"Over my dead body"





309 years ago a religionist in India said, "Over my dead body" in response to the ongoing Islamisation of the continent. He represented a 15th century doctrine which stands to this day. His battle cry galvanized a movement that acted as a bulwark that stemmed the ‘Mughal' steamroller at the time. It is said that the current multicultural and multi-religious fabric of India remains secular, largely due to the advent of his movement.

18 years ago, in a more civilized setting, a politician in Malaysia said "Over my dead body" in response to a notion that Islamisation of Malaysia was imminent. It is not a coincidence the politician echoed the battle cry of the religionist. The politician is asking that we draw lessons from history that teach us that Islam in the public domain is incompatible with a multicultural and multi-religious fabric.

The overtures of PAS towards UMNO revived the unifying sentiment of the ‘ummah’ within two opposing factions. Malaysians in multicultural and multi-religious fabric ought to be concerned with the religious angle such a sentiment would pose, given that a late PAS leader had said 'If Malaysia is truly Islamic, PAS is irrelevant'.

History has shown when the 'ummah' comes to the fore, partisanship has no justification in Islam. The 'ummah', the third in the hierarchy after Allah and his messenger, is regarded as ‘one nation’. Everything else is commentary.

Ruhollah Khomeni, the late Iranian spiritual leader was distinct in this regard. He said, "We do not worship Iran, we worship Allah. Patriotism is another word for paganism. I say let Iran burn. Let Iran go up in smoke, provided Islam emerges victorious."


Tomas Masaryk (1850-1937), President and founder of Czechoslovakia passed away two years before Hitler occupied his country. Masaryk anticipated Hitler's idealism and was his fiercest critic. During his lifetime, it was said, “As long as Masaryk lives, Hitler won’t start war."

The humanism and courage of Masaryk and the Malaysian politician are linked. The epitaph of the politician will read “As long as he lives, Malaysia will not be Islamic.”


Italic

The video depicts Guru Gobind's (1666-1708) legacy at an event in Saraghari, 189 years later in British India.

PAS: Pan-Islamic Party of Malaysia
UMNO: United Malays National Organisation
Pakatan: The People's Coalition

Video & Image: sikhnet.com

This post is dedicated to a friend and 'history teacher'

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