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Abd’ Al-Halim

22 hrs · 

Coronavirus and Hygiene: A Public Clarification and Apology

Apparently there is some-one in my FB friend list who made public my post about hygiene and Coronavirus which I have set to private. I can only surmise that it is with ill intentions against me.

It is very very unfortunate that people like to turn the said post which is not made public into a public circus by giving a twisted commentary of what I stated. I am not going to respond at the website that quoted me and gave such a false commentary of what I said because I never made it public and never intended it to be so. But I will make my clarifications here on FB since it started here.

This issue have been blown out of all proportions and fake news about me is being perpetrated. To address this situation I am making a public statement and have set this to public so that misconceptions can be clarified. Again, this is not to invite further discussion and acrimony. It is just my attempt to address the issue of my post as even a Minister has commented on it. I would like to assure Minister Mr. Shanmugam, I understand his concerns and also share his appreciation for the need for religious harmony in Singapore. It is with this realisation that I am making a Public Statement here.

The fact is that there is nothing in my post, written in Malay, that is intended to be racist. I am merely referring to the fact about those who do not use soap and water to clean themselves (In Islam that is called istinjak and it is part of the basic principles of Islamic faith of purifying oneself from impurities (Taharah) ) after doing their business. This is in light of reports about the spread of the virus through contamination with human feaces. It is in the context of this worrying development that I made my post.

Thus this is not about any particular race at all. In fact, I explicitly stated that the Chinese living in South-east Asia where there are many Muslims (who happens to be, in majority, Malay), know the proclivities of the Muslims (regardless of race) in washing themselves like that and that the Chinese of China may not know. I also lamented that Singapore should have more toilets with such facilities like Malaysia and Brunei has. There is nothing racist about this at all and there is no intention to be racist whatsoever. It is about hygiene and health, the importance of which cuts across all race and ethnicities. As a matter of fact, cleaning only with toilet paper after doing their business is not just the practice of non-Muslims of Chinese decent; other non-Muslims of other races do that too, evidenced by the lack of such washing facilities in toilets around the non-Islamic world. I understand different cultures may have different practices but my concern is hygiene not any particular race. This is consistent with Singapore government’s call to take care of hygiene and cleanliness in light of the outbreak.

With the above, I have explained my post that is not meant for the public which has unfortunately attracted so much unsought attention and I can only hope it clarifies. Again, this is never, in a million years to undermine our racial harmony and peace that we all treasure and have enjoyed for so long. But unfortunately for people who just want to see this as a race thing and want to indulge in online character assassination in a ‘cancel culture’, nothing can stop them. What is the point of engaging when they have already made up their minds based on incomplete and de-contextualised information? Furthermore, I will not fall into any traps at needless race-baiting out there which is why I will not enter into any discussion of the matter outside of my FB wall and neither will I enter to a discussion here as there is already much slander and character assassination.

As for the issue of retribution and punishment, this is a side issue that was highlighted when the earlier discussed post on hygiene was highlighted as people start pouring through my FB on a witch hunt to find other “insensitive” remarks. That post on punishment and retribution from the Islamic perspective was also a private post but upon request from some FB friends, I made it public. So again, it is not intended for the public. Unfortunately, again people misconstrue the point of my post. As I have mentioned, the concept and fact of punishment and retribution exists in all major religions including Islam. Indeed, this is a theological issue which should not be politicised and was certainly not politicised in my post. I simply stated the fact of an Islamic teaching that there is retribution for injustice and oppression. The Qur’an is replete with such warnings of retribution so that we should be Just to all mankind (Indeed such warnings of retribution are there in the Bible and the Torah too).

I also noted in my post that in Islam, God listens to the supplications of the oppressed whether they are Muslim or not. It is well reported that the Chinese government has incarcerated the Muslim Uighurs and Muslims around the world has conveyed their deep concerns. The majority of Muslims including the Uighur Muslims can only supplicate to God. It appears to the Muslim that the outbreak is consistent with the idea of retribution in Islam. And indeed many Muslims expressed just that. My point is, other Muslims should not begrudge the Muslim for thinking so as it is well within the teachings of Islam. This is not to be happy that a calamity has befallen others neither to gloat. I never called for that and there is no malice in my statement and indeed it behoves the Muslims to help those who are sick which I am sure is happening in Singapore as there are many Muslim medical staff involved in assisting in the outbreak. The post is only a clarification to maintain that the teachings of retribution exist in Islam just as it exists in the other major religions in their own ways. I even made mention of Buddhism as a religion that is famous for the concept of karma which is consistent with the idea of retribution as an expression of cosmic order (even without there being a clear concept of God in that great religion). Nobody should begrudge the Buddhist or any other religionist for thinking as such based on their own teachings of punishment and retribution – the same should be said of Muslims. Why must anyone assume malice in such statements which are in the theological purview of the respective religions? Again it is clear my post was maliciously misconstrued and misinterpreted.

I have clarified that post of mine here with all sincerity. However, I do realise that there may be many who are genuinely offended. To them, I say that there is no malicious intention against them and I apologise as my post has hurt them. I have said what I needed to say about this matter and I hope my explanation suffices and that this matter rests and indeed it is based ultimately on a misunderstanding and misreading of my initial post. I do hope there is no more escalation of this issue because as Singaporeans living in a multiracial and multi-religious society, braying for blood, being unforgiving and vindictive do not bode well for us all. Thank you and سلام . (That is an Arabic word pronounced as “Salam”, which means Peace!).

Sincerely,

Abdul Halim

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https://twitter.com/twitmsian/status/1225757120223571968?s=19

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Religious teacher under investigation by MHA, Muis for post saying novel coronavirus was retribution from Allah against Chinese
By Alif Chandra

SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) are investigating a religious teacher who had said on Facebook that the novel coronavirus was retribution by Allah against the Chinese for oppressing Muslim Uighurs.

In a Facebook post on Friday (Feb 7), Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam slammed the comments made by Mr Abdul Al-Halim on Jan 29, saying that they were silly, can be rebutted by reference to other examples and xenophobic.

He added that he has asked the MHA to look into the matter.

Separately, Muis told TODAY that it is also investigating Mr Abdul.
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Mr Shanmugam said in his Facebook post that Mr Abdul’s comments were “thoroughly racist”, as he had stated that Chinese people do not wash properly after defecating and were not as hygienic as Muslims, and he had suggested that that had caused the virus to spread.

He said such comments were “quite unacceptable from anyone, let alone someone who is supposed to be a religious teacher.”

“Abdul Halim’s comments against Chinese in general (including Singaporean Chinese) are simply unacceptable – and these can’t be left alone,” Mr Shanmugam said.

“When other preachers have made unacceptable remarks, they have been taken to task. For example, two pastors were taken to task, in recent years, for comments which were (by comparison) less offensive.”

Muis told TODAY that the post “expresses views that do not represent the Muslim community”.

It added: “Islam does not allow its followers to hurt the feelings of others in the name of the religion. Given that the 2019 novel coronavirus does not distinguish between nationality, race or religion, we would like to urge all parties to express views with consideration, and show care to those affected.”

Mr Ali Mohd, the chairman of the Asatizah Recognition Board, said that religious teachers should act responsibly when sharing information or responding to queries from the community, whether in our classes, lectures, or on their personal social sites.

“We should not assume that a tragedy is indeed God’s retribution for a specific race or nation. We do not know the real reason or the wisdom behind God’s actions,” he said in a statement to TODAY.

Deputy Mufti designate Murat Aris added: “Religious leaders and teachers must counter the irresponsible practice of using the spread of the novel coronavirus in many parts of the world to spread divisive and xenophobic views such as attributing the spread of the virus to the cultural practice of a certain community.”

Read more at https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/religious-teacher-under-investigation-mha-muis-racist-post-saying-novel-coronavirus-was?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

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