The raid by the Federal Territory Religious Department (Jawi) on a discotheque in Kuala Lumpur on Jan 20 and its fallout have reminded us how complex and divergent religious controversies can be, and how challenging their impact and implications.

Without doubt the Malays/Muslims were split right down the middle. The raid prompted knee-jerk responses from various individuals (including cabinet ministers), groups and political parties, some of which gave rise to more problems than solutions.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Dr Abdullah Mohamed Zin, who is in charge of Islamic affairs, was reported as having come to the defence of the way the raid was conducted, saying it was followed procedure and that the Muslims in the discotheque were involved in a booze fest.

Umno Youth religious bureau chairman Shamsul Najmi Shamsuddin also backed Jawi, saying that it was wrong for Muslims to be in a place that serves liquor or which is involved in gambling.

Umno Youth chief Hishammuddin Hussein, however, called for the authority and powers of Jawi to be examined, saying no one should be victimised and that no party should abuse their authority.

Culture Arts and Heritage Minister Dr Rais Yatim was quoted as saying that the cabinet felt that the country's needs would be best served if the police look after crimes and if matters of morality were handled by the family. In other words, our country has no need for morality police.

These contradictory stands are typical of the double standards adopted by Umno/BN, to serve its two-pronged strategic needs to compete with PAS in the Islamisation race on the one hand, and to cater for and pacify the moderate Muslims and the non-Muslims on the other hand.

As Iskandar Zulkarnain warned in the malaysiakini letters forum, the Jawi case might have a "hidden agenda" aimed at jeopardising the prospect of opposition parties closing ranks, since PAS and DAP might try to improve their relationship due to the softening of PAS' stand on the Islamic State issue and Anwar Ibrahim's influential mediation.

Iskandar's argument has logic. To him, the Jawi case might serve to aggravate PAS-DAP relationship before they have any chance to mend fences because PAS is bound to fully support Jawi's raid, which would automatically alienate it from moderate Muslims and non-Muslims alike and thus exacerbate the existing conflicts between the two parties.

The Federal Territory PAS Youth, for example, had encouraged Jawi not to be afraid but to stick to their firm attitude and positive action. Jawi was even reminded "not to sell out their dignity to the Western hedonism ideology". Unwittingly or otherwise, the Islamic culture was pitted against the Western culture, an unbecoming approach in our multi-cultural environments.

As quoted by Syed Nadzri, even public opinion expressed on the Jawi website itself is divided, suffice it to requote just two examples in contrast as follows:

Dan on Feb 5: "I think it's a disgrace the way you conducted such raids. Officers salivating over girls, humiliating them by asking them to turn, not allowing them to use the bathroomI guess the big sinner that night was YOU! The stinking immoral people who hide under the name of God to satisfy your own lust. Shame on all of you."

Dr Who on Feb 5 wrote: "This is a reminder to the Islam liberal group to stop liberalising Malaysian Muslims. You will pay for your action. I have information that a special unit has been formed to seek out the liberal groups among Malaysian Muslims. I fear for your safety."Why threatening others'safety?"

Personal sins

More importantly, as pointed out by the programme manager of Sisters-in-Islam (SIS) Masjaliza Hamzah, what should be questioned is the substance of the Syariah Criminal Offences Act, which provides for the state to criminalise what can be termed as personal sins.

SIS was of the opinion that it was the personal choice of Muslims to go to places that serve alcohol or to dress in any manner they choose, since "the Quran talks about personal choices and submitting to God from the heart rather than have it forced from the outside", she added.

According to her, SIS is going to put together a memorandum for the relevant authorities regarding the Syariah Criminal Offences Act , and the group will point out the related provisions which curtail the personal liberty of individuals as provided for under the Federal Constitution.

Its assertion that personal sins are not criminal are raised in the context of the Islamic perspective, but what is regarded as "sins"by Islamic criteria might not be so by other religious or moral standards. In other words, moral policing by the state in a multi-cultural environments like ours might give rise to more problems in terms of human rights and ethnic relations.

Farish A Noor has argued: "Such 'morality' and 'decency' campaigns have little to do with standards of morality and decency, but rather everything to do with state power and control. And in any case, if these 'moral guardians' are so obsessed with morality and public decency, they should focus their attention on other genuine moral problems in our society, from the levels of corruption to the surat layang culture of Malaysian politics, from detention without trial to the alleged killing of prisoners under custody."

To him, the worst thing the policing of the Malay-Muslim community could do is to undermine the most sensitive project of all: nation-building itself.

He rightly asks: "For what kind of a Malaysian nation are we indeed building today, when there is one set of laws for Malay-Muslims and another for the rest?"

Perhaps, what we badly need is indeed "a politics of love" as envisaged by Farish, that sees all forms of sectarianism, communitarianism and the attendant strategies of alienation, discrimination, dehumanisation and 'Other-ing' as fundamentally Evil, in the sense that they oppose the project of creating a united and equal nation.

After all, Islam is the religion of love and peace, isn't it?