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YOUR OPINION | ‘The Almighty does not need us weak beings to defend His honor.’
COMMENT | Row with France: why is Mahathir so full of hatred?
Vijay47: I will refrain from going into the arguments of Dr. Mahathir Mohamad in his proud justification of the horrible murders in France.
It would be useless and foolish of me to do so considering the depth of logic it has displayed, a level not found even in those who dropped out of primary school. What can you comment on if this is what a political leader, a former prime minister, a man in his 90s, can produce in defense of his religion?
For Malaysians, Mahathir’s statements are not new, although they are only shocking in degree. Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein and now Mahathir, Umno’s top leaders, past or present, have clearly revealed not only to France but to the entire world what some Malaysian Muslim political leaders are capable of, the kind of extremism that harbor.
Surely there would be some who would support him, but does Mahathir really hope to win widespread admiration for his crazy opinions?
On the contrary, even at the local level, many Muslim leaders would reject him when he has risked so much to express crazy suggestions. Does anyone think that the leader of Umno, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, the leader of Amanah, Mohamad Sabu, or even the leader of the PAS, Abdul Hadi Awang, would want to sit down with Mahathir to discuss Muslim unity or even worldly issues?
Certainly there are Islamic extremists who immensely enjoy slitting and raping children, but these are savage aberrations that most Muslims and humanity do not share. All Mahathir has accomplished is revealing that he is a leprous outcast.
Revered Christian figures have been the target of ridicule and insults, as have Hindu gods and, less frequently, Buddhist elements. Do Christians, Hindus, Jews or Buddhists agree to massacre people for perceiving insults?
Malaysiakini Columnist Mariam Mokhtar asks why Mahathir is consumed by this outright hatred. I would risk that religious fervor cannot be the reason. Mahathir is a psychoanalyst’s delight, many of the demons who torture him center on the fact that for all his Malay bravado, he will always remain a Kerala Indian.
For added convenience, you can enjoy the company of the Islamic preacher Zakir Naik.
Business first: The killing of innocents, regardless of religion, Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, Yazidis, and Muslims, is horrible and at times like these normal rational human beings bring comfort and consolation to the victims. Like what happened in New Zealand. Christians sympathized with Muslims.
In Malaysia, we have Mahathir, who blames France’s colonial past for suggesting that the slaughter of millions more could be justified, so in some perverse way is he saying that one should be thankful that this didn’t happen? It’s crazy.
I am sure that in many civilized countries with “hate speech” laws, this would qualify as “hate speech”. However, considering Malaysia today, we know that even if such laws exist, I doubt anything will happen. Because in Malaysia we don’t have “double standards”. “Everyone is equal before the law,” except that some are more equal than others.
I’m not sure Malaysians are aware that racial and religious supremacists are reflecting Nazi German ideology in many ways. His evil seed has taken root through generations.
Mahathir’s comments and the silence of Malaysian Muslim leaders in condemning the atrocities of Muslim extremists are concerning. It’s not that they don’t have a sense of morality; when the New Zealand mosque massacre happened, we had the proverbial chest blows, etc.
For Malaysia to have credibility, we must unreservedly condemn all acts of extremism caused by anyone, regardless of who they are, and have compassion for all victims, regardless of who they are, and make no excuses. I think most reasonable people would agree with this.
Malaysian Bulldog: Well said, Mariam. While I believe that freedom of expression must be accompanied by a sense of social responsibility, Mahathir’s statements are so incredibly archaic in tone that it is shocking. And the same goes for the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Erdogan attacks the mental acuity of French President Emmanuel Macron instead of being more substantive and perhaps talking to Macron about what is causing such horribly violent actions by certain individuals.
No, Erdogan and Mahathir appear to be irrational people who think backward and who, instead of trying to help find peaceful solutions, display this siege mentality that promotes hatred, division and mistrust among Muslims towards non-Muslims. .
Noor M: Dear Mariam, what is the crux of your argument here? What did Mahathir or himself say?
It seems you wrote more about Mahathir than he said. Some time ago, we had the worst attack on Muslims in New Zealand mosques. Has any Muslim leader condemned the Christian religion? All we did was convict the person.
That’s what Macron should have done, condemn and curse the doer, the guy who was crazy for doing such an act. Only those who are mad and insane will kill another, for whatever reason.
So Mariam, I appreciate your point of view (s), and you are entitled to one, but don’t let hatred take you away, then there will be no difference between you, Mahathir, the killer, and Macron.
Without fear or favor: @Noor M, Mariam is rational. You only read between the lines. Just take a second reading. After which, dissect the content and then think rationally before forming an opinion on their views.
It is unfair to conclude that you have hatred when you only tell the truth without fear or favor. Mahathir is a desperate individual who is losing popularity and judgment.
Desperate, you are making unnecessary comments without a second thought, which may result in unexpected repercussions in our country. It is unbecoming of a statesman.
AT-SIXX: For thousands of years, religious wars have killed many, mostly innocent. There is no end to killing each other, and there is no point going back into history to feel aggrieved or justified.
Religions are good; the problem is the men who abuse them and justify their actions in the name of the Almighty.
If you think about it, the Almighty does not need us weak beings to defend His honor. Those who kill in the name of the Almighty are a shame to him. Leaders who don’t promote peace are even more shameful.
The truth is out there: I think Mahathir’s statement was misinterpreted. We should read the following sentences after your quote that says:
“But generally speaking, Muslims have not enforced the ‘tit-for-tat’ law. Muslims don’t. The French shouldn’t. Instead, the French should teach their people to respect the feelings of others.”
Be a man: @ The Truth, which he wrote: “Muslims have the right to be angry and kill millions of French people for the massacres of the past.”
The next sentences you quoted simply said that those whom he considers to have the “right to kill Frenchmen” have not yet exercised it.
So in what way was it misinterpreted? He claimed that a group of people has the right to kill millions of French, any French.
New day: Mariam, I always enjoy your writing, without restrictions. But I am concerned about his comment that “Malays and Muslims are suspicious of non-Malays and non-Muslims.”
We can’t be so generic with these labels. You are reinforcing the stereotype. Thirty percent of Muslim Malays voted for a better and more harmonious society in GE14. We didn’t quite understand it, but we were closer than before.
Most of us have multi-racial and multi-religious relationships. We are Malaysians first and Malaysians second. We may not be the majority, but we are many.
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