Some thirty years ago I saw a bumper sticker on a Harley Davidson in Columbus, Ohio which read: “IF YOU CAN’T IMPRESS THEM WITH BRILLIANCE, DAZZLE THEM WITH YOUR BULLSHIT!”

I thought that was cute, and I am still trying to figure out in what context this might be true.

Then I thought of Parameswara, whom the paid scribe of the Malacca Kingdom (Tun Sri Lanang) called the founder of Malacca. Param-Eswara (or was it another self-proclaimed Maharajah?) was said to have converted to Islam after he dreamt of meeting Prophet Muhammad; a dream which led him to take the shahada or to declare himself a believer in the one-ness of Allah and the teachings of Muhammad.