Living Islam - Dina Zaman

I was at Jawi sometime back to interview a Ustaz Hafizan, who’s doing good work with people of the street, when like all conversations, the subject turned to Islam and Muslims in 21st century Malaysia.

"What do you mean when you say that Jawi (and religious authorities) are no longer relevant to Malaysia?" he asked, incredulously.

"I didn’t say that. I said the approach used by certain religious organisations is no longer relevant. In my humble and uneducated opinion-lah. What may have worked before, does not work now. The Muslims are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their approach to their religion. They read; they go for religious classes and talks conducted by learned people, and unlike before when the word of a religious personage would have frightened the community, now people want reasons. Answers. Example by leadership. Scare tactics don’t work anymore."

He frowned and began scribbling notes in his notebook.

Teh tarik

"I disagree with people’s perception that Jawi is a dinosaur. Look, what does Jawi stand for? It’s a governing body that promotes Islam and Islamic values. To take potshots at Jawi would mean to take potshots at our religion. However, I do agree that Jawi needs to reposition itself, re-strategise its approach to dakwah and governance. I’m an observant Muslim, but that Zouk thing was too much. Has Islam in this country come to this?" a friend remarked.

"So you’re saying, Jawi and other religious departments and offices are relevant, but their approach to governance and policy-making is archaic?" I asked.

"Listen. I didn’t study overseas, and no, I don’t come from an affluent background. I was not exposed to a lot of things. Yet when I was sent for a seminar in London, I was struck by what I experienced at the Regent Street Mosque (London Central Mosque)," he continued.

If he remembered correctly, there was a cafe next to the mosque. A park. Men caught up with their friends over coffee and snacks. The women too squealed and laughed as they gossiped with their friends and played with their children. The mosque was not just a place for prayers; it was a place for the Muslim community to congregate. Hold weddings and feasts. There were few mosques in Malaysia that have that spirit of community, he said. Here, people came in to pray, chat for a bit and then leave.

For many of my friends, the desire to see Malaysia as a progressive and moderate Muslim country is great. Yet there are issues such as openness, the willingness to debate and meet halfway and exercising common sense (as opposed to intelligence) that need to be addressed.

If we can’t even handle ourselves well on the roads, service customers courteously at Immigration, be clean, not spit, if we can’t even handle life’s basic needs, then how can we be a true Muslim country?

Another friend interjected, "I don’t want to condemn the Malays, because I’m proud to be one and I am Malay myself, but look at America. We call it all kinds of names. Yet there is a huge rate of reversions: non-Muslims rediscovering themselves as Muslims. The thinkers and writers are first rate, and they’re practically first generation Muslims. They think, they challenge the norm, they debate and fight. There, Islam is a way of life. Don’t you find it frightening, that a kafir country like America is making inroads and may well be an Islamic superpower, while we, we’re the originals, we’re a Muslim country, and we’re screwed up?"

Tapas at Bodega

It’s become de rigeur to talk about Islam these days. Muslims are so current, so fashionable to talk about. With a cigarette in one hand, and a drink in another, the (pseudo) intellectual in us springs forth to expound on what Islam really is.

Let’s not judge a book by its cover. The points raised as are valid as the local mamak politicos’.

What are we turning into, is the question that is raised again and again. As in, what Islam will Malaysia uphold and what Muslims are we to be?

Will secular Muslims be accepted as part of an Islamist framework? Are we progressive or fundamentalist Muslims? With the young and new faces in PAS, will we be a fundamentalist state harking back to the Stone Age era or world-class thinkers and doers?

Actually, what the hell are we?

We worry about what the world thinks of us as Muslims. We say there is not enough media strength to write and show the positive side of Islam and Muslim life. Everything has to come out roses. But is writing about (negative) issues going to make us lesser Muslims? We’re all about image, but we have to get our houses in order. I don’t think we desire to be that beautiful woman with no substance, do we?

"What is this Islamisation all about? Surely it is not just a matter of faith?" we ask.

Just like how women have their own reasons for wearing the hijab, the Islamisation of young Malay professionals is due to a number of factors.

One – they have rediscovered their roots as Muslims and want a true Islamic state

Two – territorialism. It’s not enough being a Malay anymore. Religion gives you that strength, that edge.

Three – a certain party has not delivered the goods. They may not be the most pious of Muslims, so who else can they join? Definitely not DAP kan?

Lastly – despite the veneer of success, we are poor. And it’s not money we’re talking about.

You should pay me for this-lah

Let’s talk P.R. here – the perception of Islam and Muslims in this country needs re-branding. How Islam is practised (taught) is viewed as archaic, old-fashioned, autocratic and didactic. Note that Islam is a most logical and practical religion. Its followers however, come in all shapes, sizes and personalities.

Now who’s your target audience? Based on a year 2000 report conducted by the Malaysian Department of Statistics, there are 13,498,028 Muslims in Malaysia. What are the demographics like? What are they like? You’ll have to take into account their backgrounds, their education and their lifestyles.

In P.R./advertising speak, those in governance will have to figure out what the USP of Islam (Hadhari – whatever the slogan is for the day) in Malaysia is. USP is the acronym for Unique Selling Point.

Now how are you going to persuade them to join YOUR brand of Islam? Umno has Islam Hadhari; PAS has the Islamic State blueprint and the masses want Mawi of Akademi Fantasia. If you are to draw a Venn diagram of these three groups, you’ll be doodling three separate circles.

Here are the choices to pick from before we play tikam-tikam:

Mc-Islam: Are we going to have the Western’s idea of Islam? A fast food and MTV approach to Islam?

The Middle Eastern/Pakistani way of life?

Tidak Apa Islam, which is our way of life.
And so forth…

You decide.

Next is your strategy: propaganda by stealth or total transparency? The art of persuasion is going to be an uphill task, when you also have to take into account The Others: the non-Muslims. (Because this is such a great challenge, I suggest you have some shares in pharmaceutical companies. You’ll get aspirin for free).

Then, your campaign. How are you going to hold this campaign? Will you be using all forms of media to get your message across? What is your logo? Who is your It-Boy/Girl? What is your colour; will you be having roadshows as well as jemaahs; are you going to employ a foreign consultancy as opposed to local P.R. companies that can deliver as well if not better, because it looks good to have a Mat Salleh leading the way. Whatever, as long as they deliver.

Lastly, the budget.

Good luck!

The Mawi phenomenon

The masses need and demand for a Muslim icon they can look up to and identify with. Mawi, for all his simplicity, responds to that need. Certainly I don’t know what it is that young women see in him – someone please feed this young man! – but he’s either slick or extremely sincere in wanting a good, hijab-ed Malay girl as a wife.

Based on feedback on websites and blogs, he has struck a chord. Adults adore him for his youthfulness and that he sets a good example among the young. Young women find him cute, and the fact that he wants a wife like them has them swooning. Young boys idolise him because Mawi has managed to marry two worlds pretty successfully: piety and entertainment. His humble background garners more sympathy, for he has suffered, just like them.

I don’t watch TV, so when I was asked what I thought of Mawi I said to my friend I heard it’s beautiful, I’d love to visit it one day. I had to Google 'Mawi Akademi Fantasia' to find out about him, and was struck by this phenomenon.

Do not underestimate the power of celebrity. In a image-driven society, whereby people are obsessed by the lives of public figures, more than the state of poverty, AIDs and terrorism in the world, these personalities are 'prophets' of our times, for they drive trends and lifestyles. If Britney Spears had popularised low slung jeans with peeping G-strings, and with Oprah Winfrey championing the masses to open up! be verbally abused by Dr Phil and your life will change for the better!, can you just imagine if we have like-minded icons in the Muslim world.

With the exception of Tariq Ramadhan, and other intellectuals who appeal to the smart set, I for the life of me cannot think of a contemporary Muslim personality that can speak to the masses. Celebrities like Mawi or Waheeda, are closer in proximity to us and exist within our lifetime. There is a very handsome ustaz that gives talks on television occasionally, but he’s hardly a potential crowd puller, as he’s an 'ustaz'.

To be a leader, it is not only your intelligence, grassroot support and empathy for the rakyat. You also need the X-factor to sex up your appeal.

You need charisma.

Hitler had it. Tun Mahathir. Napoleon Bonaparte (even though he hardly bathed). Bill Clinton. John F Kennedy. Anwar Ibrahim.

If you read about serial killers, even they had the X-factor. The handsome Ted Bundy mesmerised his victims. Charles Manson was compelling to many. Evangelists and cult figures – think Tom Cruise and Ashaari Muhammad.

You know, I don’t think this is a good example of charisma. But you get me, don’t you?

Having observed this, if our well-known religious figures start rapping and singing to get votes, I say run. Run for your life. Lari, anak-anakku!

***

Ustaz Hafizan was scribbling down our conversation on a notebook, furiously.

"Ustaz buat apa tu?"

"Jotting everything down. This is so we can discuss this at a meeting. But we can’t have aerobics classes in a mosque."

"Why not? If you can build huge mosques, you can build an extra recreational room."

"That’s a thought. Do you have any other suggestions?"

"Talk to us."

"Talk to you?"

"Yes. Talk to us."