Losing one's mind

Losing one's mind

All Muslims should be aware that their beliefs have consequences. They must be ready to be tested by Allah, including how to handle pressure, such as the pressure that recently came from Singaporean statesman Lee Kuan Yew.

Without offering any evidence, he said a 100 radical Muslim groups in Indonesia were trying to establish Islamic states in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and who knows, Singapore as well.

In his opinion, an Islamic government or an Islamic society would mean disaster for his country, which is 100 percent secular. Lee does not realize that his own viewpoint is extreme, as reflected in his actions to crush democratic efforts to protect human rights.

Lee sees proselytizing as a radical move to topple the governments of Singapore and other countries. For someone like him, a country that maintains stability with an iron fist -- like Singapore -- is better than a country full of dynamism that wants to implement democracy in the correct way.

Lee's accusations show how much he fears Islam, making him paranoid about the 100 "radical groups" in Indonesia. It is understandable for Singapore to feel like Israel, being surrounded by Islamic countries. Lee is only one of many parties suffering from such paranoia. Even in this country, there are paranoid parties who are building an anti-Islam "axis". -- Republika, Jakarta