In Part I of this article, I have shared with the readers my concern over the social developments in this beloved nation of ours, my nervousness at the growing agitations and restlessness that seem to take the lines of religious-racial sentiments, from which communal divides seem to be the inevitable consequences. In that part too I have presented my understanding of what muhibah is, and why and how it is different from simple tolerance. Since in a multi-religious and multi-racial community like Malaysia where religion is a very significant social factor, if indeed not the most important, I therefore mooted that it is essential for members of this nation to understand what religion means to each other. This is because religion means different things to different people. I also indicated that it is important to have certain cardinal principles of muhibah if a healthy, harmonious and happy pluralistic living is to be sustained and enhanced. In Part I, the principle that I proposed was that of no interference and no intrusion in the intra-religious matters and affairs of other religions and religious communities.
Also in Part I of this article, the various perceptions and understandings of religion were presented. It is obvious from the presentation there that as many as there are religions, so also the perceptions and understandings of what religion is. It follows therefore that as varied as the perceptions on religion are, the understandings on the fundamentals of religion too are as diverse, each religion reading the fundamentals in its own way - and hence the existence of the many religions in this world. The fundamentals of religion are the theologies, the prophets and founders, the scriptures and holy texts, the doctrines and dogmas, and the rituals and rites. The fundamentals of religion are therefore the items of belief or the belief items. Another very important item in religion is the ethics although it is generally not classified as one of the fundamentals of religion since it is not a belief item.
All religions have these belief items and each item is well developed and firmly instituted within the religion, and compliance to them is expected from all the adherents. Indeed if any adherent rejects any of these fundamentals, i.e. if he or she rejects any of the belief items, then he or she is regarded to be no more part of the religion. This is, however, not the case with the non-fundamentals of the religions where rejection of them or non-compliance with them may not be detrimental to the person’s faith though he or she may be considered a sinner or a bad believer. Ethics, in general, falls under this latter category and because of this, scholars generally do not classify it as one of the fundamentals of religion.
Theologies and Belief Systems
Fundamental to every religion is the theology, or the belief in god or divinity as discussed before. The theology is the concept and the conception of god or divinity, with all the explanations and details related to that concept. At the core of the theology is the belief system which explains basically the perception of the religion on godhead or divinity, and the nature and position of god and divinity. There are many belief systems, the main being monotheism, pantheism, polytheism, henotheism, dualism, animism and atheism.
Monotheism is the belief in one god who is the creator god and therefore the all- supreme, the all-powerful, and yet in monotheism, as elaborated before, there are numerous understandings of it, namely, absolute monotheism, qualified monotheism and even shared divinity. Absolute monotheism is the belief that the creator god is absolute in himself and by himself and there is no association whatsoever with him. Qualified monotheism sees this one god expressed in different forms. Shared divinity is the belief in one creator god and this one god shares his divine authority and power with other beings. Pantheism is another form of monotheism, and it is the belief in one creator god who exists or resides in and with his creations, and therefore all creations are a part of him and are therefore regarded as sacred and even holy.
Dualism is the belief in two gods with one god related to everything good and nice, and another god related to everything bad and evil. Polytheism is the belief in many gods, among which is a creator god who may or may not be the supreme god and may or may not be worshipped, with worship also made to the other gods. Henotheism also believes in many gods and these gods are in a hierarchy order, with higher gods and lower gods. Animism is the belief that there is a god or spirit existing in, and is in charge of, every phenomenon of nature. Atheism is a belief in no god and no existence of divinity, of spirit or supernatural, although some of the adherents and groups within the religion may take to believe in some form of supernatural and even some form of divinity.
Every religion has a belief system. With these belief systems come also the explanations and understanding on the nature of god, and from these understandings developed the various forms of worship as ways and means to communicate and reach out to that god or those gods, as the case may be. Some religions have elaborate explanations about god whereas some are silent about it. The adherents worship god as how they understand him to be. If he is one and only one, therefore the worshippers worship this one and only one god, with no association whatsoever made to him. If he is manifested in different forms, then the worshippers worship this one god together with his manifested form as one god. If the god shares his divinity with other beings, then this one god is worshipped and acknowledgement duly made to the other divine beings.
If he is responsive and kind, then the worshippers beseech him for assistance and bounties. If on the other hand he is strict and austere, then the worshippers pray to him to be protected from his wrath and punishments. If the god can attend only to particular needs, then he will be beseeched for specific needs only. If god exists in all creations, then the worshippers worship the god of these creations and also revere all creatures and creations, as in pantheism. If the worshippers believe that there are gods in the natural phenomena, then they will worship elements or phenomena of nature, as in animism. If there is one god for all the good things and one for the bad, then the worshippers will worship both, praying to the good god for his assistances and bounties, and praying to the bad god to pacify him and to beseech him not to harm them.
If the god or gods are only involved in matters of death and the other world, then the worshippers relate to him or to them with regards to these matters only. If the gods are the ancestors, then the worshippers will communicate and refer to them especially regarding personal matters and family concerns. If the god is not responsive to prayers at all, then he will not be worshipped, and this is the position with the creator god in some understanding of polytheism. This is because in such an understanding, the creator god only creates and does nothing else, and it follows therefore that all other matters related to affairs of the creatures are left to the responsibilities of other gods. Thus it is to these other gods that the worshippers turn to and pray to for their needs. The adherents therefore choose to pray to the relevant god or gods as befit their specific needs.
If the belief is that there is no god, then obviously, there is no worshipping of any god at all, as in the cases of the atheistic religions. However, in some atheistic religions, the adherents do also pray to certain forms of superpower or spirit beseeching some form of grace or help from them. Because such religions are atheistic in concept and practice, some scholars do not classify these as religions but rather as spirituality. However, the adherents of these religions do classify their belief and practices as religions, and indeed, other then the fact that they do not believe in god or divinity, they however exhibit all the other elements of religion. Indeed, the adherents of these religions are as committed and as serious and dedicated in the practice of their religions as any adherents of other religions, if not more.
Prophets and Founders
The theologies are related and explained by the prophets or the founders of the religions. Prophets are those special persons who were in communication with god and to whom god sent his revelations either directly to them or through the angels. These prophets than passed on the revelations to people and teach people about god and the religion. Those who chose to adhere and commit to the religion and its teachings are thus called the followers or adherents of the religion. The prophets were therefore highly esteemed persons and were fully trusted and were obeyed by the adherents of the religion during their time and throughout the life or the history of their religions. Yet, there are also religions that do not look upon the prophets as human beings but rather as spiritual beings and without the roles and responsibilities to guide human beings.
However, for those religions that do not believe in god and divinity, they have the founders of the religions to instruct them on matters of faith and spirituality. These founders acted on their own accord, teaching their followers their own wisdom, sharing with them their own experiences and teaching them their own thoughts and insights. As compared to the prophets, the founders therefore commanded absolute authority because they were on their own and thus referred to no one, were empowered by nobody and begot their authority from none. In some religions the founders are even regarded to be above the status of gods and other spirits, especially in some polytheistic religions that uphold the anthropomorphic conceptions of god.
In the case of the prophets however, their status is very much subservient to god and were basically following, and taking guidance and orders, from god and were in full abeyance to him. The prophets, likewise also called upon people to follow the guidance of god and to obey god. The roles and responsibilities of the prophets too vary from religion to religion. While most religions, if not all religions, regard the prophets as the guide and leader for religious and spiritual matters, some religions however also look up to the prophets for worldly guidance too. In fact, some religions also have the concept of the prophet-king where the prophets were pronounced both as the spiritual as well as the worldly authority. In these cases, the prophets were, and are always, the role models for the adherents in all matters and the adherents try to emulate the lives and practices of the prophets to the best of their ability and such acts are considered meritorious.
Scriptures and Holy Texts
Because the roles of the prophets and founders is as spiritual leaders, and for some religions even as worldly leaders, their words and practices were therefore written down after their demise to keep these teachings alive forever, and so that these teachings can be practiced and put to effect for all times. Normally, the revelations and teachings of these prophets and founders were written down by their own disciples or companions, in some religions immediately, in others much later, whilst in some religions these teachings and revelations were written down by disciples of the disciples.
Therefore most prophets and founders, if not all, have disciples or companions who continued the missions and visions of the prophets and the founders. Indeed, had it not been for the companions and the disciples of the prophets and the founders, the teachings or the religions brought by these prophets and founders would have faded away with the parting of the prophets. Thus it was through the disciples and the companions that the religions became established and the teachings brought by the prophets and the founders were instituted into the lives of the adherents and their religious communities.
These compiled and written revelations or teachings are called the scriptures. All religions have scriptures and religious texts for without such, the teachings of the religions would be confused up or even lost. Some religions also have compiled and codified words and deeds of the prophets separated from the revelations, and these are called the traditions of the prophets. Other religions also incorporate teachings from their sages and wise ones as part of their religious texts too.
As such, initially the revelations brought by the prophets and the teachings of the founders were in oral form. In fact, in many religions, there was some reluctance on the part of the disciples and companions to put religious teachings into written form on the ground that the essence of the sacredness of the teachings might be lost. Even today, a lot of merit is given to loud readings, renderings and recitations of the scriptures. These renderings and recitations often take numerous styles and intonations, and some religions give particular attention to perfect renderings of the scriptures.
Some religions regard the scriptures as revelations verbatim, in that the revelations were the very words received from god which were passed through the angels to the prophets. These revelations are now written down and codified into book form. In such cases, very serious attention and very meticulous care was given to sustain the accuracy of the copying, to make sure that not a single word is added on or dropped off. On the other hand, some religions do not regard their scriptures as revelations verbatim from god but that these were inspired unto the prophets, and the prophets transmitted these revelations into their own languages and teach them to their followers.
Some religions believe that it was the prophets who received the revelations from god while some others believe that it was the holy men and not the prophets who received the revelations. In the case of the latter, they believe that prophets were not human beings but were a form of spirit or a supernatural. On the other hand, some scriptures are not even regarded as revelations at all, but are in fact the teachings of the founders of the religions, and who are not regarded as prophets or as messengers of god. This is especially so with regard to the atheistic religions where there is no belief in the existence of god, and therefore no revelations, and hence no prophets. It follows therefore that not all scriptures are regarded as revelations or inspirations from god or from divinity. Even so, all scriptures are regarded as authorities although the degree of the authority differs from religion to religion.
Consequently, different religions therefore relate differently to their scriptures. Some religions are scripture-centered in the sense that not only are their religions completely derived from their scriptures but everything else too, spiritual as well as non-spiritual, are guided and inspired by their scriptures, that their scriptures are the authority in their lives, thus molding their personality, their thought-patterns and worldviews, their sensitivities and values. Other religions, on the other hand, are only scripture-guided, because the scriptures are not taken to be an all-comprehensive and an all-binding authority but only as guidance which they may follow or may not. For these adherents, although they pay serious attention to the guidance from the scriptures, they however, are not bound by them.
Then there are also religions that look at their scriptures only as moral inspirations from which they take lessons on proper behavior whenever they feel like it. Some other religions, while also taking their scriptures as authorities, they however, also give equal authority or partial authority to their religious personnel or religious institutions. In such cases, these personnel interpret the teachings of the scriptures for the adherents and the adherents are happy to take the meanings as they come from these personnel.
Many religions too have religious texts other than the scriptures. For some religions, these religious texts support, and are consistent, with the teachings of the scriptures and thereby enhance the authority of the scriptures. However, in some other religions, the religious texts stand free on their own. There are also religions in which such texts are sometimes followed even more seriously then the scriptures, particularly in cases where the scriptures can no longer be understood due to their very long history and their languages no longer decipherable, or may even be obsolete. There are also volumes of commentaries developed from the scriptures which may be translated in the form of the doctrines and dogmas, the rights and rituals, and the ethics of the religions. It is often in the form of these that the religions are put into effect and into practice.
Not only does the understanding of the roles of the scriptures differ among religions, the methodologies employed to read and derive teachings from these scriptures are likewise different too. For those religions that regard the scriptures as revelations verbatim and as all-binding upon the adherents, then the first attention is given to the authenticity and the accuracy of the verses. For those religions that regard the scriptures as not binding, other factors may be given attention, including such as the significance of the readings to contemporary life. As such, it is not right that a methodology for understanding texts in one religion be directly employed into another religion because concern, objectives and priorities differ from religion to religion.
Because religions and religious communities understand the role of their scriptures differently, therefore different communities relate differently to their scriptures. It is not surprising therefore that one religious community may find it perplexing why another religious community relates differently from them towards their scriptures.
Doctrines and Dogmas
From the scriptures, the traditions of the prophets, commentaries and other religious sources, the doctrines and dogmas of the religions are derived, and as varied as there are scriptures so also are the doctrines and the dogmas. Each religion therefore has its own set of doctrines and dogmas and these are different, and sometimes even radically different, from those of other religions. Indeed, it is the theologies, the doctrines and dogmas that especially make the religion what it is.
Doctrines are those teachings which normally pertain to the conceptual aspects of the faith in the religion, whereas dogmas often relate to specific items in the teachings of the religion. The dogmas of religions may also include the tenets and the canons as well as the decrees and the religious laws. These may even come in the form of injunctions or instructions to be observed and acted upon, such as the permitted and the prohibited, the religious observances, among others. Nonetheless what may be a doctrine in one religion may be a dogma in another, and so also what may be a tenet in one religion, may be a canon in another. It is thus more a matter of emphasis rather than of neat and absolute classification.
In most religions, there are doctrines on the concept of the divinity, and in some religions these are summarized in the creeds of the religion. Also, there are doctrines on such concepts as life-after-death, known as the Hereafter or the rebirths (metempsychosis), on incarnations and reincarnations, on retributions, among others. In some religions, the tenets and canons, and to some extend even the dogmas, grow along with time, with new and contemporaneous ones formulated and adopted, while the old ineffective ones dropped off. Doctrines, however, do not change with time or condition. In some religions, the observances and compliance to the dogmas, tenets and canons are administered by specific persons or institutions, whereas in other religions, it is a matter of personal initiatives.
When disagreements in the understanding and readings of the doctrines take place, then some adherents may break away from the mainstream belief to form a group of their own, but may still stay within the general belief structure and framework of the religion. This leads to the formation of the denominations. However, when the disagreement revolves around the dogmas, then sects may be formed within the religion. If the differences are only related to tenets and canons of the religion, then schools of thoughts developed within the religion. Again, this is not an absolute classification since what is doctrine in one religion may be dogma in another religion, and what is dogma in one religion may be perceived as tenets or canons in another.
The creeds, however, is an essential item and cannot be dropped off whether by the denominations, sects or schools of thought. The creed is the declaration of faith towards the religion. By pronouncing the creed, the person proclaims the religion to be his religion and announces also that he is part of its religious community. With this declaration, the person thus takes upon himself the proper commitment to his religion and to his religious community, and likewise he also takes from the religion and his religious community, his due rights and space. If the creeds are discarded, then the persons or groups that do so have come out of the religion and may consciously or unconsciously, form a new religion, even if many items of the former religion are still retained. Some religions, however, do not have formal, precise creeds but may have creedal statements only and these are often found in the formal prayers of the religion.
Creeds are thus the declaration or the testifying of faith, and some religions have precise, concise creeds. The creed is therefore the acknowledgment of god and the religion, and a vow of allegiance to the religion. Every adherent therefore is obliged to declare the creed as an indicator or proof that he is part of the religion and religious community. As stated earlier, the creeds identify the person as part of the religion and the declaration of the creed signifies that the person also accepts the teachings of the religion and acknowledges his or her commitment and responsibilities towards it, and likewise, the religion and community too have responsibilities and duties toward the person. Thus the creed and the creedal statements are fundamental in any religion.
The Hereafter and After-life
Two other essential doctrines in all religions are that of the cosmology and eschatology, answering the questions of where human beings came from and where they will be going. Most religions explain that the first human being was created by god although from what and how he was formed differ among these religions. Some uphold the belief that the first man was created by god from earth, and than woman from him and that they initially lived in Paradise but later were sent down to earth. Some other religions, however explain that the first man and the first woman were created at one and the same time. Nonetheless, all these religions believe that these two were the first parents and from them the human race multiplied and propagated. Thus these religions therefore uphold the concept of the common parentage and the kinship of humanity.
Some religions however believe that human beings came from the cosmic man, a supernatural being who was half human and half divine. Among religions that believe so, some understand that this cosmic man was created by god while some others believe that he came into being by himself. This cosmic man later disintegrated into pieces, either by his own accord or by the acts of god. From these pieces the first man and woman were said to have been formed who thus also therefore became the first parents for human beings. As to why and how the cosmic man disintegrated himself, the explanations and stories differ among these religions. Then there are also those religions that believe in man and woman coming from spiritual beings, or even born from certain spirits, with variations in the details.
With regard to where man will be after death, some religions say that there will be another world after this one called the Hereafter or the After-life. In the Hereafter, there will be two locations; one is Paradise where every thing good and beautiful is there, while the other is Hell where everything bad and evil is housed there. Some religions are more vivid and detailed in the descriptions of these places whereas some, however, give only general statements on the subjects. Those people who had duly complied with the teachings of their religions and had sufficient meritorious deeds done in their lifetime, their places will be in Paradise, but the bad people who did evil deeds will find themselves in Hell. Basically all such religions believe that Paradise and Hell are permanent but some religions believe that although Paradise is permanent, Hell is not and that ultimately all the people of Hell will go to Paradise too after they had lived out their punishments.
However, there are also religions that do not believe in the Hereafter but believe in rebirths or metempsychosis, that is, a sequential life cycle. For such religions, they believe that people are reborn over and over again, either as human beings or as other species. These rebirths continue incessantly, until they acquire enough merits and have accumulated enough knowledge and awareness that can liberate them from the cycle of rebirths. Among these religions, some say that liberation means to be united with the Divine Soul or to live together with the gods at the residence of the gods. However, for those religions that do not believe in the existence of god or divinity, for these, liberation is to be living in a state of fulfillment and bliss on their own.
Those religions that believe in the Hereafter also uphold the concept of lineal time in the sense that they believe that there was the life-before, the life-now and the life-after, all set in a horizontal, lineal format. These religions therefore believe that this world will come to an end and it is thus not permanent or eternal. As for those religions that uphold the concept of rebirths, they, however, believe in the concept of cyclical time. For them, life revolves in continuous cycles and circles, over and over again, ending only in the liberation. Such religions therefore regard this world as permanent or eternal, with the rebirth mechanism taking place in this same earth, over and over again. These religions also believe that everything is illusion and that reality will come only upon liberation.
Those religions that believe in the Hereafter, however, although they regard this life as temporary, they, however regard it as real and not an illusion. Moreover, in these religions, they believe that human beings come into this earthly existence only once, after which the person will find himself in the Hereafter. Because of that, they have only this one chance to prove their worthiness for the proper positioning in the Hereafter to come. These religions therefore have the concept of retributions, of rewards and punishments and thus of praiseworthy and sinful conduct, and the anticipation of the ultimate and the fairest of justice in the Hereafter. As for those religions that believe in rebirths, they have the concepts of merit and demerits, of better rebirths or worse rebirths, as according to the person’s merits and demerits. Moreover, these rebirths are automatic consequences, with a cause-effect mechanism, not as of reward or punishment.
Nevertheless, all religions, regardless whether they uphold the concept of the Hereafter or the doctrine of rebirths with all the details to them, do indeed believe that all people are accountable for every action that they do and will pay for these actions accordingly upon their deaths. In the case of the former, this is through either rewards in Paradise or punishments in Hell. In the case of the latter, it is through the mechanism of cause-and-effect in the chains of rebirths. At the essence of the doctrine of retributions is discipline, to wit, to ensure that every person behaves properly and accordingly so that life for one and all, human and non-human alike will be safe and pleasant in this world. Thus, the concept and doctrine of retributions is a form of social discipline.
Forms of Worship
Since theologies, doctrines and dogmas, tenets and canons are different, so also therefore the ways of worship. Worship is the practical expressions of faith and commitment to the religion, and is a way of communicating with god or divinity. For those religions that do not believe in god and divinity, they therefore do not have worship as such, and in place of worship they have spiritual exercises to upgrade their spirituality. Nevertheless, whether these are worships or spiritual exercises, the essence of all these is to become a spiritual person, at peace with himself and with all else.
Worship has many forms, including the rituals and the rites. Every religion has its own sets and forms of rituals and rites. Rituals are those forms of worship that are carried out repeatedly and normally they are performed within regular periods. Examples of rituals are prayers, meditations, fasting, among others. Rituals can be formal and structured or informal and personalized, and can be performed individually or in congregations. Rites, on the other hand, are the non-regular religious activities which may be carried out once or twice in a person’s life time such as the birth rites, initiation rites and funeral rites. Rites are often formal and structured and are usually, though not always, performed in congregations.
As stated above, both rituals and rites link up the worshippers to god or the divine, and through the performances of these, they are consciously and intentionally connecting to him. In these rituals and rites, the adherents beseech for help, guidance and the bounties of god or the divine, and thus put their faith and commitment to him, and likewise put their religion into effect. As much as the rituals and rites strengthened the adherents’ linkage with the divine, they also enhance their psycho-spiritual faculty. This is because such people will feel closeness to the divine, experiencing a feeling of serenity, harmony, comfort and well-being within themselves.
Through such a state of mind and spirit, the adherents will feel more assured, secured and confident of themselves. They will also feel comfortable, at peace and at ease with other people and with all else, and in harmony with their existence and surroundings. From such states-of-being, they will feel themselves empowered by god’s help to live up to life, whatever the situations they may encounter or may be in. Thus, the rituals and rites, as they bind the persons closer to god, they also augment their spiritual strength and psychological resilience at the same time. As such, religious and spiritual persons do not need stimuli such as alcohol and drugs to keep them pacified in trying times and difficult situations. They seek peace through intimacy with god or the divine.
For those religions that do not believe in god, similar states-of-being is achieved through the various meditations and spiritual techniques, which also promote the upgrading of spirituality and the enhancing of psychological strength and resilience. Other then the meditations, there are also the abstentions and self-denial, the aim being to achieve spiritual purity and spiritual perfection. In the process of acquiring spiritual purity and strength, some religions also promote physical strength aiming to achieve spiritual and physical perfection at the same time too.
The most obvious, colorful and variant among the differences between religions are to be seen in their rituals and rites, too numerous to be illustrated here. A very colorful and happy ritual in all religions is the religious festivals. These festivals, being part of the religions, and are indeed a ritual of the religions, therefore have the proper ritualistic elements which are duly observed and performed besides the festivities. Because of the religious and ritualistic elements in these festivals, therefore they are termed “holy days”, from which the word “holiday” is derived. Because the whole day is often given to the festivals with the funs and festivities, official and routine works and occupations are therefore put off, and so it becomes a holiday, a non-working day, a day of rest or a day for religious observances.
There are also holy days which only are solemn and austere in nature, devoted to prayers and spiritual activities only, without any festivity. One such spiritual day is the weekly congregational prayer day with all its formal and structured religious and spiritual observances. Many religions have this special day in the week, though not all religions have them. In some religions, the austerity of the day and occasion are more pronounced then in others, the day being completely given to spiritual and religious matters and exercises, prohibiting completely the regular activities of the week. For many, however, the day is preferred for religious enhancement without any change in daily routine. This one day is a form of a periodical rejuvenation for the spiritual faculty of the adherents, and this periodical rejuvenation also come monthly and annually too, and thus the sacred days and the sacred months that most religions have.
The holy days, congregational rituals and rites as well as the festivals and festivities not only enhance the adherents’ spiritual strength and commitment to the faith, but they also enhance the link between the adherents and the divine, as well as with one another in their community. This is because most of the rituals of such days are congregational in nature, thus bringing members of the religious community together. Therefore these types of rituals have both the spiritual as well as the social dimensions. The social dimension is very important to any religion because it is the community that gives life and identity to the religion. As the socialization of the day brings the adherents of the community together, the festivities also provide provides the fun side of religion and of being religious. Indeed, religion gives a full balance to life – fun and solemn, personal and social, alone and with many.
Religion and Muhibah
To reiterate, it is clear from the foregoing discussions, on “The Understandings of Religion” and the present “Fundamentals of Religion”, that religion is understood differently by different religious communities. Likewise, the fundamentals of religion too entail different understandings and operations, sometimes even quite radically different, and may in fact be even tangential to one another. Each religious community and normally each person too, hold very dearly their perceptions and understandings of religion, and likewise the observances of their teachings. Normally nobody and no community will dilute away their faith and commitment to their religions, but rather these will be enhanced as they move on with age. To expect otherwise from others is not only wrong but will also invite disillusionment. Even more serious, such attempts will tempt difficulties and court complications and problems.
Such being the case, in a multi-religious and multi-communal society as Malaysia is, it is of the utmost importance that the people acknowledge, understand, appreciate and respect differences. As seen above, at the levels of theology, doctrines and dogmas, religions do not touch each other. The proper attitude and position that the various religious communities in Malaysia ought to take with regard to the items of belief is to agree to disagree, and so move on from there. This, in fact, should be the second cardinal principle or cardinal formula for a healthy and harmonious society, and for an amicable and stable social environment in Malaysia. Precisely put, the second cardinal principle for muhibah is to acknowledge, understand and appreciate differences.
Indeed, even though much have been promoted and orchestrated on celebrating the similarities in religions, it should be reminded, however, that problems and conflicts stem from differences rather than similarities, from disagreements rather than agreements. Nonetheless, although at the level of the belief items religions diverge rather than converge, however, at the level of ethics, religions do meet and have so much in common.
As such, it is at the level of ethics that human beings function as social beings and it is at the level of religious ethics that muhibah can be promoted and enhanced. The inculcation of muhibah through religions can be carried out by comprehending, appreciating and respecting the differences as well as by celebrating, harvesting and working on the similarities and commonness as found among the religions. And all of us can do so..
posted by Interactive Muslimah Association (IMAN) @ 9:38 PTG
5 Feb 2010 -
IIUM will be organising a talk on kalimah Allah on Feb 5. Muslimin and muslimat are invited to join the program.
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From the President's Desk
I woke up before fajr this morning with a thought over Faridah's mail. In my previous two mails, I had explained to some details why I strongly believe not to get into a tango with people whose mission is to revise Islam for their own specific purposes, humiliate our 'ulama' and discredit mainstream Muslims....
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