今日、とっても的を得た文章を発見したので、ここに貼り付けたいと思う。
マリアンさんというantagonistで、このantagonistというのが、調べてもなんだかわからなかったんだけど。。。
マレーシアのマレー系がどのようにこうした現在までの状況に至ったか、簡潔に書かれているので、興味のある人は読んで欲しいと思う。
タリバンに近ずく過程はそんな急にではなかったはずだ。
確かに、徐々に、徐々に。
Only Muslims can save M’sia from religious oppression
OUTSPOKEN: The majority of Malays do not really know or understand their religion. They do not read enough, nor can they be bothered to discuss pertinent issues, either among themselves or with non-Malays.
They would rather take orders from their political leaders. They place absolute trust in the heads of the various institutions. When things go wrong, they are quick to blame others, but they forget that these problems are the direct consequence of there own inaction.
The result of indoctrination, and an absolute trust in their leaders, has produced the "mentally lazy" Malay.
The Islamisation of Malaysia did not happen overnight. Its roots are in the Iranian revolution of 1979. Suddenly, the world woke up to the Islamic movement, in Iran, which was keen to overthrow the Shah; the puppet of the USA.
The Iranians wanted change and they saw Ayatollah Khomeini, as the agent of change.
PAS has always wanted a Malaysia ruled by syariah law, and the party benefited from the fall-out of the Iranian revolution. One person watching from the sidelines, realised the implications of the Islamic resurgence. He was the former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Mahathir had been expelled from Umno in 1969, but was made a Senator and reintroduced, to Umno, in 1973. He was re-elected to Parliament in 1974, and appointed the minister of education. By 1978, Mahathir was the deputy leader of Umno and the deputy PM.
In 1979, Mahathir looked on in trepidation at the re-energised PAS, and worried that he would lose the battle for Malay votes.
By 1981, Mahathir had become PM. In his sights, he spotted a young firebrand, Anwar Ibrahim, the leader of Malaysia's Islamic youth movement, ABIM.
Mahathir picked Anwar to join Umno, to the disappointment of other Malays. Mahathir had also seen the charismatic Anwar lead the student movement, as it held strikes to highlight the poverty and starvation, in northern Malaya.
He knew that to have Anwar as an ally, was preferable than allowing Anwar to be snapped up by PAS.
By 1982, Anwar was already charting a meteoric rise within the Cabinet. He had numerous ministerial posts, and when he was in the Education Ministry, introduced the tudung.
The resurgence in Islamic fundamentalism continues, today. Malays have forgotten their own culture and adopted Arabic names, Arabic forms of greeting, Arabic modes of dress and Arabic influence, in architecture.
Gone are the rituals which gave the Malays their own identity, like wayang kulit and the practices which the Malays have conducted, for centuries.
Malay women cover themselves from head to toe. Malay men wear Arabic robes and greet one another in Arabic.
Some politicians litter their speeches with incantations in Arabic, while Malays nod in agreement, despite not understanding what is being said
Today, Malay women are told they cannot enter beauty contests, dress in short sleeves or wear swimming suits. They are criticised for wearing leotards, when they do gymnastics. They are under more intense scrutiny than the menfolk.
Malay toddlers are separated at play, and little girls are made to wear the tudung and cover themselves up.
Do the Malays really know what they want? They are keen on the rituals of the religion, but when it comes to personal satisfaction, religion appears to fly out the window.
The Malay men abroad, especially in southern Thailand, is a different person altogether. The ones who take the bus to Thailand, may visit the many houses of pleasure, but when it comes to food, will seek the nearest halal restaurant.
The man, with a young woman by his side, is most probably going to marry in a syariah court in south Thailand, because his first wife has refused permission, for him, to marry again.
The Malay men in the casinos of Macau, Nice, Monte Carlo, London and Las Vegas are also hypocrites. No one minds if they want to gamble their life savings away, drink till they develop cirrhosis of the liver, and flaunt their mistress, but back home, these men act holier than thou.
Today, we worry about the creeping Talibanisation of Malaysia,but this did not happen overnight. What did we do to stop it? Mahathir used religion to advance his power.
The Malay men make the rules, despite the belief that there is equality in Islam. The reality of life, in Malaysia is that women have little say in important matters.
The women appear not to want to take charge of the issues which affect them. Perhaps, when they are forced to wear the niqab, or the burqa, and have to fight for further education, like the women of Afghanistan, or northern Pakistan, they may look back fondly at the golden age of secularism in Malaysia, and wonder why they did not make a stand.
The people, who are now desperately trying to turn back the clock, have finally realised that the Malays are more backward than ever.
They have become less motivated, because they are told, on one hand, that the government will bail them out, and on the other hand, everything will be taken care of in the life hereafter.
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