A Malaysian journey from darkness
by the Anti Jihadist
For most Americans and those reading this, the nation of Malaysia--the country I call home--is likely nothing more but a mysterious, distant, small and relatively unimportant land. Some of you might be familiar with Malaysia's carefully cultivated public image of being some sort of harmonious multicultural tropical paradise, which is recycled endlessly in 30-second-long television spots both here and overseas.
But for anyone who may be trying to come to grips with the grim reality that is Islam, Malaysia may be one of the most important places on the planet. That's because anyone who still, despite all the evidence, feels that there really is a moderate, progressive, tolerant and peaceful Islam, need look no further than Malaysia. Once you do, you'll be thoroughly disabused of this notion.
My own awakening to Islam is mostly a tale of ignorance and more than whiff of denial, punctuated by sudden, shattering and irreversible epiphanies. I say 'shattering' because the ideas that I embraced as I grew up--that Islam is just one religion of many, and doesn't particularly pose a threat to anyone--does not withstand anything more than a cursory examination of the facts. And as the evidence piled up and my doubts grew, those old notions I had held previously, like a sheet of plate glass, came apart under the hammer blows of truth.
The first blow to my complacency was that dark day in Lower Manhattan nearly ten years ago. Like so many others reading this, I was horrified at the televised scenes of destruction and carnage in New York and Washington. How could any rational human feel otherwise? But as the days and months passed after September 11th, I starting hearing Malaysians say, over and over, that the US Government was lying about 9-11, that it was a 'set up' and a plot against Islam. And that the Jews were really behind it, of course. As I realised how sincere these Malaysians were in these outlandish ideas, I thought, "What makes so many people in this country prone to this nonsense?" At the time, the exact answers eluded me, but my budding doubts about Islam festered.
Another devastating blow came when Doctor Azahari Husin, a well educated Malaysian who had willingly and savagely butchered hundreds, maybe thousands of innocents, both Muslim and 'infidel' alike, became the most notorious terrorist in Southeast Asia, When he was buried in his hometown here in Malaysia in 2005. I read about it in the Malaysian newspapers. The local media did their best to humanise the man, and his funeral was like a hero's sendoff, well attended by hundreds of Malays who screamed 'Allahu akbar' as his coffin was lowered into the ground. The Malaysian government said nothing about Azahari's passing, not even a perfunctory condemnation of his wanton deeds. In addition, Azahari's own family has, to this day, steadfastly refused to apologise for any of Azahari's long list of crimes. I remembered thinking at the time, "What kind of government and what kind of family could refuse to condemn a mass murderer?' My doubts grew apace.
It was about this time when I began my own private investigation into Islam, to go beyond apologetic Malaysian government textbooks and misleading press accounts. Finding nothing credible in the local, heavily censored bookshops, I searched online. Soon I discovered the carefully-researched work of Robert Spencer. His words online, and in his book The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam reeked and shouted of the truth, a truth I had sensed for some time but which I had long failed to see its full dimensions.
The last and final blow that destroyed my impressions once and for all about Islam actually began for me before the late Dr. Azahari's demise. That final nail in the coffin, the most damning evidence, came to my attention because I had had the audacity to fall in love with a Muslima, a Malay 'born' into Islam solely by accident of birth. And as our relationship blossomed, I discovered to my chagrin many more Malaysian lies, ones that are never to be heard in those 30-second 'Tourism Malaysia' TV spots. This wonderful woman that I have now in my life, I learned, must apply in a Muslim court if she wants permission to leave Islam. Of course such permission has never been granted to any Malay. And anyone that is foolhardy enough to ask for that permission is promptly shunted away for a lengthy sentence inside a government-operated religious prison, which the government here disingenuously calls 'religious rehabilitation centres'. And of course, the punishment does not stop there--there's the loss of one's livelihood, fines, loss of social standing, and more. Does this sound 'moderate' or 'tolerant' to you? This fascistic system is real and is not condemned let alone questioned by any Malaysian.
Consequently, Malaysia is only 'moderate' in the sense that its apostates 'only' face detention, not death as is the law in many other Muslim countries. And such a draconian system is completely in line with Islamic ideology and teachings. Why else would no Muslim dare oppose, or not be able to oppose such a totalitarian system on Islamic grounds? They can't, lest they be deemed apostates themselves.
Faced with a system such as this, I've turned to blogging at Infidel Bloggers Alliance and at my own site Pedestrian Infidel as an outlet for my thoughts and frustrations. Of course, if I ever dare utter the truth a bit too openly, or anything else that does not fit the Official Line, I am quickly warned by my friends. "Quiet! Do you want to get in trouble?" Fear is never too far away in this country.
In fact, being a counterjihad blogger in Malaysia is, to be honest, like being the only sane person in an insane asylum. Everyone around you is either unwilling or unable to see reality in its true form--they can only perceive a distorted misshapen sort of reality. But this 'alternate' reality is the one that everyone accepts as natural and true. Any thoughts otherwise are not only unthinkable, they are inconceivable. Such is life with the inmates of Islam.
To risk using a borderline hoary cliche, my circumstances here are a bit like the plot from the first Matrix movie (the one good Matrix movie, I mean). In that movie, the main character stumbles onto the truth, but it's such a dangerous truth that it totally undercuts not only the authority, but the very reality of society itself--its assumptions, its norms, its very foundations. It is exactly the same here in this corner of Planet Islam, knowing as I know, that there can never be peace and freedom as long as there is Islam in the world.
I go about my life everyday in Malaysia with this incredibly dangerous knowledge in my mind. No amount of propaganda from the brain-dead media or government spin can erase what I know. So, it's best to keep it sealed carefully away, and this is what I do, although it has grown increasingly difficult over the years. Were it not for the net, I would have no outlet at all. So for that, I am grateful, especially to Mr. Spencer for granting me this opportunity to write for his site.
Let those in the world who value their freedom remember this. As I have learned in my own life, once a totalitarian entity like Islam takes your freedom from you, you'll have a massive fight on your hands to get it back. If freedom-loving people can take heed of this warning, then that makes all the risks I face worthwhile.
Powerful entreaty! Another nail in the coffin of a supposed "moderate" Islam.
Also, I can't help but wonder about the fate of the Muslima; did love conquer all?
That's a voice from a Wilder-less land.
For hundreds of years, Malay Muslims raided and enslaved the indigenous people of Malaysia, the Orang Asli (whom the Malays termed "Sakai", meaning slave); this constitutes the forgotten Jihad At-Talab, the Jihad Fisabeel Allah of the Malaysian Sultanates. Being Mushrikeen, the blood and property of these aborigines were deemed halal for the Mu'mineen to take with impunity until such time as they recited the Kalimat As-Shahadah. (See here for more information: http://is.gd/hQx1p4)
Even today, the Orang Asli face discrimination and persecution. Former Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohamad himself, after his term as PM came to an end, decried the notion of giving equal rights to the Orang Asli (see here: http://www.malaysiandigest.com/news/18717-tun-m-malay-claim-to-country-more-valid-than-orang-aslis.html)
"The constitution defines Malay as a person who habitually speaks Malay, practices Malay custom and tradition and is a Muslim." -- Islamic Fascism, Malay-Style
Thanks for a ver interesting post. I've lived and worked in Monsoon Asia for a lot of my adult life, and always welcome news and analysis from that corner of the world.
Excellent post.
Great post!
I'd like to see more exposure of the 'religious rehabilitation centres'.Where are they?Who runs them?
Some testimonies of persons held there.This could be a powerful tool in the anti-jihad effort.These "rehab" centers are a step away from being concentration camps,IMO.
I've heard of them here and there,but nothing gasp inducing,which is sorely needed to convince some people.
Powerful piece. Thank you.
Your last paragraph reminds me of these words written by American poet Walt Whitman in his book Leaves of Grass…
To the States or any one of them, or any city of the States,
Resist much, obey little,
Once unquestioning obedience, once fully enslaved,
Once fully enslaved, no nation, state, city of this earth,
ever afterward resumes its liberty.
It's difficult to discover anything about them. It is in hush-hush country. They are called "retreat centres", "re-education centres", "rehabilitation camps". Or it is simply taken care of by local Islamic offices.
http://www.wikiislam.net/wiki/Persecution_of_Ex-Muslims_(Malaysia)
Googling "Islamic rehabilitation centre malaysia" offers a surprising amount of references.
Thanks.That's a good starting point for me.
"They're trying to force us to believe what we can't believe," the man continued. "These re-education centers come from the power of darkness."
Harrowing stuff,for sure....
The problem with a lot of Malaysian Muslims is that they readily believe the lies about other religion but when it comes to facing the harsh truth about Islam, they get defensive and refuse to accept it no matter how obvious it is...
Here is one of the lies that Muslims believe... (From the article, Holy Water : Hentikan Fitnah Kepada Penganut Kristian. (Holy Water : Stop the Slander against the Christians). In this article the author is explaining to his Muslim companions that holy water is not made the way most of them believe it to be. http://www.iluvislam.com/tazkirah/dakwah/2383.html)
"Taip sahaja di internet berkenaan Holy water dan peranannya dalam memurtadkan orang Islam maka pasti anda akan menemui banyak sekali artikel mengenainya. Holy water itu kononnya merupakan air jampi yang amat hebat di mana sekali anda terminumnya, nescaya tidak dapat mengucap dan menjadi murtad.
Jika bernasib baik, anda mungkin dapat mengucap kembali setelah minum air dari tujuh buah kolah masjid. Mengapa hebat sangat air ini? Ada yang mengatakan ia dibancuh khas dari Indonesia oleh Paderi Kristian yang berstatus tinggi. Sesetengah dari mereka pula mendakwa Holy water dibuat di Vatican City oleh Pope Kristian.
Fenomena Holy Water ini cukup menakutkan orang Islam. Tambahan pula, ramai penceramah yang menjaja kisah Holy water ini dalam ceramah-ceramah mereka di masjid-masjid. Kata mereka juga, Holy water bercampur dengan janin yang digugurkan hasil dari persetubuhan haram paderi lelaki dan wanita."
Translation:
"Just type into the internet on Holy Water and its role to apostatize Muslims and you will find many articles about it. Holy water is supposedly a power charm whereby when you drink it, it is believed that you will not be able to speak and apostatize.
If you are lucky, you might be able to speak again by drinking water from the 7 pits mosque. Why is this water so powerful? They are those who says that it is made especially from Indonesia by a high ranking priest. Half of them also say that it is made in the Vatican City by a Christian Pope.
The Holy Water phenomenon is enough to scare the Muslims. In addition many lecturers sell this story of the holy water in their lectures at the mosques. They also say that Holy Water is mixed with the aborted fetus from an illicit sexual encounter between a male priest and a women."
If he finally married the muslima, this man must have "reverted" himself. Or no?
Even after reading the article saying that it is not made that way, some of the readers still respond with skepticism about it...
"Az Zahra :kenapa membahasakan orang kristian sebagai sahabat kita? bukankah ada ayat al-Quran mengatakan sekali-kali orang yahudi dan nasrani itu tidak akan redha terhadap orang Islam? Lalu kenapa pula mereka dipanggil sahabat?"
Translation : Why are you calling the Christians as our friends? Didn't the words of the Koran say once and for all that the Jews and Christians will never be pleased with the Muslims? So Why are you calling them friends?"\
"Ismail Omar :Dari sumber yg boleh dipercayai: Holy water diperbuat daripada tulang babi dan anjing yang dibakar hangus serta ditumbuk halus-halus, kemudian dicampurkan ke dalam air sehingga larut. Dicampur dengan jampi-jampi tertentu, jadilah Holy Water. Sekali minum, sukar hendak dilepaskan. Mohon penjelasan jika sumber ini tidak betul."
Translation : From sources that can be believed: Holy water is made from pig bones and dogs that is burnt until scorched then grounded really finely, then it is mixed into the water until it is dissolved. It is mixed with spells and then it becomes Holy Water. Once you drink it, it is difficult to let go. Please explain if the source is incorrect.
The inmates of Islam, an apt description. A Malaysian Gulag is more forgiving than a death sentence, truly a island of modernity. Non-Muslims can voice their displeasure in a non-violent way by denying them tourist dollars. Neither I or my money is good enough for Dar al Islam.
Please also try Ali Sina's site for apostates:
http://www.faithfreedom.org/
Ali is a brilliant guy and the sire is full of great videos and news items.
It's not easy for someone to face the reality that his(hers) core belief system could be somehow wrong.
If there's no doubt in your mind that your belief system is absolutely true and perfect; you'd be admitting there's something wrong with it if you even accept the idea of listening to ANY kind of criticism towards it. It's a perfect double bind.
Only if you're willing to use REASON, and be open minded to accept change when faced with the possibility that there's any fault with your belief system; will you be able to break the chains of mental slavery.
Ali Sina "... If Islam is defeated ideologically, many Musim will turn against it. Ex-Muslims are the best allies the world has in this war. They know the evil of Islam, they know the value of freedom and they are determined to preserve it"
I can come up with some excuses for why the non Muslim people in Malaysia might not tell the truth about Islam, pretend that Islam is just a religion and ect... But what about the media in the west? Where or what is their excuse for lying, ignoring , covering up for Islam and Muslims. Where are the non Muslim religious groups,have they totally lost their will or love to protect their religion and their brothers and sisters from today's world wide oil financed Islamic Crusade.
It's like something out of a George Orwell novel. Orwell wrote mostly about Soviet Communism I suppose but it applies eerily well to Islam.
Thank you for your story, Anti Jihadist. Sometimes we anti-Jihadists in the West feel a bit alone in the face of ignorance and political correctness, but it is *nothing* compared to what you must be going through in Dar-al-Islam.
I am especially sorry to hear about your Muslimah love. The only thing that could have been worse would be if you had converted so you could marry her, without learning anything about Islam beforehand.
There is a Malaysian woman now living in Germany who has converted to Christianity who posts here frequently—of course, this would have been difficult or impossible had she remained in Malaysia.
I assume you are familiar with the case of Lina Joy, the Malaysian woman who converted to Christianity *over twenty years ago*—the government still has not recognized her conversion, and she is still not allowed to marry her long-term Christian financé.
I'm glad reading Robert Spencer's work was helpful to you—many of us here owe him a debt of gratitude for his scholarship and all his hard work.
You are a brave and perceptive man, Anti Jihadist, and—for what it is worth—have a lot of support here.
Thanks for your post. I was aware of slanders against Christianity in the Malay world, but never aware of anything quite as bizarre as what you posted.
@ anonamustapha. I have two links for you. The first is a forum and second is an youtube of a cbn reporter who photographed the camp from outside the surrounding jungle. I hope it helps.
http://www.godlikeproductions.com/forum1/message1398111/pg1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7YkHZg75zQ&feature=player_embedded
Great post! I live in Singapore and have frequent business in the moderate, wonderful
, open and tolerant Muslim majority counties. Your observations are spot on. There is No Tolerance in islam! It is a vile ideology of hatred, fear and violence.
Re. Azahari Husin
The local media did their best to humanise the man,
I remember that. made me sick to my stomach. There was even an article in the Star about what a fun guy he was.
also you're spot on about the average Malaysian infidel's cluelessness/denial about Islam.
We're playing a chess game with the Devil -- a devious opponent. And we have got to win -- otherwise we die. I'm sorry for Malaysia, but Islam is coming here to Europe and to the Americas.
Most U.S. citizens are not aware of the danger. We have two strategy options: 1) We can educate our leaders. 2) We can vote in knowledgeable replacements.
As to # 1, These people now in power have too high an opinion of their intelligence. They hire "moderate" Muslims (meaning Muslims skillful at taqiyya) to advise them and despise us knowledgeable conservatives as red-neck rubes and so won't listen or read anything we have to say. They will not be educated in time to save America.
As to #2, We have got to do everything we can at the voting booth and do it THIS time--2012. We MUST elect the right people or pay with our lives. Don't throw all the incumbents out--just the bad ones! Are we afraid to say what political party to vote for? Well, try following the advice of the Tea Party. While they emphasize economics, they do pretty well on Islam threat. I hope they choose candidates BEFORE the primaries so we don't split our conservative vote as we did in 2008.
The most important positions are President and Senators, but we need to make further improvement in the House also.
Reading these bizarre Muslim fantasy/ slanders about what goes into the Holy Water used by Christians, makes me wonder what might be going into the zamzam water that is sold to Muslims, and that purports to come from a special spring in Arabia.
I understand some quality testing was done on bottles of zam zam water on sale in the UK, and it was found to contain appreciable quantities of arsenic.
"I go about my life everyday in Malaysia with this incredibly dangerous knowledge in my mind."
Substitute 'America' for Malaysia, and that is how I feel, too.
You are correct, dda! There is native arsenic in the watershed and that is what is elevates the level of arsenic (three times higher that what is tolerated in drinking water) in ZamZam water.
Muslims should be warned that drinking ZamZam water is not good for you - Wait! What am I thinking? The analysis was done by the kafir and with kafir technology! Muslims can't trust the kafir! So, pious Muslims should not believe the kafir - Allah will protect you! Keep drinking that ZamZam water and marrying your cousins and covering your wives in the burqa (Vitamin D deficiencies and rickets are common in Muslim countries)!
After all, Allah knows all, sees all and tells a darn sight more!