Message to Muslims: I'm Sorry

By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
September 18, 2010
The New York Times

Many Americans have suggested that more moderate Muslims should stand up to extremists, speak out for tolerance, and apologize for sins committed by their brethren.

That’s reasonable advice, and as a moderate myself, I’m going to take it. ( Throat clearing ) I hereby apologize to Muslims for the wave of bigotry and simple nuttiness that has lately been directed at you. The venom on the airwaves, equating Muslims with terrorists, should embarrass us more than you. Muslims are one of the last minorities in the United States that it is still possible to demean openly, and I apologize for the slurs.

I’m inspired by another journalistic apology. The Portland Press Herald in Maine published an innocuous front-page article and photo, a week ago, about 3,000 local Muslims praying together to mark the end of Ramadan. Readers were upset, because publication coincided with the ninth anniversary of 9/11, and they deluged the paper with protests. So, the newspaper published a groveling front-page apology for being too respectful of Muslims.

“We sincerely apologize,” wrote the editor and publisher, Richard Connor, and he added :
“We erred by at least not offering balance to the story and its prominent position on the front page.”
As a blog by James Poniewozik of Time paraphrased it : “Sorry for Portraying Muslims as Human.”

I called Mr. Connor, and he seems like a nice guy. Surely his front page isn’t reserved for stories about Bad Muslims, with articles about Good Muslims going inside. Must coverage of law-abiding Muslims be “balanced” by a discussion of Muslim terrorists?
Ah, balance — who can be against that? But should reporting of Pope Benedict’s trip to Britain be “balanced” by a discussion of Catholic terrorists in Ireland? And what about journalism itself?

I interrupt this discussion of peaceful journalism in Maine to provide some “balance” . Journalists can also be terrorists, murderers and rapists. For example, radio journalists in Rwanda promoted genocide.

I apologize to Muslims for another reason. This isn’t about them, but about us. I want to defend Muslims from intolerance, but I also want to defend America against extremists engineering a spasm of religious hatred. Granted, the reason for the nastiness isn’t hard to understand. Extremist Muslims have led to fear and repugnance toward Islam as a whole. Threats by Muslim crazies just in the last few days forced a Seattle cartoonist, Molly Norris, to go into hiding after she drew a cartoon about Muhammad that went viral.

And then there’s 9/11. When I recently compared today’s prejudice toward Muslims to the historical bigotry toward Catholics, Mormons, Jews and Asian-Americans, many readers protested that it was a false parallel. As one, Carla, put it on my blog :

“Catholics and Jews did not come here and kill thousands of people.”

That’s true, but Japanese did attack Pearl Harbor and in the end killed far more Americans than Al Qaeda ever did. Consumed by our fears, we lumped together anyone of Japanese ancestry and rounded them up in internment camps. The threat was real, but so were the hysteria and the overreaction.

Radicals tend to empower radicals, creating a gulf of mutual misunderstanding and anger. Many Americans believe that Osama bin Laden is representative of Muslims, and many Afghans believe that the Rev. Terry Jones ( who talked about burning Korans ) is representative of Christians. Many Americans honestly believe that Muslims are prone to violence, but humans are too complicated and diverse to lump into groups that we form invidious conclusions about. We’ve mostly learned that about blacks, Jews and other groups that suffered historic discrimination, but it’s still O.K. to make sweeping statements about “Muslims” as an undifferentiated mass.

In my travels, I’ve seen some of the worst of Islam : theocratic mullahs oppressing people in Iran; girls kept out of school in Afghanistan in the name of religion; girls subjected to genital mutilation in Africa in the name of Islam; warlords in Yemen and Sudan who wield AK-47s and claim to be doing God’s bidding. But, I’ve also seen the exact opposite : Muslim aid workers in Afghanistan who risk their lives to educate girls; a Pakistani imam who shelters rape victims; Muslim leaders who campaign against female genital mutilation and note that it is not really an Islamic practice; Pakistani Muslims who stand up for oppressed Christians and Hindus; and above all, the innumerable Muslim aid workers in Congo, Darfur, Bangladesh and so many other parts of the world who are inspired by the Koran to risk their lives to help others. Those Muslims have helped keep me alive, and they set a standard of compassion, peacefulness and altruism that we should all emulate.

I’m sickened when I hear such gentle souls lumped in with Qaeda terrorists, and when I hear the faith they hold sacred excoriated and mocked. To them and to others smeared, I apologize.

Nik Aziz said: "I KNOW YOU..." *rofl*

Commenting on Malaysiakini article: Nik Aziz: 'I know you', Ibrahim Ali

There had been a furor recently about a certain non-Muslim in Malaysia giving some well-wishes in a mosque. Apparently some Muslim saw it as an unholy thing invading into their holey territory.

Big thumbs up to the Muslims who found no evidence in the Muslim holy book for these people's claims.

Nik Aziz, the Mursyidul Am (basically translates to Chief Religious Leader) of PAS, was spot on in remarking some parties are using the issue to spark political unrest.
He had said that the issue should not be used as a political tool as not only there is no mention in the Quran that non-Muslims are prohibited from entering the mosque, but non-Malays have also contributed to the building of the mosques. Note: Most mosques in Malaysia are built on Malaysian taxpayer's money.
He mentioned that some of the building materials for the Masjid Bara'ah at Pasar Siti Khadijah, Kota Baharu, were provided by non-Muslims.

In a previous statement, he defended Serdang MP Teo Nie Ching, who had contributed to surau Al-Huda in Kajang, but was used by unscrupulous parties to create tension amongst Malaysian peoples.

However, big hats off to Nik Aziz for looking Ibrahim Ali in the eye and telling him in a cynical voice, "I KNOW YOU." when the former was asked by the latter to prove his words by quoting the Quran.

Ibrahim Ali, the great yapping Pomeranian of UMNO. Need I say more?

Yong Vui Kong

Ok, I'll be frank about this.

I don't give a damn about the guy's sob story. It's not that I'm some heartless guttersnipe who doesn't feel a thing about a man who was impoverished and not well-educated, complete with a complicated family background. I get it.

But was there no other way out? Really?

Was it really worth the risk, taking drugs to a place notorious for drug crackdowns like Singapore?

Was he ignorant to the fact Singapore punishes this offense by death?

My condolences to Yong Vui Kong's family and friends, but I have to agree with Singapore's Law Minister Mr K. Shanmugam.

“Yong Vui Kong is young. But if we say ‘We let you go’, what is the signal we are sending?”

 I understand that Singapore has it's own issues regarding nationality and what not, but the core message to the  kids out there.

 DON'T GET INVOLVED IN DRUG TRAFFICKING

&

DON'T DO ANYTHING STUPID YOU KNOW YOU WILL REGRET.

Malaysia Boleh...jadi RACIST. Part 3

I was reading Khoo Kay Peng's blog (Straight Talk).

I read about Najib's indecision when it comes to the zero tolerance thing.

For starters, I would say that Namewee had it coming. He said he loves Malaysia and wants to make it a better place for ALL Malaysians, but honestly, after watching his videos I can't find anything in myself to agree with the way he conducts himself in a video. Sure, bad words attract crowds, but really, is it the way you foster good will? 

I sometimes agree with the messages he tries to preach, but the presentation would have been so much better if he had practiced more tact.

About the headmistresses case please refer to Malaysia Boleh...jadi RACIST. I've said everything I wanted to say there.

 Anyway, Pak Najib. Play your cards well, but let as far as I can see, it's a "damned if you do, damned if you don't/ telan mati bapa, luah mati emak" problem. Easiest way out I can see is to prosecute both parties. As I said, Namewee had it coming. He just couldn't express himself better. And the 2 headmistresses should be used as a warning to the other civil servants.

Just as Yong Vui Kong might serve as a warning to the other teens of the reality of drug trafficking.

If Ibrahim Ali, Chua Soi Lek and Bung Mokhtar are thrown in, it'll be a real sweet deal.

I was also unpleasantly surprised by the mention of Dr Ridhuan Tee's name as one of the guys who are named as instigators of racism, 'cos I did have a great deal of respect for him. Until, of course, I found out that he HAS a blog and read it. My respect for him was unceremoniously diminished, somewhat.

I used to have a lot respect for the guy cos he was this Chinese guy who dared to convert into Islam when it was such a taboo thing to do at the time. (Still is for some reasons) He was on tele doing a few series of talks about Islam and seemed (to the young, impressionable me) to be really knowledgeable about Islam, more than some of the so-called ustaz. He was a charismatic speaker, fluent in Malay, yet held on to his Chinese roots.
Or so I thought.

Some years later, I saw his name and read his blog. The crystal cracked.

"My God, he lived in a bubble??!" was my first reaction. What was this "ultra kiasu" thing he's spewing? Yeah, I do admit that some Chinese are real bastards, but isn't it the same for all? In every group that makes up the population, there are bound to be good and bad people. 

Let's talk about stereotypes.

1. Malays are lazy.
• NOT TRUE. At least not all of them. Some of my Malay friends are extremely hardworking. In fact, I actually get very disappointed by Chinese people in group work cos they don't pull their own weight.
2. Chinese are rich.
•  NOT TRUE. Why the heck do you think there are Chinese laborers. For KLites, go to Jalan Alor and Sam Peng Flats to see the POOR Chinese, and Bangsar to see the RICH Malays.
3. Orang asli are poor.
• NOT TRUE. One of the settlements in Dengkil area has reasonably higher paid Orang Asli (Temuan, if I'm not mistaken). They own tar roads, concrete houses, running water and electricity and cars (not Proton, Perodua or Naza, mind you). I've a Semai friend whose family is pretty well off.
4. Indians are stupid.
• NOT TRUE. Who do you think are the real kings of Silicon Valley and Hospitals? Who came up with THAT stereotype anyways?

So anyway, Dr Ridhuan, come out of that bubble and look at all of us Malaysians in the fairer manner.

Oh, and please get your facts straight. The Malays are not the indigenous people of Malaysia. The Orang Asli are. The Malays are just as immigrant as the Chinese and Indians. Only difference is that they were here longer than the others. Where did you think Parameswara, orang Bugis, orang Minangkabau, Adat Perpatih  Adat Temenggong, etc. came from?
Did you know that the chillies synonymous with Malay cuisine was introduced by the Portugese?

Bet you didn't.

Malaysia Boleh...jadi RACIST. Part 2

From a guy named Lau Chee Kin.
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/note.php?note_id=432073840741&id=586500176
Hadn't got his permission but i don't think he'd mind :)

------

The typical Merdeka Eve night started with an urge to watch the fireworks celebration in KLCC ended up in a racist attack by a group of teenagers. So, me and a friend of mine thought of a good solution to avoid the traffic jam in that area by walking from the office in Jalan Imbi through Pavillion, to Jalan Kia Peng through Convention Center to KLCC.
Sounds like an ideal plan as the path is a frequent walkway and is even advertised in Pavillion as 'Bridge to KLCC'. (Just to note that we didn't go into any dark alley)

At 10.15pm, we started walking towards Pavillion, stopped to get a drink at Starbucks and proceeded ahead. As we walk, we came across people from various races and foreign tourists along the way.

On Jalan Kia Peng, we walked past Novotel Hotel, Hakka Restaurant, Menara HLA and was reaching the junction of Jalan Pinang when a group of about 10 teenage Malay youngsters walking from the opposite direction. They looked like typical youths, giggling and talking to each other.

As we walked past them, suddenly one of them turned around and started to make a flying kick to my friend. Noticing the 'fun' he is having, his other friends started to do the same to me. It was so sudden and all I was thinking at the moment was, "What the hell did we do to them?"

Both of us ended up kneeling on the ground for a moment before more kicks and punches came flying in. Even though both of us had our tripod strapped across our shoulder, we were too shocked to react to it. Eventually one punch landed right on my right forehead and I started to bleed profusely. Seeing that they eventually stopped and walked away.WALKED AWAY, damn it. They were not even afraid to run but just WALKED AWAY like winning a game or something.The last thing I remember hearing from one of them was "Baliklah ke negara asal"
Imagine hearing this statement on Merdeka Eve.

I knew I was bleeding but I didnt know how bad. I could feel the right side of my head swollen and wet but I did not try to look at myself through a mirror. My friend also suffered bruises on the body and face.  By that time there were more people walking around us but they did not stop to see what was wrong. I don't blame them, it was a poorly lit area just in front of Menara Pinang. We recovered and continued walking towards the Convention Center. The guards were symphatetic to let us in to use the washroom to clean up. It was then I saw my bloody face.

I did not take a picture of myself then as it is not my intention to send a horror message. This is not a message of sympathy. It's a account of a random person walking on a street.

Eventually after cleaning up, we walked back to the Police Booth in Pavillion to relate the incident. The response from the officer: "This cannot happen, we have all our men on the streets" (Well, not on the street we got beaten up ...)

Apparently informing the police booth stationed in a public area is NOT MAKING A POLICE REPORT. WTF? Apparently we have to go to a Hospital, get some treatment and make a complain/report at the police counter there. I would be dead by then, ain't I?

Is this how the police maintained that they have improved  street crimes? By not noting down petty crimes like gang bang which did not result into hospitalization? Would we be taken seriously if only we landed in the hospital?

What we did was, we went back to the office, rested til this morning, went to a nearby clinic to get some bandages and medic.What else to do? I can't identify my assailants, and my wounds are not death-threatening.

If I had not wanted to celebrate Independence Day, would I walk or drive to the venue?
If I was not thirsty would I stop for 5 mins to get my drink and missed them completely?
If I had held my tripod as a defensive weapon earlier, would I save myself or get more beating instead?
If I'm not Chinese, would I get the same 'treatment'?

All I want to say in the end is ...
Forward this to your friends (so that they will be careful on the streets)
Forward this to your 'friendly police' (so that they know the procedure is wrong)
Forward this to any politician/newspaper (so that he/she can be the champion for highlighting this to the government)

1Malaysia MY HEAD!