There is a street in Georgetown,\nPenang that has been affectionately dubbed “The Street of Harmony”.\nOnce officially known as Pitt Street, it is now Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling.\nAlong the axis of this street, there are three mosques, two churches and\nseveral Hindu and Chinese temples, all of them within easy walking distance of\neach other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling isn’t\njust a showcase of Penang’s rich cultural history, shaped tangibly by migrants\nof all creeds and nations who were drawn to this former trading post. It also\nrepresents more than 200 years of peaceful ethnic and religious co-existence,\nand continues to be a reminder of the immense possibilities of which our\ncountry is truly capable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Early this year, the street was\nadopted by the Penang Global Ethic Project — which comprised several events\nthat were launched by various dignitaries including the Governor — for a world\nreligions walking tour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In May however, the State Education\nDepartment stopped students from taking part in the World Religions Walk, Penang<\/em> that passes this street, apparently\nbecause it would involve Muslim students visiting places of worship of other\nreligions, and that was deemed not right, even un-lslamic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In tune with the fervent score of\nMalaysian politics today, the street of religious harmony has become symbolic\nof the hostile struggle to redefine Malaysian culture, history and identity.\nAnd it is by no means an isolated incident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Two months earlier, a request by the\nPenang Global Ethic Project to permanently set up the internationally\u00ad\nacclaimed World Religions-Universal\nPeace-Global Ethic<\/em> exhibition at the Penang Heritage Centre, aiming to\nshowcase the commonalities among nine religions representing the diverse\ncultural life of Malaysians’ faith, was also rejected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a letter dated March 13, Penang\nstate executive councillor for housing, arts, culture and heritage Syed\nAmerruddin Syed Ahmad, told the project coordinator that the exhibition could\nnot be set up at the Penang Heritage Centre on Lebuh Acheh because it went\nagainst Islamic faith and principles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In fact, if a July 27 press release\nby the anti-interfaith group known by the Malay acronym Badai is accurate, the\nMajlis Agama Islam Pulau Pinang or state religious council has sent out a\ndirective to all its agencies that the Global Ethic Project is a threat,\npresumably to Islam. (Badai is the same group that, through mob rule, disrupted\nan Article 11 forum in May in Penang that was aimed at raising public awareness\nabout the rights already guaranteed for all Malaysians by the supreme law of\nthe land, the Federal Constitution.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are two significant points\nhere. First, that there is a growing view that diversity is incompatible with\nIslam. This is puzzling, since Islam, which was revealed to the Prophet\nMuhammad to correct the injustices before that, was not meant to snuff out\ndifference and diversity. In fact, the height of Islamic civilisation coincided\nwith times when Muslims lived in pluralistic cosmopolitan societies, such as\nduring the period of the Moghul Dynasty, Ottoman Empire and Spanish Caliphate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Second, that our nationally elected\nleadership increasingly appears to respond to these minority voices. If both\nstate and national leadership can succumb to the pressure of groups, which are\nunelected and unaccountable, and who act in ways that undermine the shared\nvalues of all Malaysians, then Prime Minister Abdullah’s promises of an\nefficient, transparent and accountable public delivery system is fast failing\neven before it gets off the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How have some Malaysians —\nincluding those who hold public office — come to believe that the Global Ethic\nProject is a threat to Islam, Malay cultural identity, and Malaysia?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Global Ethic was first introduced by Catholic priest and theologian Prof Hans K\u00fcng.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Following two years of interfaith dialogue and consultation, it was adopted in the form of the Declaration Toward a Global Ethic by the Parliament of the World’s Religions on Sept 4, 1993. Prof K\u00fcng , in fact, was following in the example of the Prophet Muhammad who we know, regularly used the Qur’anic principle of shura or consultation in resolving differences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Declaration<\/em> is indeed significant in that it is the first ever\nagreement in human history reached by representatives of the different\nreligions on a set of common moral values and ethical standards which are\nshared by all faiths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Muslims have signed the Declaration<\/em>, among them notable Malaysians\nsuch as Tan Sri Ahmad Sarji Abdul Hamid and Datuk Dr Ismail Ibrahim. The\nMalaysian Interfaith Network, led by Datuk Dr Anwar Fazal, is also instrumental\nin promoting the Global Ethic Project in Malaysia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In fact, Malaysians of any faith\nwould be hard-pressed not to support the Declaration<\/em>\nwhich has the following principles for the Global Ethic:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The intrinsic values in these\nprinciples, either whole or in parts, can be found in our Federal Constitution,\nRukunegara, Vision 2020 and other national policies and campaigns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Global Ethic Project, including\nthe World Religions-Universal\nPeace-Global Ethic<\/em> exhibition and the World\nReligions Walk, Penang<\/em> serve to reinforce the shared values and ideals of\nall Malaysians. In fact, they uphold the Islamic principles of peace and\njustice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How did Malaysia’s multifaceted\ncultural identity, its deeply diverse national heritage, and its immense\nability to resolve issues by turning to the richness of our collective psyche,\nget hijacked by groups who use the politics of hostility, aggression and\nantagonism in the name of Islam?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Surely this is in direct conflict\nwith our Prime Minister’s promise of Islam Hadhari — a civilisational Islam\nthat would uphold the spirit of a great religion with an enduring tradition and\nhistory of accepting diversity. Yet, how is it that the PM himself appears to\nbe swayed by this politics of fear, leading him to call for a halt of all\npublic discussions about race and religion?<\/p>\n\n\n\n This culture of fear is further\nfuelled by the fact that transparent and accountable due process, again as\npromised by Abdullah when he became Prime Minister, is no longer the name of\nthe game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As Malaysians we should all,\nregardless of ethnicity, or religion, be very fearful that we can no longer\ntrust in legitimate and lawful due process to ensure our cultural rights are\nprotected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This culture of fear that is being\ncultivated is, of course, in no way new to us. In fact, it coagulated under\n22-years of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s premiership. This fear has the all-too\nfamiliar smell and feel of an old lover, especially when those in the present\nleadership issue irrational threats to the media, citing May 13 and Operation Lalang.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These two incidents, though\nunrelated chronologically, have one thing in common. They are the\nquintessential panic buttons to push in a Malaysian society raised and fed on\nfear. How can we better understand what games are currently being played in the\npolitical arena to forcefully reduce Malaysia’s multicultural identity to a frighteningly\nchauvinistic and singularly obnoxious one?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Perhaps the most important question\nthat needs to be asked before Malaysians allow fear to become a habit — and\none that we cannot break — is: “Who’s afraid?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n If we are to be able to break the\nhabit of fear, let’s ask ourselves and our leaders now: Who’s afraid of\nrational, peaceful dialogue? Who’s afraid of our Federal Constitution? Who’s\nafraid of inter-faith initiatives to promote harmony and understanding?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Who’s afraid of accurate information\nspilling out into the public domain? Who’s afraid of listening to people’s real\nconcerns and fears about what’s going on in this country?<\/p>\n\n\n\n And, who’s asking, no, telling\npeople to be afraid?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fear is an easy and available\ncommodity that is being used to dictate to us what we can and cannot discuss as\na nation, what we can and cannot write about as a people, and perhaps, very\nsoon what we can and cannot perform as a democracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fear is the rule of the game. Create\nenough fear — fear of riots, fear of communal tensions, fear of losing one’s\nbrother or sister to another faith, fear of an unarticulated threat — and a\nless-than courageous government will resort to using fear as a chip in the game\nthemselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let’s also ask, who are these people\nwho resort to fear to reconstruct our history and our current reality through\nmisinformation and gag orders and threats of hostility?<\/p>\n\n\n\n We all have a stake in this country,\nin our shared cultural heritage and our common future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Will we let fear be the brush that defines the shape of Malaysia to come? Or will we paint our country with courage, respect and love, until harmony chimes on every street? <\/p>\n\n\n\n ~~~ <\/p>\n\n\n\n First Published: 11.08.2006 on Kakiseni <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There is a street in Georgetown, Penang that has been affectionately dubbed “The Street of Harmony”. Once officially known as Pitt Street, it is now Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling. 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