Tuesday, 17-Feb-2004 10:10 PM

HARAKAH DAILY

Irama dan lagu tak boleh dipisah

Raja Petra Kamarudin

The legendary P. Ramli had a favourite saying: ‘Irama dan lagu tak boleh dipisahkan’ (or something like that). Translated literally, this means the rhythm and the song cannot be separated.

But then this would probably apply in the 1950s and 60s. Today, you can have a song without rhythm and this would be called rap music. But then, again, rap music does sort of have some rhythm to it though slightly offbeat at that.

Islam too, in its own way, subscribes to this concept. And the concept that Islam adheres to is you cannot separate religion from the administration. If P. Ramli were still alive today he would probably re-coin the phrase to ‘agama dan pentadbiran tak boleh dipisahkan’.

UMNO and those Jahiliyah (ignoramus) in the Barisan Nasional -- MCA, MIC, Gerakan, and so on -- all accuse PAS of “using” religion for political interests. If you really need to accuse PAS of such a crime, then I suppose the reverse is probably more accurate -- it uses politics in the interest of religion.

PAS is not trying to further its political interest by using religion. It is fulfilling its religious obligation through politics. Now this is a new twist to the whole issue is it not? And I bet many did not think of it that way (though betting is unIslamic somewhat). They were probably influenced by the government-controlled media, many in the opposition included, or their knowledge of Islam is just too shallow that they could not grasp this reality.

Okay, say we can agree that this is what is really happening, should we now admit that PAS has been criminal in using politics for religious purposes? Certainly not! Using politics for furthering Islam -- if in the first place this is what PAS is doing -- is no crime under Islam. As far as Islamic teachings are concerned, this is what God has decreed. Islam must be propagated through any and all means, even through politics if need be.

Islam must be propagated through setting a good example (so that others will be impressed by the virtues of Islam and maybe decide it is the religion for them after all). Islam must be propagated through a fair and just administration (so that non-Muslims will come to a conclusion that an Islamic administration is better than all other forms of administration and maybe invite the Muslims to rule them like what happened once in Spain). Islam must be propagated through tolerance, compassion and equality for all (so that the citizenry will reject all other governments in favour of an Islamic government). And so on and so forth!

If Islam is to be propagated by all manners mentioned above, how can this be achieved unless Islam first of all forms a government? You need to be that government of the day to demonstrate you are a fair, just, compassionate, tolerant, transparent, corruption-free and capable government. As an opposition that does not administer any land, no demonstration of these virtues would be possible short of only making promises.

Therefore, Islam must first rule. Then only can it prove what it is. And to rule it needs to win an election in a country like Malaysia where governments are formed through the process of a general election. So, politics has to be that medium to rule, thereafter the propagation begins.

Islam, therefore, does not make it possible to divorce politics from religion. This separation of church and state is a Medieval English concept that came about because the King wanted to do something the church would not permit. He then told the church to go to hell and that is the same concept many Muslims in Malaysia, in particular UMNO Muslims, live by today.

Prophet Muhammad set up the first Islamic administration in Medina after he migrated (hijrah) from Mekkah. The Prophet did not separate religion from the administration. In fact, the administration and religion were one and the same in that they administered the state according to religious tenets.

Today, the Church of England is on its own, no more part of the Rome “network”. The hundreds of years “civil war” in Ireland is partly due to this -- skirmishes between the Catholics and Protestants. Is UMNO trying to tell us that Malaysia’s Islam has gone the way of the Church of England? Do we then break away from Mekkah to be on our own? Should then Putrajaya be our new Ka’abah? This would certainly save a lot of money considering the millions Malaysians have to spend every year to make that annual pilgrimage to Mekkah.

To tell PAS to keep religion out of politics, or politics out of religion, is like saying Prophet Muhammad erred in setting up the Medina Islamic administration. Is UMNO then saying Prophet Muhammad should have just toured the country preaching Islam while leaving the administration of the country to the “professionals”?