found in Acheh, bearing similarities with the tombstones in Gujerat, India. [Where Srivijaya is concerned, no confusion at all! Critical Thought. May 16 2007]

And here is the interesting part. Previously, he alleged that those two sultanates existed before Srivijaya (see here; under his “argument 5”). His exact words were “And before Srivijaya there were the Islamic Sultanates of Perlak and Pasai and Champa“. Now, he states those sultanates were contemporaries of Srivijaya? Wow.

How would anyone justify those sultanates existed before Srivijaya? To prove that those sultanates did not exist before Srivijaya, both Perlak and Pasai were under the rule of Srivijaya from somewhere in the first millennium up to the 13th century and both were Buddhists and Hindus. Another thing is, Srivijaya was founded somewhere in between 2nd and 6th century. Islamic Pasai and Perlak came to existence in the later half of the 13th century. Tell me, which came first: the 5th century or the 13th century?

Menj seems to think 13 comes before 5! At least, before he changed his story.

When caught making false statement, he changes his story. From being before, he changes the story to being contemporaries!

Back to the tombstone, it is dated late 13th century, around 1290s; Srivijaya had already collapsed by mid-13th century because the Javanese Majapahit sacked the Malay Palembang and Jambi. I repeat, the proof of the arrival of Islam to Perlak and Pasai is dated late 13th century, after Srivijaya had already collapsed. Check Munoz 2007, from page 180 to 200.

The point here is to show that Islam has made a far-reaching and significant contribution to the civilisation of the Nusantara, more so than the Hindu-Buddhist kingdom of Srivijaya did. [Where Srivijaya is concerned, no confusion at all! Critical Thought. May 16 2007]

I did not deny contribution made by Islam. But he is pretending that there was nothing before Islam whereas in fact, Srivijaya was an economic, political and cultural center in the Malay Archipelago. Srivijaya was a center for Buddhism where Chinese scholars usually stopped for learning purposes. And unlike Malacca, the Srivijaya left behind more architectural marvels than the Sultanate of Malacca ever did. One example is the Borobudur.

The low-level economist may not have any respect for copyright licence (I call cutting and pasting of my post into his blog without my explicit permission as blatant plagiarism and disrespect of copyright), but he should have read the real gist of the matter instead of harping on a slight historical mistake. [Where Srivijaya is concerned, no confusion at all! Critical Thought. May 16 2007]

Fair use for criticism purpose? Besides, plagiarism means “the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one’s own original work” according to Dictionary.com. I clearly attributed the author and do not claim it as mine. Further, if I were to hand over that thing as my own and get away with it, the factual errors would get me an ‘E’ at Michigan. I do not know about his place.

It should also be mentioned that there was no real difference between Srivijaya and Majapahit, and Majapahit was indeed the successor to the Srivijaya empire. If any could lay claim to the title of being the successor to Srivijaya, it would be Majapahit and not Malacca. I suppose when dealing with intricate historical matters like this, one should be relying on real, hardcover scholarly works and not on editable encyclopedias like Wikipedia for their research. [Where Srivijaya is concerned, no confusion at all! Critical Thought. May 16 2007]

Hahaha. He wrote that Majapahit was Srivijaya. Since he had already mistaken Majapahit as Srivijaya, instead of confessing making a mistake, he is now calling Srivijaya and Majapahit were the same kingdom. It is amazing the length one would go to rewrite history to just to justify a mistake. Where is your source asserting that there are no difference between Srivijaya and Majapahit?

Further, in Osborne 1979, he wrote Malacca is the successor of Srivijaya. See page 29. Even Munoz 2006 in page 178 reused the same argument. Wolters 1970 asserted similarly in page 4.

To clearly express the difference between the two kingdoms, in Munoz 2006, page 210 and 211, it is stated that Srivijaya was Buddhist kingdom while Majapahit was Hindu. Further, it is beyond Menj that Majapahit was a Javanese kingdom while Srivijaya is Malay kingdom and the fact that the two (the Malays and the Javanese) had been fighting for quite a number of time (for the Javanese, there were other kingdoms before Majapahit while Srivijaya lasted from give and take 1,000 years), with both managed to raze each other kingdoms. It is also beyond him that Srivijaya centered on Sumatra while Majapahit was on East Java. Sumatra, if he had failed geography, is a completely different island to the west of Java.

Also, his “newly” added conclusion:

While it is not denied that the Srivijayan empire played a role in shaping the course of the Nusantara reigion, the coming of Islam to the region brought to the region a new and rejuvenated philosophy that is devoid of the caste system that was prevalent in the Srivijaya Hindu-Buddhist culture. yed Naquib al-Attas remarks in Islam and Secularism that the role of the Sufi mystics was instrumental in the demise of the Hindu-Buddhist influence of the region and Islam gave birth to the rise of the Malacca Sultanate, of which its influence permeates even until today. Despite the end of the Malacca Sultanate at the hands of Alfonso d’Albuquerque and the Portugese colonialists, the Johor-Riau Sultanate was born from its ashes and several Islamic-Malay Sultanate kingdoms were established in the aftermath of the Malaccan demise. [Where Srivijaya is concerned, no confusion at all! Critical Thought. May 16 2007]

Check your timeline. Tell me what is the date of the tombstone. And then tell me the date Majapahit sacked Palembang and Jambi in Sumatra.

Do a research and you will find the latter event happened far earlier than the date found on the tombstone. While indeed Islam fastened the demise of Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms, Srivijaya was gone before Islam made an impact. It mostly affected post-Srivijaya kingdoms that came to being because of the collapse of Srivijaya. Again, Munoz 2006, page 180 to 200.

What competed with Islamic kingdoms was Majapahit, not Srivijaya. The Srivijayan bloodline continued to go to Temasek, Muar and finally settled to found the Malacca. Later, Parameswara converted to Islam. Reminder again — Srivijaya had already extinct but Majapahit still lived on competing with Malacca.

The role of Malacca was significant in the eventual establishment of modern Malaysia, Srivijaya was a foreign empire based in Java island that had never played any significant role in Peninsula Malaysia. [Where Srivijaya is concerned, no confusion at all! Critical Thought. May 16 2007]

Again, Srivijayan capital was based on Sumatra. Also, the first sultan of Malacca was a Srivijaya prince. Munoz 2006, page 183, if you have forgotten who Parameswara was. There are a few other publications if you are so inclined, such as one of those primary school history textbook.

Let’s see some hard research to dispute the above before treating this whole rape of Malaysian history as some chess game. Besides, its too early for you to call it a “checkmate”, liberal. I don’t think you have yet to realise what you are up against. [Where Srivijaya is concerned, no confusion at all! Critical Thought. May 16 2007]

Checkmate. Oh, I do know. You are just that person that mistook Srivijaya as Majapahit.

Stick to economics, liberal, and stay out of history. [Where Srivijaya is concerned, no confusion at all! Critical Thought. May 16 2007]

Again, are you an historian?

At least, while I Michigan, I took proper, formal, undergraduate level history classes, apart from economics. Of course, anyone could learn anything without formal education. But to degrade others when one has lower qualification than the former is absurd. I wonder what kind of education he has anyway, since he keeps degrading my qualification.

Anyway, this is the last reply to him. I am uninterested in engaging personal attack and will not go down to his level of incivility. After all, he is confused between Srivijaya and Majapahit and no matter what kind of publications thrown at him, he would still believe that the Malay and the Javanese kingdoms were one of the same.

In any case, the original thesis is that Srivijaya deserves far more respect than it currently receives; that Srivijaya was greater than Malacca. With it, a question why Malacca is given greater weight and Srivijaya less. I suggested that the religion might provide a clue to answer the question.

Categories
History & heritage Mudslinging

[1221] Of re: why Malacca but not Srivijaya?

My post on Srivijaya hit a nerve. Specifically, somebody called Menj! Oh, Rajan, come to my aid please! LOL!

The best thing is, while he is calling me as an idiot economist from a third rated university and all, he mistook Srivijaya as Majapahit. I had problem understanding his objection — it did not make sense at all — until I realize, the “Srivijaya” he was referring to oddly has the same timeline as Majapahit. Majapahit that existed between the 13th and the 16th century while Srivijaya was founded between 3rd and 6th century and ended before the 14th century. Menj kept harping on what had happened between 13th and the 16th century when in fact, many history books do not talk about Srivijaya when dealing with that era.

For instance, Demak had never attacked Srivijaya. Such attack never occurred because both states had never met each other. Demak came to being more than 200 years after Srivijaya finally collapsed after Majapahit conquered Palembang (and Jambi too). Demak did conquered Majapahit however.

Further, the capital of Srivijaya was located (mostly; it shifted several time because of attack from Rajaraja of Chola and Majapahit) on Sumatra. But Majapahit’s capital was located on Java from the start to the end.

Another example of misaligned timeline by Menj concerns Pasai and Perlak. Menj said both sultanates existed before Srivijaya. Au contraire, the places called Pasai and Perlak were firmly within the realm of Srivijaya at least till the 13th century. To make it clearer, the sultanates of Pasai and Perlak existed after Srivijaya’s peak (or even end).

The best thing is, when Srivijaya was in power, Islam had not arrived yet. When Majapahit was in power, Islam had indeed arrived. The buzz word was Hinduism and Buddhism. Islam was mostly irrelevant in the powerplay.

So, could he have misattributed Srivijaya as Majapahit?

LOL! Most definitely.

Lesson: stop calling people idiot and start looking in the mirror. Think before you speak.

Checkmate.

For those that are interested more about at least two of the most powerful empires in maritime Southeast Asia history, read Srivijaya (guess who wrote that?) and Majapahit at Wikipedia. Or alternatively, a good book to start with is Early Kingdoms of the Indonesian Archipelago and Malay Peninsula by Paul Michel Munoz.

Since he has a reputation of removing his post after being caught for committing folly, I am reproducing his post here and keeping a screenshot:

A majority of Malaysian historians have accepted the fact that the Malaccan Sultanate (14th to 16th century CE) is pretty much the sine qua non the starting point of where Malaysian history begins, since the rise of Malacca was the Golden Age of the Nusantara region in not only socio-political terms, but also in terms of education, art, sciences and philosophy. Malacca was not the first place to receive Islam in the region (see S.Q. Fatimi, How Did Islam Came To Malaysia?) but nonetheless it has been equated with modern-day Malaysia, particularly because we still have descendents of the Malacca Sultanate in the modern-day monarchy of Perak. Since Malacca was the first place where the Muslim Malays actually formed a viable and self-sustaining government, it is often referred to as the starting point for modern Malaysian history.

However some Islam liberals, like this low-class American university economist, try to question this unique status of Malacca. The reason is because they seem to think that the previous Majapahit and Srivijaya empires were a more viable starting point of reference to determine the religious culture of the Malaysian Muslims. Here we shall look at their arguments and refute it point by point, insha’allah.

Argument 1:

While Malacca was a great empire, a greater civilization was Srivijaya. I truly believe that Srivijaya was that brilliant light that stayed bright from nearly a millennium. Malacca was a just spark, though brilliant as it may be.

I wonder on what criteria was this based on? The so-called “greater civilization [that] was Srivijaya” was eventually overrun by the neighbouring country of Demak. Demak, by the way, was an Islamic sultanate.

Argument 2:

The Malaysian education system fails to give Srivijaya the respect it deserves. So many Malaysian textbook pages concentrate on Malacca and successive minor Malay states but ignored that one large Malay empire that spanned from the Isthmus of Kra all the way down to Central Java and, at one point in time, even the banks of the Mekong. Admittedly, Srivijayan border was porous unlike modern states but its sphere of influence was far larger than that of Malacca or even of Malaysia.

The capital of Srivijaya was in Java Island, a remote place with not even any resemblance of culture to the Malays of the Peninsula. Mentioning their place in history was not ignored but It is like claiming that since the Crusader kingdoms [that was not established until after the First Crusades] were not given its proper due in Islamic history, therefore it means that these kingdoms are “greater” than the later Ayyubid Sultanates or the Ottomon Caliphate.

But what are the significant Srivijayan contributions to the Nusantara culture? What philosophical or cultural advancements had this “greater civilisation” provide that we can speak of today? Our liberal idiot does not make mention at all! He is simply uncomfortable with the fact that “the Malacca effect” was so emcompassing that his forefathers reverted to Islam many centuries ago and today, he is a Muslim instead of remaining as a Hindu!

Argument 3:

Perhaps part of the reason why the Malays stress so much on Malacca is the fact that so little information is known about Malay history earlier than the 14th century. Relatively modern Malays have been so ingrained with the notion that their history started with Malacca and further pushed Srivijaya into that one book in a section of a library that nobody goes.

This has to be the silliest of all arguments thus far. One can simply go to the library and pick up the works that are replete with information on the subject. Refer to, for example, S.Q. Fatimi’s How Did Islam Come to Malaysia? (a monograph by the MSRI, published in 1978 if memory serves me correctly) where she makes mention of the Islamic Sultanates of Perlak and Pasai (in modern-day Acheh). Syed Muhammad al-Naquib al-Attas had also discussed this subject briefly in Islam and Secularism (published by ABIM, 1979) and he has a monograph on the subject as well. Perhaps the economist should go out of his shell once in a while and read up a bit before talking about the subject.

Argument 4:

Srivijaya, despite its status, was only discovered by historians in the early 20th century. That was the times when vehicles were powered by steam engines.

And where is the reference for this? Reference, reference, reference! Do not make sweeping statements without backing them up!

Argument 5:

In a way, Malacca was the successor of the glorious Srivijaya. If Malacca could be seen as a sultanate that later led to Malaya and Malaysia, then Srivijaya could be seen as such as well.

And before Srivijaya there were the Islamic Sultanates of Perlak and Pasai and Champa. Perhaps we should say Srivijaya was a “successor” of these civilisations as well!

Argument 5:

Something must explain this bias that sides with Malacca. Could it be caused by religion?

Likewise we should ask the liberal the same question: Something must explain this bias that sides with Srivijaya. Could it be caused by religion? [Critical Thoughts. May 15 2007]

I appreciate a good debate on history but the way Menj handles it adds nothing of value.

Categories
History & heritage

[1219] Of why Malacca but not Srivijaya?

A majority of Malays are content to look only as far as the Sultanate of Malacca in the 15th and the 16th century, apparently accepting the era as the golden age of ancient, classical or medieval Malay civilization. Thanks to the education I received through the Malaysian system, I had the same perception too and I do think even Malaysians as a society in one way or another accept Malacca was the greatest civilization in ancient, classical or medieval Malaysian history. My love for history has allowed me to delve far beyond Malaysian textbooks. While Malacca was a great empire, a greater civilization was Srivijaya, an empire that was almost forgotten. I truly believe that Srivijaya was that brilliant light that stayed bright from nearly a millennium. Malacca was a just spark, though brilliant as it may be.

The Malaysian education system fails to give Srivijaya the respect it deserves. So many Malaysian textbook pages concentrate on Malacca and successive minor Malay states but ignored that one large Malay empire that spanned from the Isthmus of Kra all the way down to Central Java and, at one point in time, even the banks of the Mekong. Admittedly, Srivijayan border was porous unlike modern states but its sphere of influence was far wider than that of Malacca or even of Malaysia.

Perhaps part of the reason why the Malays stress so much on Malacca is the fact that so little information is known about Malay history earlier than the 14th century. Relatively modern Malays have been so ingrained with the notion that their history starts with Malacca. That misconception pushes Srivijaya into that one book in a section of a library that nobody goes to.

Srivijaya, despite its status, was only discovered by historians in the early 20th century. The reason why it was so easy to overlook Srivijaya’s existence is the material used for Srivijayan architecture; many of Srivijayan structures were made out of wood. In harsh tropical climate, wood would not last for too long, definitely not for one thousand years. Malacca itself did not leave too much behind to be marveled at by tourists and so, one could not hope too much for Srivijaya. The rain and the sun conspired to erase a chapter of a history book, hushing Srivijaya from history to myth to total obscurity.

That does not mean Srivijaya failed to leave its mark in history. The Sailendra, under the auspice of the Srivijayan Emperor Samaratunga, constructed the Borobudur which still stands today in the middle of Java. But even that monument was only rediscovered in the 19th century by Stamford Raffles. As for the Sailendra, the East Javanese pushed them out of central Java, causing the Srivijayan ally to migrate to the west and built a new hope under the protection of Srivijaya. The royal court of Sailendra was finally eliminated by Srivijayan Emperor Culamanivarmadeva after the Sailendra betrayed the emperor. That act led to the loss to Srivijayan capital, Palembang, to the East Javanese in the early 11th century. Palembang was reconquered by Culamanivarmadeva but by that time, Srivijaya had gone over its hill. It was dusk time.

Notice the names? Yes. The Malays were Hindus then. And Buddhists, and animists, despite whatever the religious conservatives might assert, despite how our history is being rewritten by those that have no respect for truth.

The Sultanate of Malacca itself was founded by an heir to the Srivijayan throne. The struggle between the Malays and the Javanese continued well into the 14th century and sometimes by the late 1300s, Parameswara, a Malay Srivijaya prince, fled Sumatra when Majapahit finally crushed the last remnant of a Malay empire that started humbly by the Musi River.

In a way, Malacca was the successor of the glorious Srivijaya. If Malacca could be seen as a sultanate that later led to Malaya and Malaysia, then Srivijaya could be seen as such as well.

While I was in Bangkok, I visited some of the museums there. It is truly sad to find out that the Thais are more appreciative of the Malay empire than the Malays and Malaysians in Malaysia themselves. Perhaps, that could be explained by the presence of Srivijayan temples, biaras, in Thailand, reminding the Thais of an empire long ago. In Malaysia, almost nothing.

Almost nothing but the Bujang Valley which was under the control of Old Kedah, a state within the realm of Srivijaya. Is it not odd that Bujang Valley, itself being far richer in historical terms, has been outshone by relatively young ruins (if it could be called as such) of Malacca?

Something must explain this bias that sides with Malacca. Could it be religion?

Categories
Liberty Society

[1207] Of a moderate with no moderation

In the NYT:

One day last month, a young man stood at the center of a stage with long ropes bound around each wrist. One pulled him to the left, the other to the right — one toward secularism, the other toward religious extremism. His father struggled to hold him in the middle, shouting “Enough! Enough!” Looking at the religious side, he said, “From here, there is destruction and zeal.” Then looking to the other side, he said, “There, is doom.”

The play, “A Moderate With No Moderation,” had been performed since last November at Al Yamamah College, one of a new group of private schools that are considered a concession to the reform agenda. During the opening performance, religious zealots attacked the audience and the performers and forced a cancellation of the show. But the next day the show went on. [The (Not So) Eagerly Modern Saudi. NYT. May 6 2007]

The tug of war continues.