One of the centerpieces of Malaysia’s ‘moderate Muslim’ image is the concept of ‘Islam Hadhari’, which translates to ‘Civilizational Islam’. Malaysia’s Prime Minister often trots out this idea in speeches to appreciative and uncritical foreign audiences. The sheer contradiction in terms of this name notwithstanding — there is nothing civilised about Sharia nor Islam,
but never mind that for the moment. Here are Islam Hadhari’s main points, as spelled out by the concept’s inventor and the the first prime minister of Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman, in 1957:
- Faith and piety in Allah
- Just and trustworthy government
- Freedom and independence to the people
- Mastery of knowledge
- Balanced and comprehensive economic development
- Good quality of life for all
- Protection of the rights of minority groups and women
- Cultural and moral integrity
- Protection of the environment
- A strong defense policy
OK, let’s go down the list, point by point, and see what this all really means:
Point One — Faith and piety in Allah. This means that continued Malay-Muslim supremacy (i.e. 60% of the population) in the country is paramount, the highest political objective, and will be defended, to the death if need be, from the other 40%.
Point two — Just and trustworthy government. Now who could disagree with this? But there is Point One, which makes continued Islamic supremacy non negotiable. Is this ‘just’? (It is if you’re Muslim, and it isn’t if you’re an infidel). And just how trustworthy can a government be, when it has massive, systemic problems like corruption, a near-total lack of transparency, and rampant cronyism at its highest levels?
Point three — Freedom and Independence of the people. As this Malaysian High Court case clearly demonstrates, ‘freedom’ in Malaysia doesn’t include the freedom to choose your own religion. Put another way, freedom only works if you want to become a Muslim, and then once you enter the realm of Islam, there is no more freedom for you. The same holds true if you have the misfortune to be ‘born’ as a Muslim. Other freedoms, such as the freedom to criticize one’s own government, freedom of assembly, and freedom of expression, are sharply curtailed under Malaysia’s repressive Internal Security Act as well as via number of other statutes like the Societies Act and the Printing Presses and Publications Act.
Point four — Mastery of Knowledge. This lengthy list
of banned books in Malaysia shows that there’s plenty of knowledge out
there in the world that Malaysia’s Muslim and UMNO overlords would prefer their people to
not know about nor master. And this doesn’t take into account the (many) censored and banned movies and TV shows, as well as blocked websites. In Malaysia, bad old-fashioned ignorance, and ignorance of ‘infidel’ knowledge, is obviously preferred.
Point five — Balanced and comprehensive economic development. In Malaysia, Muslims and Malays are legally first among equals, and are favored over non-Malays in all sorts of official ways (lower interest rates on housing loans, easier access to student loans, preferential hiring for government jobs, advantages when setting up private companies, advantages when bidding for government contracts, and more government assistance in general). This is all legal and sanctioned under longstanding Malaysian government policy, as well as the infamous Article 153 in the Malaysian Constitution (which guarantees a ‘special position’ for Malays in society). How is this ‘balanced’ when Muslims always get an out-sized portion of the pie?
Point six — Good quality of life for all. See points one and five for the important catch.
Point seven — Protection of minority groups and women’s rights. Protection of minority groups and women from whom, exactly? Is firebombing and bulldozing of churches, temples and other non Muslim houses of worship considered ‘protection’? And as for women, the Quran, Mohammed’s own examples, and 14 centuries of Islam make it very clear that women are not and can never be the equals of men. No amount of posturing, or spin, and certainly nothing some Malaysian Prime Minister says, is going to change that.
Point eight — Cultural and moral integrity. This point sounds suspiciously like a justification for maintaining Sharia and the Muslim religious police (aka ‘Jakim‘) around in perpetuity, with the non-Muslim taxpayers footing a healthy chunk of the bill. Malaysia’s Religious Police periodically proclaim their intent to continue their mission from God of moral policing, and ‘saving’ the nation from evils like hand holding, kissing in public, khalwat (close proximity of members of the opposite sex), etc. Monumental injustice and lifestyle police are sure to remain permanent fixtures in Malaysia, no matter how ‘moderate’ Islam is supposed to be.
Point nine — Protection of the environment. Looking around Malaysia, I see clear cutting of its jungle at a breakneck pace, atrocious water and air quality, and ineffectual and spotty enforcement of its own environmental laws. When there’s money to be made and kickbacks to be received, who cares a wit about the ‘environment’? Certainly not some bureaucrat in Putrajaya (the Federal administrative capital).
Point ten — A strong defense policy. The Malaysian military and its budget will always be looked after…after all, who makes up the vast majority of military personnel? Malays, and hence Muslims, of course. A loyal and Muslim-run military is also the ultimate guarantor of continued Muslim supremacy and the survival of the Muslim-run government.
Fourteen centuries of trying to ‘moderate’ Islam have been an abject failure, and so Islam Hadhari has plainly failed just like all the rest. Islam is so ingrained with violence, aggression and intolerance, that any attempt to ‘moderate’ or purge these elements from the ideology will inevitably fail. Islam Hadhari is not only an empty promise in the land of its birth, it is also a cheap fraud perpetrated upon an unsuspecting world.