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YOUR OPINION | “While some will see what we all have in common, others will see the things that divide us.”
Full Statement: Zawawi Upholds Biblical Commentary
David Dass: People of different religions believe what is revealed to them in their holy books.
Christians believe that Christ was the son of God. Muslims believe that he was a prophet, but not divine in nature. For Muslims, Muhammad was the last prophet. For Christians, it was not.
Buddhists believe what the Buddha taught. And Hindus believe in the writings of sages and seers handed down from generation to generation, and so on.
There are probably common exhortations on how one should conduct oneself throughout life in all religious teachings.
While some will see what we all have in common, others will see the things that divide us. The choice is ours. Whether it’s drinking alcohol or something more fundamental, it doesn’t really matter.
Most of us will tell you that if you drink beyond the limit allowed by law, don’t drive. Most of us will abhor drunkenness and bad behavior. But few of us will try to score religious points by arguing why we shouldn’t drive under the influence of alcohol.
Many of us believe that we can enjoy a glass of sherry or wine, whether red or white, without breaking any religious laws. And, of course, don’t drive.
There were no motor vehicles at the time these holy books were written. It was just camels, horses, and donkeys. And if you rode one of them while drunk, you just got lost.
Proarte: There is freedom of speech in a civilized democracy, and Parliament should be a place where there are no “no-go” areas with regard to freedom of speech.
However, it is the height of stupidity, despite having a number of titles from various Islamic learning centers, that Pasir Puteh MP Nik Muhammad Zawawi Salleh says that the Bible is “distorted” just because it is wrong. according to your patently false idea that there is zero tolerance for alcohol use in Christianity, based on your personal Muslim belief system.
It is true that one can selectively quote verses from the Bible that condemn drunkenness or drunkenness, but any half-intelligent person knows that this applies to anything when done in excess or taken to the extreme.
Following Zawawi’s logic, should we now ban the consumption of sugar or rice because taking excessive amounts can predispose us to diabetes and the harmful effects of this condition?
Pasir Puteh’s deputy has the right to say that the current Bible is a distorted version of the original. Leaving aside that you did not provide any proof that this was the case, I strongly believe that you should not need to apologize for your opinions.
For his part, Zawawi must understand that everyone is entitled to their own beliefs, and all practitioners of any belief system should not be allowed to impose their individual beliefs on others.
Heart of Malaysia: There is a difference between drinking alcohol and remaining in control of your senses and actions and intoxication, which is drinking too much alcohol to the point of being drunk and therefore losing some control over your senses and actions.
Drinking and driving is definitely something I do not approve of. If you want to drink outside your home, don’t drive. Simple as that. That is common sense.
You do not need to introduce religion and, worse, tell others that your scriptures are distorted unless you are willing to accept them saying the same about your scriptures.
Zawawi claims to have studied comparative religions, but from what he’s saying, I highly doubt how much or what he has actually learned. A person who claims to have studied comparative religions would not make statements like yours.
FairMalaysian: I once had a discussion with a seminarian, someone who was doing his doctorate in comparative religions.
He was from Spain and I, being a Hindu (there is no Hindu religion) became a freethinker, I was amazed by his persuasive explanation on the subject: comparative religion.
I also realized that the topic can be somewhat misleading; It depends on the religious background of the person.
So that you can understand this better, take the case of the Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, who claims to be someone with knowledge in the area of comparative religions, but that comparative study is with Islam placed on a high pedestal and the others not.
It will largely depend on the bias of the individual who would be in the foreground. In Zakir Naik’s case, despite his weak attempt to be “superficial,” it means more to be critical.
I won’t need ten minutes to put Zakir Naik in his place, but that will come at a heavy price; it will undoubtedly earn the ire of my Muslim friends and may even be breaking our laws. At the end of the day, Zakir Naik is not a prize for me to burn my bridges with my fellow Malaysians.
The premise of Zawawi’s argument is flawed, at least in the Malaysian context. It is not the question of how much you know about other religions that you think is enough to comment.
The delicate balance of religious coexistence justifies that “you don’t talk about mine and I don’t talk about yours.” This guiding principle has kept our nation away from the fire that could consume us.
In fact, he may have knowledge about Christianity as part of his study on comparative religions or as he says that Nabi Isa is indeed one of the prophets in Islam, but when you break the line of respect, you are also opening the door for others claim to be opinions about their religion that can move the hornet’s nest.
I believe that Zawawi is not a person who can accept criticism of his religion from someone who also makes similar claims. The best and the best thing to do is not to cross the border.
It is not a question of right or wrong, but rather of reminding ourselves that we are part of a nation that has been spared the horrible episodes of religious confrontation, be it inter-religious or intra-religious divisions.
I mentioned earlier that you should apologize and move one. Perhaps the time has come for the authorities to have a pep talk with him.
GoldenGiraffe4932: Zawawi is right. It does not condemn any religion here. Read your statement with an open mind.
IndigoKite6964: Sure, it doesn’t condemn any religion. He just misrepresents and insults all Christians because his holy book has misled them because it is inaccurate.
So which one is worse? Condemn that religion is false or tell all its followers that they are fools?
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