Thread by @walski69

Unfortunately PAS will never grasp the simplest of precepts that forcing religion down people’s throats will create hypocrisy and resentment.

But hey, if the Malays are happy having their lives controlled by religionists, who am I to say anything?

https://twitter.com/jameschin110/status/1431486595052421122

So I kinda want to elaborate a bit on those concerns, apart from the possible reinvigorated zeal of pushing #RUU355

Because while that is a big concern, there are other things about PAS being in that position that raise concerns as well. For me, at least.

3/ But before that, I’d like to address something mentioned quite a bit here on Twitter, namely PAS being likened to the Taliban.

Perhaps provide some clarity, based on my own understanding.

IMPORTANT Disclaimer: I have no love lost for either one of them

4/ So, is it fair to equate PAS to the Taliban? The simple answer is NO.

Granted there are some similarities (which I’ll elaborate as I go along), they are two quite different animals.

While both are religio-political movements, the Taliban is also a military body. PAS is not.

5/ Arguably, PAS could be linked to the Memali Incident & subsequently the birth of the Al-Maunah group. That said PAS was maybe inspirational to what happened, but never directly involved as a political entity in toto

So no, I do not consider PAS to be militarized. Not at all.

6/ While both cite Islam to be at the center their raison d’être, each comes from VERY DIFFERENT flavors of Islam’s Sunni side.

PAS is aligned with (predominantly) the Shafie branch of Sunni Islam.

7/ PAS originated as a splinter group of ulama in UMNO, back in pre-Merdeka Malaya, formed in 1951. In fact early in the party’s history many members had dual memberships to both PAS and UMNO. It had socialist leanings initially, championing a more pan-regional Islamic solidarity

8/ This changed during the Indonesia/Malaysia Confrontation, when the party began to steer more towards Malay nationalism. The ulama take-over in 1982 set the party on a direction that has eventually brought them to the PAS we know today.

Go read up on their interesting history.

9/ The Taliban’s ideology on the other hand on the very much more hardline Deobandi theology, adhering to the Hanafi school of Sunni Islam, and more importantly, also adhere to Pashtun cultural norms (the majority of the Taliban are Pashtun).

10/ Therefore, we can see that the two groups couldn’t be more different, and were birthed from two very disparate circumstances.

So, what are the similarities, if any?

11/ The one similarity is that both want to make "Shariah Law" as the law of the land. And thus, enforce their respective versions “Islam”.

Now, why did I write “Islam” within quotes?

Because there is NOT a single identical and monolithic Islam. Or Shariah, for that matter.

12/ So, why the concern that both the Minister and Deputy Minister in charge of religion are from PAS?

Because PAS aren't the only ones who think religion must be enFORCEd. Our entire Islamic bureaucracy has similar thinking, albeit to different degrees.

13/ As I had mentioned earlier in the day, PAS - and by extension the entire Islamic bureaucracy - fails to grasp the important precept that forcing religion through operation of law is only going to create hypocrisy and resentment.

14/ The most that can be achieved is the optics of performative piety.

And in the process, society gets more restrictive, more don’ts imposed, and over time Malaysian life, even Malaysia, as we know it, will be stuff of history books.

Do you think this is far fetched?

15/ Not so long ago there was a move to introduce legislature to criminalize the “disrespecting of fatwa”. I’m not sure if this ever became law or not.

Becoming a criminal for questioning a religious opinion?

And that what ‘fatwa’ really means, by the way - religious opinion

16/ But in Malaysia, a fatwa once gazetted becomes law. And unlike civil laws, as far as I know there is no legislative debate in state assemblies when it comes to fatwas getting gazetted.

And these decisions are made by people we did not elect.

Sound like democracy to you?

17/ And as time goes by, as our Islamic Bureaucracy gains more legal authority, life for anyone identified as Muslim (even for those who themselves don't identify as one) becomes more regimented and rigid.

It's a process that has been ongoing for the past few decades.

18/ Whether or not there will be any drastic changes now that PAS is in charge is left to be seen. If there is any saving grace, we'll have to live with this cabinet until GE15, which should happen sometime in 2023 at the very latest.

But the question is: how will Malays vote?

19/ To be honest the lines between PAS, UMNO & PPBM have become blurred. UMNO today seems a lot more Islamist in outlook compared to two decades ago. PPBM, too, but to a lesser degree.

It's become difficult to even ascertain anymore where UMNO ends and PAS begins.

20/ But back to PAS being in charge of religious affairs. As @jameschin110 mentioned in his thread, Budget 2022 vis-a-vis JAKIM will be interesting to observe. Already today they get around RM 1B.

And that should happen sometime Sept/Oct, coming soon to a Parliament near you

@jameschin110 21/ And if the alignment of PAS and the religious affairs bureaucracy weren’t enough, we have the multitude of Islamic NGOs campaigns to contend with.

ISMA has started, by the way:

https://twitter.com/pengundi_sedar/status/1430796312778141702

And as usual, DAP is used as the bogeyman.

@jameschin110 22/ A friend once told me that once the “Islamic” genie has been unbottled, there’s no turning back.

And I would tend to agree.

Today, mere criticism of anything “Islamic” is regarded as an insult, inviting police reports and investigations.

@jameschin110 23/ Bottom line is that with PAS gaining more influence at the federal level, whatever fractures we have today between Malays & everyone else, between Muslims & nons, are likely to deepen. And the NGOs are just waiting in the wings to help.

But there’s not much we can do now.

@jameschin110 24/ Just take this as fair warning as to what could happen. Pray that it doesn’t play out as I’ve outlined.

And don’t get suckered in to the worn out rhetoric that Malays and Islam are under threat. It’s the ones spouting this rhetoric that you need to be wary of.

[End]