Islam and religious tolerance<\/p>\n
Sin Chew Dally, Asia News Network, Kuala Lumpur<\/p>\n
The Pendang and Anak Bukit by-elections have eventually
\nsettled down with Barisan Nasional (BN) and Parti Islam
\nSeMalaysia (PAS) carrying one seat each.<\/p>\n
PAS might have lost a parliamentary seat in Pendang, however,
\nBarisan Nasional did not succeed in capturing Anak Bukit either,
\nmaking any future attempt to redefine the boundaries of Kedah
\nstate assembly constituencies difficult.<\/p>\n
The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on U.S. might have given BN a
\nlift. Malaysians, in particular non-Muslims, have lost their
\nconfidence in PAS, which has strongly advocated jihad or \"holy
\nwar\".<\/p>\n
The Sept. 11 incident has further polarized the Muslim
\ncommunity in this country, and differences in religious concepts
\nhave at times superseded issues on Malay rights.<\/p>\n
Looking at the Pendang and Anak Bukit by-election results, we
\ncould see that PAS, which many non-Muslims consider radical and
\nextremist, was still well supported among Muslims: the party
\nretained the Anak Bukit state assembly seat with an impressive
\nmajority of over 500 (3.15 percent of total votes cast) while
\nBN's majority in Pendang was a mere 283 (0.62 percent of total
\nvotes cast).<\/p>\n
BN scored well in the two earlier by-elections post-Sept. 11.
\nIn comparison, the Pendang and Anak Bukit results were somewhat
\nunusual.<\/p>\n
In the past, BN government has been building its formidable
\nfoundation upon the principle of solidarity among the Malays.
\nAfter 4 decades of independence, the influences exercised by most
\nopposition parties have subsided, except PAS.<\/p>\n
Judging from Malaysia's current political scenario, our
\npolitics will most likely be polarized in the foreseeable future
\nbetween UMNO which \"represents the Malay society\" and PAS which
\n\"represents the Muslim community\".<\/p>\n
Having said that, Malay society and Muslim community are
\ninseparable, almost identical in nature. As such, the struggle
\nbetween two Malay parties (or rather two Muslim parties) is
\nvirtually a self-exhaustive internal conflict. As the Malay
\npopulation continues to swell, the friction as well as other
\nnegative emotions arising from the split and confrontation will
\ninvariably have a strong and far-fetching bearing on our society.<\/p>\n
As the fissure deepens, non-Malays and non-Muslims will
\neventually find themselves new darlings of the BN government.
\nThis helps explain BN's victories in the two earlier by-
\nelections.<\/p>\n
However, with the changes in the country's social and ethnic
\nlandscape, this situation may not last forever; and the winning
\ncard must somehow still be drawn from within the Malay community
\nitself.<\/p>\n
If both political parties remain obstinate with their
\nrespective interpretations of Islam, fanned by Hadi Awang's
\naggressive rhetoric, Malaysia will only be plunged further into
\nhot water.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/islam-and-religious-tolerance-1447893297",
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