Christian 'agenda' and the failure of Malaysia's Islamic institutions
By Kamilia Sharifuddin
I read with interest the report and claims that there is a secret "underground" mission to target hard-up Muslims and entice them into Christianity.
While the truth of this claim is not established, the statement is a slap on Muslims in more ways than one.
Firstly, it shows how vulnerable Muslims in this country are, despite all the assistance and encouragement given to them. On television, there is no end to religious shows and so-called Islamic series. The mosques are getting bigger every year and the amount spent by the government on anything to do with Islam (of course, as interpreted to suit them) is also astronomical.
So what has gone wrong? Muslims should think: how come Islam is attractive in the West where there is no government funding at all to Muslim organisations, where mosques are scarce and where there is always some level of Islamophobia, whether at an individual level or institutional level?
And here in Malaysia, we still have to be 'vigilant' that our children or our Muslim friends would apostate, despite the millions of money spent and the scores of institutions who act on the name of Islam!
Yes, we Muslims should think about this.
The second slap is to the administration of zakat, which is an important pillar of Islam and which in Malaysia is handled by each of the state. It is said that millions of ringgit are collected, but we still see many Muslims living in desperate situation. What happened?
Isn't zakah supposed to solve poverty annually? Something is terribly wrong in the way Muslim affairs are handled. Otherwise, how else can we explain our fear that some fellow Muslims are desperate enough to leave their faith?
Instead of being busy about how other religions are propagating and spreading their wings, Islamic institutions, ulama, government agencies and Muslim political leaders should instead ask all these troubling questions.
Such a shame. Such a waste. May be Muslims and Islam will be better off in a secular political system. Then, Muslims will not have the luxury to be laid back in their beliefs and will strive hard to make Islam supreme.
