The essential teachings of the religion of Islam revolve around our obligations to God, our family and to our fellow man and also on how to conduct ourselves in discharging these duties.

In doing so, we are required to submit to the Divine (takwa) in seeking knowledge and nurturing love and respect among our fellow man. This is to be carried out with humility, dedication and discipline.

Islam is not an 'extreme' religion as it is in consonance with nature. For this reason, it is described as an 'Aid-din' or a way of life.

It should therefore be obvious that terrorism and mass murder are contrary to the teachings of Islam. Abusing woman, children and the helpless are great crimes and must be severely punished. The show of disrespect to elders, the rough handling of women and children are also forbidden and attract severe punishments.

The humiliation and indeed, what amounted to torture by officers of the Federal Territory Islamic Religious Affairs Department in their recent raid on an entertainment centre in Kuala Lumpur is certainly un-Islamic as much as it is sadistic.

My verdict is the same whether it involves Muslims or non-Muslims.

We need to win over and re-mould our children and our new generation in keeping with the right core values. This can be done through proper approaches including by the setting of good examples and by providing them with alternative forms of equally entertaining entertainment that respect our religious traditions better.

But in the light of Islamic religious traditions, Jawi has certainly deviated very far away from this course.