Man proposes, God disposes.
In view of judge Augusttine Paul's and former Propaganda Minister Mohamed Rahmat's recent deaths, I reprise here a piece by my fave Blogger RPK. If readers can't discern the significance of the article, then you are not on the same page with Desi. It's OK ... neither are many of my ER on the same page should you read about MSM's coverage of the two referred deaths. Mourning or Celebration -- TO EACH HIS/HER/ITS OWN.:) or :(
Monday, 07-Oct-2002 10:26 AM
Thou shalt not bear false witness
One of the Ten Commandments is, “Thou shalt not bear false witness.” This was the Commandment sent down to Moses and “inherited” by the Christians. The Quran too, in the 24th Chapter, Al Nur, emphasises this. Therefore, all “Peoples of the Book” are unanimous on this issue. As Prophet Muhammad explained, he is not introducing a new religion but is perfecting and correcting misconceptions of the old religion so Islam’s interpretation of this Commandment should therefore be consistent and not deviate from the teachings of either the Jews or the Christians.
This Commandment not only brings to surface the current Hudud or Islamic Law controversy brought on by the introduction of the law in the State of Terengganu by the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), it also raises the issue of the sodomy charge against Anwar Ibrahim which he was sentenced to nine years jail for.
The Quran is very specific about this matter. In verse 4 of chapter 24, it says:
And those who launch a charge against chaste women, and produce not four witnesses (to support their allegations),- flog them with eighty stripes; and reject their evidence ever after: for such men are wicked transgressors;-
This is the Quran-stipulated punishment for accusing someone of sexual misconduct without clear evidence or witnesses -- 80 lashes.
Then, in the next verse, it says:
Unless they repent thereafter and mend (their conduct); for God is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
However, if they withdraw their false accusation and repent, then they can be forgiven for this crime and would be exempted from the 80 lashes.
In verse 6, it says:
And for those who launch a charge against their spouses, and have (in support) no evidence but their own,- their solitary evidence (can be received) if they bear witness four times (with an oath) by God that they are solemnly telling the truth;
Then there is the great ongoing Malaysian debate, “What happens if one is not able to find four witnesses to support the sexual misconduct accusation?” Verse 6 says that their “solitary evidence” can be accepted if they swear four times, in the name of God, they are telling the truth. However, they must also swear a fifth oath, and that is they would be cursed if they are lying as verse 7 below explains:
And the fifth (oath) (should be) that they solemnly invoke the curse of God on themselves if they tell a lie.
Of course, the skeptics say that this law is unfair to women -- the “great ongoing Malaysian debate”. Not quite! Verse 8 says that the woman would escape punishment if she too swears an oath four times, in the name of God, that she is innocent as explained below:
But it would avert the punishment from the wife, if she bears witness four times (with an oath) By God, that (her husband) is telling a lie;
And she too must swear a fifth oath that would bring a curse upon her if she is lying as verse 9 explains:
And the fifth (oath) should be that she solemnly invokes the wrath of God on herself if (her accuser) is telling the truth.
This, more or less, settles the issue of the accusation of adultery and what happens in the absence of the required four witnesses plus how a woman would escape a false accusation. Then there is the Anwar Ibrahim type false accusation and the Quran has addressed this matter too as explained in verse 19 of the same chapter:
Those who love (to see) scandal published broadcast among the Believers, will have a grievous Penalty in this life and in the Hereafter: God knows, and ye know not.
In this verse, it is clearly stated that one who loves to accuse someone of sexual misconduct would be punished in this life as well as the next. This is God’s promise as mentioned in the Quran and Muslims believe God will not lie. Even those who spread stories about sex scandals, sincerely believing these stories to be true, but in actual fact they are not, would also be punished in this life and the next as verse 23 explains:
Those who slander chaste women, indiscreet but believing, are cursed in this life and in the Hereafter: for them is a grievous Penalty,-
No doubt the Quran says “women”, but this would apply to man or woman who is falsely accused of sexual crimes, adultery, and so on.
Now, the purpose of bringing all this up is not to start an argument on Hudud or Islamic Law, as I am sure this is being argued feverishly enough and I do not need to add to it, nor is this an attempt to preach Islam. I have brought this up so that I can talk about some recent developments in Malaysia which would be hard to explain unless one has an understanding of the Malay mind.
First of all, it must be understood that the Malays are a very superstitious lot. Sometimes, these superstitions contradict Islamic teachings and border on blasphemy. Many of the beliefs and practices are old traditions and customs inherited from pre-Islamic days and which are frowned upon by Islam.
Malays do not believe in coincidences. Everything that happens is either “an Act of God” or of some evil power with Satanic intervention. Therefore, calamities, good fortune, and so on, have some divine or evil hand at work.
Another thing the Malays subscribe to is the Quran. The Quran is taken as the word of God and the absolute and ultimate guide for mankind. If the Quran says so, then this is so. No debate, skeptism, doubts, questions, or otherwise are tolerated. To do so would be blasphemous and result in your exit from Islam. You are considered as rejecting the Quran and therefore would be rejecting Islam.
Taking all this into consideration, the Malay mind would interpret the recent developments in Malaysia as God’s way of sending His message to mankind. And, to the Malay mind, that message God is sending is, Anwar Ibrahim is innocent of the sexual crimes he has been charged with.
I know it is hard for the Western or modern mind to come to terms with this. To the Western or modern mind, they would look at tangible evidence. Then this is no problem either as the “tangible” evidence clearly points to Anwar’s innocence as Azizan has testified three times in court while under oath that Anwar never sodomised him and Anwar too has sworn that he never sodomised Azizan -- which has been recorded on video. We are talking about those who do not understand “modern” methods of proving innocence or guilt and still rely of “God’s word” -- and Malaysia, believe it or not, still has many of these.
I mean, only in Malaysia do people still go to graveyards to obtain lottery numbers, or copy car registration numbers of fatal accidents and buy the numbers in the hope of becoming overnight millionaires as if “God” is giving them these winning numbers. Only in Malaysia do people still swear that their luck has improved since they bought the “magic ring” that adorns their finger. And this is not just Malays but Chinese and Indians as well. Therefore “signs from God” is very much an accepted Malaysian way of life.
Since Anwar Ibrahim was sentenced to 15 years 7 months jail for corruption and sodomy, there have been many “signs from God” to prove his innocence. And, take it from me, this has not gone unnoticed and is being talked about and discussed at length – whatever the courts may have to say about the matter.
Yesterday, a dentist central to the sexual misconduct accusation against Anwar died while attending a seminar in Jakarta, Indonesia. She was the one who was supposed to have brainwashed Azizan, the prosecution’s prime witness, into making his sexual misconduct accusation against Anwar.
Then, awhile ago, the chief prosecutor too suffered a stroke and the latest report is he is already brain dead and a vegetable. But ask any of those who strongly believe this is “God’s punishment on earth” and God’s “confirmation” of Anwar’s innocence why the poor man cannot die even though he can be considered clinically dead?
To this there is a ready answer which no God-fearing Muslim would dispute, “He cannot die because he has not yet begged for Anwar’s forgiveness so he will linger till then.” As I said, this is the Malay mind working though this argument may sound corny to some.
Then there are the car crashes of the chief accuser as well as the chief conspirator, both of whose wives died in those crashes. Again, this is not taken as “innocent” road accidents but a sign of God’s punishment and proof that Anwar is innocent. And there have been other reports of calamities befalling others involved in the conspiracy against Anwar.
The Western or modern mind would argue that thousands of people die of heart attacks, strokes, cancer, etc., and every day at least ten people die on Malaysian roads, and none of these people have anything to do with Anwar’s trials or the conspiracy against him. These incidences involving the Anwar conspirators can therefore be viewed as mere statistics and purely coincidental.
That does not count to the Malay mind. What is important is what happens to those conspirators and accusers and it is no coincidence that they just happened to be involved in the conspiracy. They were singled out by God for retaliation for what they did to Anwar. That is the Malay mind. And this is what the Malays are talking about today.
RAJA PETRA KAMARUDIN