YOURSAY | 'Studying Mandarin and understanding Islam are two different issues.'

Scholar moots Mandarin, Islam lessons to foster understanding

Vijay47: Like Greeks bearing gifts, Muslim scholars suggest Islamic studies to non-Muslims as the path towards national unity generally should not be trusted.

We have heard that song before - many times. Remember the jawi lessons on TV a happy mixed lifetime ago? It was assumed to be just educational with no intrusion of religion, but before we could say “My Sweet Lord”, it had mutated into Islamic lessons.

So please, religious scholar Engku Ahmad Fadzil Engku Ali, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, preacher Zakir Naik, that guy from Perlis, and the rest of the spiritual boys, spare us your brand of proposals towards healing the world.

Your venture into national unity and peace on earth to men of goodwill comes with a new flavour of cunningness – Mandarin and Islamic lessons.

Thus your attempt to present your credentials as an open-minded scholar. ‘Hey! I can’t be a bad guy since I have also included Mandarin in my prescription!’ Yeah, sure.

If you hold that your proposed lessons on Islam to non-Muslims are only for the sharing of knowledge without any religious indoctrination, won’t that goal be better achieved on a four-lane highway – Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism are also included?

What a wonderful world it would be, with Malaysians freely practising their faiths even as they know and respect other beliefs.

David Dass: I think that it is a good idea for all Malaysians to have some knowledge of the culture and religious beliefs of each other. Knowledge will give all a positive understanding of the culture and beliefs of others.

The reality of faith or religious belief is that the adherent sees the beauty, majesty and truthfulness of his understanding of the creator, the universe and his place in it through his beliefs.

Article 3 of the Constitution making Islam the religion of the Federation does not require non-Muslims to believe in Islam. Nor does it give the government the authority to compel the learning of Islam.

But a subject that requires all students to acquire a basic knowledge of all religions of the world would be a good idea and would be acceptable to all.

The object of such learning will not be conversion but knowledge and understanding. All should accept that faith is an intensely personal matter and nothing should be done to interfere with the guarantee of freedom of worship that is provided for in the Constitution.

Another Komentar: Most non-Muslim Malaysians know and respect Islam as the religion of the majority Malays. What we need is a more tolerant, inclusive and respectful Muslim political leadership and public policy settings that do not treat non-Muslims as lesser citizens with fewer rights.

For the non-Muslim, we need to steer away from this unhealthy worldview of equating Malaysian Muslim political leadership as equivalent to the majority Muslim population.

Most Muslim Malaysians do not harbour animosity towards us. They are the products of the “divide and rule” of the nation’s political leadership.

Bobbyo: Studying Mandarin and understanding Islam are two different issues. If you want to foster a relationship, have more programmes to bring them together. Sporting, cultural, debating or even various forms of celebrations can bring people together.

Please do not include religion as a subject to unite. Then they would want the Muslims to know Hinduism, Christianity or even the other various beliefs better.

Do not use this aspect to spread your religion as religion is a very sensitive topic. Let us use other ideas to try and bring people together.

Coward: We have a good understanding of each other, thank you very much. There is no need for Muslims to learn mandarin, nor for non-Muslims to learn more about Islam. Our understanding of each other is good enough that we went beyond coexistence to fully integrate long before you and I arrived at the scene.

The fact that you think non-Muslims think Islam is a religion of terrorism is alarming, not because we don't, but because you think we do. If, after living with my Muslim brothers for more than 60 years since independence, I still throw away all the good deeds of my Muslim brothers worldwide and in Malaysia and choose to associate them with the extremely tiny minority of extremists, then I deserve your criticism.

This is also not a trade; Mandarin is for Islam. Its premise is already wrong. Respect for each other can only be earned, not traded.

PurpleHare5552: Nothing much, I believe, would change if the Malay Muslims learn Mandarin. A better and fairer alternative would be for Muslims to learn about other religions while non-Muslims learn the rudiments of Islam. Up till now, communication between Muslims and non-Muslims has never posed a problem.

The real problem is a problem of different mindsets and not language-related. The problem has its roots in political Islam, which enjoins its adherents to shun non-Muslims, be it work or play. The free-thinker spirit that prevailed in the 50s and 60s needs to be revived, for which a concerted mental overhaul would be required.

Chicken Rice: I have travelled, worked and lived in different countries. Malaysia is just about the only country that I have seen "segregate" education along the lines of race. This is insanity and the best way to create national disunity.

There should only be one education system for all.

All students should get exposure to all the main cultures and languages. Yes. There should be a national language but there is no one culture/language which is superior to others. National unity is a pipe dream if Malaysia's education system does not change!

IndigoSwan6963: In all concerns, everyone must understand that religion divides and only love and understanding for each other will unite the country. Understanding religion in a broader context of world religion is good, but it must not be based on a single faith that will ultimately divide the population further.

Be pragmatic, as we know that the world is divided by religious and racial lines. No country nor society can simply unite using religion, as history has proven to us all that the unity of any society is broken and divided by religious lines.

Do not recommend and promote these to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, as it will further erode and divide us Malaysians.

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