Konsiraya erode faith & blasphemeous

Ulamas pronounced that kongsi raya will erode muslim faith and are blesphemeous

Ulamas attending a conference here want several practices such as the “kongsi raya” celebrations and open houses reviewed to ensure that they do not contradict Islamic laws.

Ulama Conference 2006 working committee chairman Datuk Seri Harussani Zakaria said this was necessary because the National Fatwa Committee had decided that celebrating the festivals of other religions could erode the faith of Muslims and could lead to blasphemy.

Raslan Sharif in his article
Kongsi raya and open houses have little to do with religion has this to say:

"What I can’t recall is anyone throwing a fuss over the appropriateness of Muslims expressing good wishes to non-Muslims in such an innocent manner."

On Tuesday, Perak Mufti Datuk Harussani Zakaria urged the Government to review the practice of kongsi raya and open houses to ensure that they did not contravene Islamic precepts. He said the National Fatwa Council had decided that celebrating non-Muslim religious holidays was detrimental to the faith of individual Muslims, and could lead them to commit the gravest of sins.

According to Raslan, it would not be too difficult to agree with the argument if it could reasonably be shown that kongsi raya and open houses form part of religious rituals during Chinese New Year, Deepavali or Christmas. But although they are held in conjunction with religious holidays, kongsi raya and open houses hold no ritual significance. The fact is that religion is rarely on display at these events. In that sense, kongsi raya and open houses – especially the ones organised at the national-level – are secular events, and are similar to National Day celebrations. What is also certain is that the Hari Raya open house is not even a ritual in Islam. Has that stopped any right-minded Muslim from holding or attending one? No.

"Every ulama worth his salt will tell you that Hari Raya open houses, though not a religious requirement, are commendable acts because they promote goodwill, friendship and neighbourliness."

"If there is a need to bring religion into the argument, then let it be said that goodwill, friendship and neighbourliness are the very things that our various faiths teach us."

"Our differences – religious, political, personal – are tucked away or left at the door, and what prevails, if just for a while, is the sound of laughter and the feeling of happiness. It is no wonder that I still remember the Deepavali visits of all those years ago."

From recent events, numerous of them of late, it looks like the fall of Afghanistan had cause the spill over of the fundamentalist into the Malaysian Muslim landscape. It is a cause of concern, not because Islam is bad; it is the fact that some Muslims had taken upon themselves to portray God in their own image. God is divine and every human is a creation in His image, not for us human to create him in our image.

Islam is a truthful religion and the teaching in the Quran has made it clear that, whether you are a pagan or the chosen ones, we are all the same in HIS eyes. No one should create rituals to blespheme HIM. And no one should associate rituals to divide his creation. Celebrations and customs and traditions are basically human innovation that was solely for the purpose of amusement and getting together, so as to enhance community integration and harmony. Nothing more than that.

Those who claim to love GOD, please read the Quran and understand the true intend of the Amighty and cause less evil to the society at large.

P/S:

This is a response from GUKITA . I want to put in into the page for others to read. Thanks Gukita, and truly appreciate your truthful erudition. I did this without getting your permission and I hope you'll forgive me.

Doc,
I couldnt agree more with your sound understanding of the Faith. I could only read in awe at your writing; the view of a very different Non-Muslim mind altogether.

Hasussani is a purist, as most ulamas of his calibre are. They are scared of the ambiguous borderline of Islam/non-Islam because the consequence is of being a Muslim or not...that is a very great difference to a Muslim. In present day when the Faith and traditions blurs at the dividing line, the purists try to stay away as far as possible from the not so clear zone and in the process, pass on the worry to the public in their own way; ceramahs, call for review as in this case, get overly zealous af the issue to the point of giving totally wrong impression. The inappropriateness of the responses made Islam and the `fundamentalist' look bad, retro, extreme, boxed-in.... all to the detremental of the religion they were so zelaous of protecting.

There is nothing wrong in being a fundamentalist. It shows that you have a clear, unshakeable foundation and purist in the pristine teachings of the Faith - taking the crystal clear fountain and avoiding the make-ups and ornamentations that distract the key teachings. Fundamentalism doesnt start with Afghanistan nor does it ends there. The Taliban is not fundamentalist. They took fundamentalism philosophy and try to put in practice not the fundamentalist way (Need much more space to elaborate, so that will do).

The fundamentalism philosophy starts after the fall of the Ottoman Empires and subsequent demoralisation of the Muslim world. Muslims lost the parent they look upon to for guidance and umbrella that protects their faith. They were shaken to the core. Afterwards they had to learn to stand on their own; no Khalifah to fall back to for Muslim woes and for solution of problems relating to their faith.

From there they were forced to relook at their faith and their problems themselves. Then realisation set in that they have actually long ago left the True teachings of the faith and followed traditions, practices assumed associated with islam but in reality adversely against it, too engrossed in hair-splitting roots arguments of Fiqh and left the principles of Islam.

Amindst the ashes they slowly stood up, restudied the SOURCE of their religion; Quran and found the answers to their woes and the statement in the Qur'an ...and verily they have left this Quran... The rebuilding process took much toll. Extremism set it. Talibanism emerge. The phoenix have risen. Unless it could be tamed to feed from the source and only the source, it would wreak as much damage and the good.... Only God Knows...