BY SHERIDAN MAHAVERA and DESMOND
DAVIDSON
Published: 13 July 2014

There is growing concern that conservatism in the
peninsula is creeping into Sarawak. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, July 13,
2014.
Over the past few years, the
non-Muslims in Sarawak – particularly the majority Christian community – have
seen some disturbing trends among their youth.
Christian schoolchildren were
coming home and telling their parents that their Muslim classmates had started
pressuring them to change their faith.
In universities in Kuching, there
was a sudden bloom of girls wearing niqabs, the Arab-style head to toe dress
that covered everything except the eyes. This is even though the Education
Ministry has forbidden niqabs.
And during Gawai and Chinese New Year
open houses, there were fewer Muslim friends coming over. The ones that did
come over supposedly did not want to touch the food even when their hosts told
them it came from halal sources.
Such changes in attitude reflect a
creeping extremism that is infecting Sarawak’s Muslim community – one that is
often held up as an example of tolerance and inclusivity that their brethren in
the Malay peninsula should learn from.
There is now a growing worry that
such attitude – imported from across the South China Sea – threatens to rupture
the social glue that has bound Sarawak’s diverse community.
This is even while Sarawak’s Muslim
leaders continue to insist that their minority community is still moderate and
able to embrace its more populous non-Muslim neighbours.
Bad imports
Sarawakian Muslims and non-Muslims
say there are a few factors behind these trends.
But one thing they agree on is that
these trends came from the Malay peninsula. The dominance of social media also
helped these beliefs spread even wider than before.
One of the most disruptive has been
the placement of religious teachers from the mainland in local schools to teach
Muslim kids.
In separate interviews, a teacher
from Kuching and Sarawak’s top official for religious affairs claimed that the
most problematic have been teachers from Kelantan.
“We had an uztazah (female
religious teacher) from Kelantan who used to run down Christianity in her
classes,” said the Kuching-based teacher.
“The students would come out of her
class and try to preach to Christians about how they should change their
religion to Islam,” said the teacher who related how the Christian children
complained to her.
At the well-known Universiti
Sarawak Malaysia campus, students believed to be from Muslim youth groups
caught the attention of officials with their ultra-conservatism.
In March, they tried to get Unimas
to ban a seminar by prominent former Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia sociologist
and activist Professor Noraini Othman.
A Unimas official with knowledge of
the protest said the seminar went on but members of the group tried to disrupt
it by haranguing Noraini and calling her names.
“Instead of debating on the points
she presented, they just labelled her un-Islamic and deviant. This type of protest
has never happened before,” said the official who requested anonymity.
Another Unimas official, Dr Faisal
Syam Hazis, said he noticed that more and more younger Sarawakian Muslims were
becoming more conservative than their parents.
The younger generation is more
exposed to the ideas and beliefs of Muslims from the Malay peninsula, said
Faisal, possibly because of social media.
But such attitudes are also
adopted by the older generation.
“If it was not for the Muslims in
the peninsula, we do not know what would become of us Muslims in Sarawak,” said
a mosque official based in Kuching, throwing his hands up in a gesture of
futility.
“We are only 30% of the population
here. But the Muslims in the peninsula are dominant. That is good,” said the
official who declined to give his name.
He also claimed that Muslims in
Sarawak do not want non-Muslims to use the name Allah – a stance contradictory
to the one taken by Sarawak’s Muslim politicians.
Native strength
Datuk Daud Abdul Rahman admits that
these trends are present. But the minister in charge of religious affairs
believes they are minor strains in a larger main stream that is moderate and
open.
“In Sarawak, we practise the middle
path. We are different from Muslims in the peninsula in our approach to Islam,”
the former engineer told The Malaysian Insider.
Datuk Daud Abdul Rahman says Muslims in Sarawak are different in their approach to Islam compared with those in the peninsula. – The Malaysian Insider pic, July 13, 2014. |
In the Allah issue for instance,
Daud said in meetings with religious officials from the Malay peninsula, he
would repeatedly stress that Sarawak would exempt itself from the ban.
“The Christians have used the term
for over 100 years and Sarawak Muslims have never been confused with it. There
has been no Muslim who converted because of the term Allah.”
The administration he claimed has
also attempted to remove teachers “who spread negative views among
schoolchildren”.
“But whenever we try to bring a
case, no one wants to come forward.”
At the end of the day, he said,
there will always be pockets of extremism, such as Sarawakians who want to form
a local branch of Perkasa for instance.
But he has faith that Muslim Sarawakians
can look to themselves to chart their own destinies without having to look
across the seas for inspiration.
“Sarawak Muslims have to rely on
themselves. They can’t rely on Muslims in the peninsula or anyone else.
“They have to draw strength from themselves
and they must realise that they must work together with non-Muslims.”
Some of this native strength can
already be seen as the silent moderate majority speak up when it matters the
most.
When the Allah issue was hotly
debated in social media circles recently, moderates spoke out against the ban,
said Rezlan, a Muslim professional in his mid-20s.
“The constant underlying theme is
simple. If you are already strong in your faith, then there is nothing to worry
about.” – July 13, 2014.
- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/sarawak-starts-feeling-the-heat-of-malay-peninsula-feud-over-religion
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