Ok, I put aside the IS success story for a while. I maybe chastised or ostracised for my next comment, but this is how I felt, not that I am in favour of the discussion in the first place, but the manner in which it was rudely interrupted and forcibly stopped left me wondering, where is the oftenly repeated humility and “hikmah” in propagating Islam? I am sure you know by now, I am referring to the Bar Council forum on Saturday and the fiasco that ensued. OK, if you think you have a point, if you think you are right, if you think people are undermining you, why did not you gather all those eloquent speakers and knowledgable people in your side to attend the forum and explain to the so called misunderstood people, the beauty, sanctity, and the wholeness of Islam? Instead you come with a rowdy crowd, boisterously uttering words like “babi” and forced people to stop the forum by sheer force of threats. You think you are projecting Islam in that way? I think they missed a golden opportunity to explain the beautiful Islam to the non believers in the crowd. Probably that was what Mehrun Siraj was trying to do – attempting to explain to the forum Islam’s views of the so called “conversion to Islam” – but she did not have the chance . By taking the floor by force, you are giving the impression that, you are scared of an open dialogue, you have something to hide, or you are insecure, and you are prone to violent conduct when things are not going your way. Which I am sure these people are not. They are highly educated, knowledgable, eloquent, articulated, and respected people like the Kulim MP and the PAS Youth Chief. The event reminded me of a football match, when the weaker team’s supporters ran amok into the field and the game was stopped for safety reason. At the so called concert to protest fuel price hike in Kelana Jaya last month, they were a group of people who reacted violently to the antics of the singer who sang Lagu Jilat – yeah it was indecent of him to expose his bottom to the crowd and he deservedly so punished by the crowd. Then again in the event on Saturday, they were people who were abusive and chanting deragotary words, and don’t you think they were indecent? Can you condone that?
And I was wondering whether all this while the authorities such as JAKIM, MAWIP, etc, as mentioned by the Minister have tried to engage these Bar Council group in the so called dialogue ( OK, do it in close doors). If they have, I am sure there is no necessity to stage such a forum. And what baffled me even further, anticipating the possible rowdy outcome, why did not the authorities prevent the forum from taking place right from the beginning. I am sure there are provisions in the law to empower them to stop it. Moreover, there is always the ISA. I got the impression that, the powers that be is bloody scared of them lawyers.
Mata Satu 