“You should always be good and obey God,” said the ustaz.
“Because if you don’t, you will be committing sins, and for that, you will burn in the unimaginable heat of Hell!”
I used to hear that all the time as a small child between the ages of eight right up to my teens, attending Islamic religious classes. And I definitely have a problem with that.
First of all, little children who are being taught Islam in school or by their parents need to be taught about the beauty of the religion and how wonderful and happy it is to have faith.
They should not be threatened with sin and hell fire punishment for every little insignificant mischievous and naughty little thing that they do. It does not make them better Muslims.
Instead, there should be positive reinforcement.
“You should always do good because then people will like you just like how you like people who are good to you," is what I would say.
"Then we can all be happy instead of being angry with each other.”
‘Pujuk’ is a Malay word and is officially translated to English as ‘persuade, coaxing or flattery’. And it all actually brings positive connotations rather than negative.
And any sane person would know that if you wanted a child to do something, you don’t force him or her, you try to ‘pujuk’ them nicely by talking sweetly or even rewarding them.
So it doesn’t take much to understand, as adults, that if Muslims want the world to see how beautiful their religion is, shouldn’t they show it’s beauty?
Saying that the man who took innocent hostages in a cafe in Sydney and eventually killed two of them in the name of Islam is stupid, idiotic, inhumane and unIslamic is an understatement.
Saying that the insurgents who killed 131 children and nine school staff in Pakistan in the name of of Islam is barbaric, insane, heartless and unIslamic is an understatement.
I am but a mere human being and only God is all-powerful and allowed to judge. But I really, really want to know how these kind of people will be seen in His eyes on Judgment Day.
And the Muslim community wonders and questions why certain non-Muslim quarters have nothing but anger and hatred against them (but not all, I might add).
How different is it scaring little children into submission as it is scaring the international community for the cause? In my mind, there is very, if not, no difference at all.
Those who associate themselves with the Taliban and ISIS and commit atrocious crimes are not speaking for Islam. Using fear, threats and violence to push the message of Islam needs to stop.
Zan Azlee
Thu Dec 18 2014
Zan Azlee wonders how many people agree with him that utilising fear, threats and violence to scare people into submission is unIslamic.
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