1) MY FATWA on Valentine's Day
Wasn't St. Valentine a good and honorable guy who helped the Christians escape Roman prosecution and he himself was killed, according to the story? So was Cupid the naked Greek kid with the arrow ... a good person as well .. a pagan, if you may ... whose honorable job description is to make people fall in love.
So, calm down, religionistas of all denominations. Both St. Valentine and Cupid are remembered for the love they promote. What is the problem with honoring that? Would blowing oneself up in the name of religion be a more noble cause to be romanticizing and rationalizing about?
And therefore, the fatwa is: it is okay to celebrate a day of love and not any day that promotes hatred.
Now go tell that to those ultra-racist fascist groups and those who are calling for the bible to be burned, over the use of the word "Allah"?
In addition, I believe there is nothing wrong in celebrating Valentine's Day as long as you don't shoot real arrows into people's behind ... promote love, not hate.
2) MY FATWA on greeting others on culturally-significant dates ...
I have come to enjoy greeting people for any celebration ---Valentine's Day, Christmas, Rosh Hashanah, Thanksgiving, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, Eid ul Fitri, Eidul Adha, Thaipusam, Wesak, Groundhog Day, Dog Day Afternoons, D-Day, Doris Day, etc. It gives me a sense of "multiculturalism" and that life is a celebration, Now, that's another fatwa for you folks; make others happy with what they celebrate.
Wasn't St. Valentine a good and honorable guy who helped the Christians escape Roman prosecution and he himself was killed, according to the story? So was Cupid the naked Greek kid with the arrow ... a good person as well .. a pagan, if you may ... whose honorable job description is to make people fall in love.
So, calm down, religionistas of all denominations. Both St. Valentine and Cupid are remembered for the love they promote. What is the problem with honoring that? Would blowing oneself up in the name of religion be a more noble cause to be romanticizing and rationalizing about?
And therefore, the fatwa is: it is okay to celebrate a day of love and not any day that promotes hatred.
Now go tell that to those ultra-racist fascist groups and those who are calling for the bible to be burned, over the use of the word "Allah"?
In addition, I believe there is nothing wrong in celebrating Valentine's Day as long as you don't shoot real arrows into people's behind ... promote love, not hate.
2) MY FATWA on greeting others on culturally-significant dates ...
I have come to enjoy greeting people for any celebration ---Valentine's Day, Christmas, Rosh Hashanah, Thanksgiving, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, Eid ul Fitri, Eidul Adha, Thaipusam, Wesak, Groundhog Day, Dog Day Afternoons, D-Day, Doris Day, etc. It gives me a sense of "multiculturalism" and that life is a celebration, Now, that's another fatwa for you folks; make others happy with what they celebrate.
3)Happy "Belantan" Day folks ...
I first heard the word "Valentine" when I was growing up in Johor Bahru. Linguistically sensitive I am, that word I heard on American TV stuck in my head; as the Malay word "belantan" meaning the walking stick the policeman use to beat up suspected criminals. It's other name is a "chotar" It became a symbol of the Malaysian police back in the day .. ("... speak softly and carry a big stick ..." , said the America president Theodore Roosevelt of his foreign policy,). Police go on his/her "beat" swinging the belantan as a display of the "act of tough love) in my mind.
So, my feel for Valentine was cultural and evolving. I learned about "belantans" before "valentines" and even before that in between these two words were words such as "kelantan", "bentan", and "setan" and "sultan" too. Understandably, Bahasa Melayu was still a first language for me; Johor Malay that is. Now I consider myself quite fluent in both Malay and English and that my thought-processes vacillate between two worlds even when having conversations or lecturing about "Valentine Day as pop-culture".
The image of "belantan"/police beat-stick stuck to my head even when I think about falling in love in my kampong. Fear engulfs me. Tough love. Love that is regulated. Love that is forbidden. Love that is platonic. Love that is atomic. Love that is "belantanic". I always have this image that in a traditional Malay kampong back in the early 70s if you wanted to fall in love it has to be "belantanic love"; you have to be aware of the possibility of being chased around the village if you try to "tackle" (that's another fancy word meaning 'courting" or trying to get the girl to like you,) the girl that you though was hit by your cupid arrow -- being chased by the over-protective father usually who monitors "boys' gazes upon his daughter" much like the "panopticon-synopticon" belantanic world of love"
You give the wrong gaze, you get to be chased all over the village with a home-made "belantan" .. forget Valentine's love and roses or pagan greek gods contributing to the definition of love.
So-- how does one fall in love under such kampongic-totalitarian circumstances -- in which "Belantanic Love" rules?
This topic is worth a phenomenological inquiry into the cultural construction of love -- of which I leave it up to you folks to help exploring. In essence though, was falling in love in your village "belantanic" for you?
I first heard the word "Valentine" when I was growing up in Johor Bahru. Linguistically sensitive I am, that word I heard on American TV stuck in my head; as the Malay word "belantan" meaning the walking stick the policeman use to beat up suspected criminals. It's other name is a "chotar" It became a symbol of the Malaysian police back in the day .. ("... speak softly and carry a big stick ..." , said the America president Theodore Roosevelt of his foreign policy,). Police go on his/her "beat" swinging the belantan as a display of the "act of tough love) in my mind.
So, my feel for Valentine was cultural and evolving. I learned about "belantans" before "valentines" and even before that in between these two words were words such as "kelantan", "bentan", and "setan" and "sultan" too. Understandably, Bahasa Melayu was still a first language for me; Johor Malay that is. Now I consider myself quite fluent in both Malay and English and that my thought-processes vacillate between two worlds even when having conversations or lecturing about "Valentine Day as pop-culture".
The image of "belantan"/police beat-stick stuck to my head even when I think about falling in love in my kampong. Fear engulfs me. Tough love. Love that is regulated. Love that is forbidden. Love that is platonic. Love that is atomic. Love that is "belantanic". I always have this image that in a traditional Malay kampong back in the early 70s if you wanted to fall in love it has to be "belantanic love"; you have to be aware of the possibility of being chased around the village if you try to "tackle" (that's another fancy word meaning 'courting" or trying to get the girl to like you,) the girl that you though was hit by your cupid arrow -- being chased by the over-protective father usually who monitors "boys' gazes upon his daughter" much like the "panopticon-synopticon" belantanic world of love"
You give the wrong gaze, you get to be chased all over the village with a home-made "belantan" .. forget Valentine's love and roses or pagan greek gods contributing to the definition of love.
So-- how does one fall in love under such kampongic-totalitarian circumstances -- in which "Belantanic Love" rules?
This topic is worth a phenomenological inquiry into the cultural construction of love -- of which I leave it up to you folks to help exploring. In essence though, was falling in love in your village "belantanic" for you?
1 comment:
Doctor,
I am a non-Malaysian and have read some of your blogs with rapt attention and I must confess I was enjoying your fluent, fluid and assertive submissions until I came to this 'fatwa' which with due respect I disagree with.
First and foremost, may I inform you that I am a Nigerian who unfortunately have to come down here for my PhD in Law. My inquisitiveness led me to your blog. After a few classes I attended in my school here, I was moved to research into the One Malaysia Initiative with a view to constructing the legal pluralism in Malaysia as a viable tool for real and feasible unity. Your submissions on this point have helped me in my research.
However, after also reading your 'fatwa' with equal rapt attention, I found it difficult follow your drift on this one sir. I must point out that I am not a religious bigot but I don't agree with you on this because the tone set in the blog depicts either of two things in my own estimation. It could either be that you are falling victim of the same error you abhor. That is may be you are not a Muslim who doesn't understand the jurisprudence behind some of the ideologies and arguments on joining other religions in their celebration and you have not taken pain to understand the nitty-gritty. It could on the other hand be that you are a Muslim (as your name seem to suggest to me)but you are beclouded by some political interests, which I believe inform your line of argument. Either way, it is your right as an intelligentsia of this country but I will implore you to be wary of the kind of weight words coming from person of your calibre carry for people who follow you innocently.
It should be registered that Islam does not in any way preach hatred to any creature of God, yet it is natural that there are restrictions attached to any form of freedom anybody claims. While it is regrettable that some Muslims may misconstrue the essence of Islamic tenet (which itself basically means Peace) that is never an invitation to denigrate people's religion under the cloak of preaching love.
Another point that comes to mind at this juncture which you stealthily dodge to address is what the celebration of 'valentine' in particular does to the social fabric of societies that celebrate them. What actually do people gain in celebrating love for just one day. One would expect that you would call for enduring love among the various classes of people not on the basis of religion but because of our physiological making. We all have two eyes, one nose with two nostrils, two ears, one head and hair covering it, two legs, ten fingers and toes, etc. So what makes one different from the other? our colour or status in society? Aside this, the celebration only create some kind of negative sexual awareness among the young persons. I believe what you called 'belantic' love was a societal mechanism to maintain the basic morality that purifies the society back then. I am sure you would not be happy if you discover that your girl child who still attends school (if you still have any) is deflowered on valentine day because she wants to show love to her boyfriend.
You may wonder why valentine must always be attached to symbolic sexuality but you and I know that it is the stark reality we are confronted with by the celebration of valentine these days coupled with the fact that even the whole story about St. Valentine is still more of myth than fact. So what's worth celebrating in that than celebrating our being God's creature sent to this mother earth to fulfil certain common goals - make the world a better place to live.
I wish you the best in your endeavours.
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