I am following through Mister Tamborine's letter , 'Keadilan a PAS mouthpiece', referring to a Seruan Keadilan editorial which also appeared on the Free Anwar website articulating Islam's imposition on its followers to adhere to certain mandatory requirements which curtails freewill!

Applying these arguments, it also shows how in Islam you cannot really have democracy as you are literally impounded to act in certain ways.

Looked at from the moral sense and sensibilities and the hypocrisy of Asian society we live in, one might easily concur with that editorial. However, reading through all of that I get these very strong vibes running in me that says everything that is wrong about it. I can see in that aritcle that to live a life that it demands would mean surrendering some of my liberties.

An election process provides us the choice. On the other hand following the arguments of that editorial, a Muslim does not have a choice. If PAS were to rule Malaysia, and if they were to assume the moral and religious high ground it would not take them long to interpret these very invocations to mean that they are duty bound to deny all of us the chance and the choice to act inappropriately. That is what happens with elections!

Does that editorial suggest, therefore, that if the Barisan Alternatif were to come to power with PAS at the helm, and their version of Islamic rule is imposed, that they would soon find in this argument the reason to illegitimise political parties they consider to be un-Islamic? After all if they don't, it would mean that "you are going against Islamic teachings."

Similarly allowing non-muslims the power to determine the continued governorship of the Muslim "rulers" through the ballot box can also be construed to be going against Islamic teachings.

Continuing to maintain the possibility that the "un-Islamic" Umno and Barisan Nasional to return to power at the next elections can also be interpreted as going against Islamic teachings. The options open to a PAS-led government would, therefore, be limited and they would have no choice but to remove these threats. Do I see the arguments for dismantling the elections machinery that can threaten their Islamic-led goals? Maybe! Do I see the criminalising of political parties other than those that are Islamic?