Who is the Bigot?

The latest report from The Heat http://www.theheatmalaysia.com/Main/No-one-is-born-a-racist-or-a-bigot, paints quite an interesting picture about an Islamic based preschool that are sympathisers of the Palestinian and Syrian plight. The content is newsworthy and I believe was a necessity but in one stroke, the author subtly threw a blanket of hate and fear onto school that suggested Islamic from an average Malay Muslim mindset, which I feel is unnecessary.  What caught my attention is the response the article is receiving and more disturbing is the feedback fuelled by the writing.  I’m reading comments by extreme intolerants from both ends of the spectrum; apparently equally ignorant about Islam.

The article hints about the growing FEAR and HATE amongst the Malay Muslims, and I have no doubt that this is true as I read through comments.  I can't quite argue against some of the shallow folks out there.  Yet, to truly reflect and stay objective, let’s read comments and feedbacks from everybody…do we not hear FEAR and HATE with equal intensity towards the Muslim?  Some with quick disclaimers of, “…but I have moderate Muslim friends who are nothing like this…”  

I question: who are the moderate Muslims?  

Truth be told…there is no such thing as moderate Muslims, fundamental Muslims, or any other labels.  There is just MUSLIMS.  There is nothing selective about being Muslim either.  A Muslim is either a follower of Muhammad saw, or not.  The Muslim subscribes to the Quran, or don’t.  A Muslim follows the the sunnah, or don’t.  Believers cannot be selective in the Ayats and the teachings that fits the convenience and rationalisation to the more preferred and popular lifestyle. 

In a nutshell - Islam is a light towards a perfected lifestyle.  It is a way of life.  It is a discipline.  The latter being the hardest because humans are gifted with free will.  For Muslims, we know that managing our free will is our Jihad - the battle of self.  This is the only knowledge that seems so obvious but so incomprehensible to too many, irrespective of belief system.  It does not help that it all got skewed and thrown out of proportion by irresponsible media houses.  

What I would like to suggest is for reporters, journalists and writers alike to stay objective, especially when putting to paper articles that are published for the mass to consume.  It is no secret that penned words are psychologically accepted as truth.  I would like to call for those with the gift of the pen, to remain responsible to the people and not spew unnecessary negativity.  

I am writing because the story is disturbing.  I am quite disturbed about the connotation of the Average Malay Muslim...who are they? As much as I trust in its necessity, I also would like to call for accountability.  There are myriads of Muslim schools that spread the message of love…Tadika ABS (http://tadikaabs.com/) being one where Islam is at its core but their work is very much focused on creating goodness with a special module on wealth creation.  A definite creative look towards learning where they extract the Prophet saw entrepreneurial skills into its modules.  There are quite a number of Malay Muslims there too. Now, isn't that a story to be told?

Coming back to the shared article, upon sharing what is definitely a concern, please also consider highlighting the good work that are being done by many good Malay Muslims -- Average and Beyond.  Certainly, in journalism there is a balance. Again, I'd like to highlight that trained journalists, reporters and writers know very well that while writing, we are conscious of our art that is created as an invitation for the audience to think.  When we write, we know that our writing guides emotions and thought processes, hence, it is highly irresponsible to inject FEAR and HATE and mostly Laying Blame. 

What is our intention with our gift?

What I am calling for is for my comrades to be careful with our pen (now keyboards) because it can be both medicine and poison…let’s not be the latter for our society.