TIDAK memahami sesuatu tidak bermakna benda itu salah. Mungkin cara pandang kita yang perlu diubah dan beralih sedikit agar dapat melihat kedudukan perkara dari perspektif yang berbeza. Baru-baru ini, satu kumpulan balet asing tidak dibenarkan membuat pertunjukan. Walaupun Menteri Penerangan Komunikasi dan Kebudayaan berkata dia sendiri gemar menonton balet, namun dikatakan mengikut pegawainya yang bertangunggjawab meluluskan […]
islam
Nasihat tentang tattoo
Secubit Garam oleh Shanon Shah
SEMENJAK memulakan pengajian sarjana saya di London, saya kerap melayari internet untuk mencari ilham tentang kaedah-kaedah penyelidikan. Alangkah terkejutnya saya apabila mendapati bahawa kolumnis pujaan ramai, Kak Nora, menjadi tumpuan kajian ilmiah! Ikutilah perkembangannya: Assalamualaikum saudari Noranisah binti Minit (atau Kak Nora), Saya pelajar akhir tahun Prasiswazah Usuluddin di Akademi Pengajian Islam Universiti Tanahair Se-Malaysia, Kerteh. […]
Orang Kristian juga berjasa pada Islam
Asam Pedas by Norhayati Kaprawi
HARI Krismas menjelang tiba. Saya dapat merasakan kemeriahannya walaupun saya sedang berada di bandar Lumajang di Jawa Timur, yang jauh dari Jakarta. Di tepi-tepi jalan kelihatan ada yang menjual bahan-bahan perhiasan untuk pokok Krismas. Memandangkan 90% penduduk bandar ini adalah orang Islam, maka saya pun bertanya pada pasangan suami-isteri Muslim yang agak berumur sama ada […]
Who is proselytising?
By Shanon Shah
A FEW weeks ago, I took an English friend to visit the National Mosque in Kuala Lumpur before the zohor prayers. At the entrance, my friend, a practising Christian from the Church of England, was given a purple robe to wear — I assume because he was wearing knee-length shorts and I was in full-length […]
Hudud and freedom of religion
Reductio ad Absurdum by Chan Kheng Hoe
MUCH has been said about hudud law. I take my hat off to Muslims who have come out openly to oppose its implementation. It must take a lot of courage to stand against conventional wisdom and religious teachings, and these people must be applauded. However, that does not make me anti-hudud. On the contrary, I […]
Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: De-politicising hudud
By Deborah Loh
HUDUD. One is either for or against its implementation in Malaysia – or so the prevailing political discourse goes. But what are we missing in between? Have proponents of hudud adequately justified their position, and how they would apply the Islamic penal code in today’s society? Can those who oppose it ever imagine a human […]
Whose hudud?
Shape of a Pocket by Jacqueline Ann Surin
IF we were to believe everything the politicians are saying about hudud, we would come to three conclusions. One, that implementing the punishments prescribed under hudud is divine law that no Muslim can question, and hence is inevitable. Two, that hudud cannot be implemented in Malaysia because of the Federal Constitution and our multi-cultural composition. […]
“I am extremely Melayu”
By Shanon Shah
LEGENDARY Malaysian dancer Ramli Ibrahim, 58, has been captivating audiences with his performances and choreography of Indian classical dance for almost three decades. After returning from Australia, Ramli founded Sutra Dance Theatre in 1983. He has gone on to perform and win awards both locally and overseas, and has also groomed many a talented dancer. […]
Bila rogol dikatakan halal
Asam Pedas oleh Norhayati Kaprawi
“SEKUMPULAN WANITA BERSKIRT MINI BERHIMPUN DI JAKARTA”, “PAKAI SKIRT BANTAH GABENOR” Bila baca tajuk berita sedemikian, imej apa yang terus terbayang di fikiran pembaca? Mungkinkah: “Whoo, perempuan seksi!” Atau: “Teruk betul wanita yang berdemo itu kerana pakai mini skirt.” Mungkin: “Inilah bila wanita kebaratan sangat…!” Tetapi, berapa ramai agaknya yang merasa mahu tahu isu apakah […]
Insulting Muslims 101
Shape of a Pocket by Jacqueline Ann Surin
HOW does one insult Islam in Malaysia? And how does one insult Muslims in Malaysia? Over the past few years and increasingly over the past months, the state, politicians and pressure groups like Perkasa have demonstrated just how to do either one or both. For the most part, these incidents are an insult to Muslims […]
