MiScOnCePTioN

we always hear/watch/read in news, interviews, articles, and even in speeches; of how the international world, especially the non-muslims always misinterpreted on what Islam is all about. thanks to the infamous 11th September 2000's incident, the word Islam has been associated with terrorist OR violent OR insurgent OR sectarian bloodshed.

how inconvenience. to add insult to the injury, even the Pope publicly quoted a statement that potrayed Muslims (or Moslems as they spelled) as a vicious and god-less people. do we still remember on how it caused a great uproar in the whole Muslim's society?

reflecting on this issue, we tend to get so sensitive when people misinterpreted Islam. yes, of course we need to be sensitive on that issue, particularly when we're talking about Islam. it is OUR responsibility to maintain and uphold Islam's integrity and strength.

but why the non-muslims misinterpreted the true meaning of Islam? is it just because the majority of today's terrorists are Muslims in faith? or because they did violent actions in the name of the religion?

yes. those reasons are indeed, VALID. but may i add another one OR two reasons, please?

We are arrogrant. most of us. i remember vividly, back in UTP, there was this online forum where people talked and discussed lots of things. and in one of the sections, there is this remark on it. "Religious and Faith: a place to discuss and know more. please participate in a matured manner"

and there i was, prompted to start a new thread, since there is no variations of issue being discussed there. (mostly discussed on Hari Raya, ramadhan and other stories). so i started a new entry, i-cant-remember-what-i-wrote-but-its-kinda-like-this: Tell Us about Your Religion.

why do i chose "tell us about your religion?". tell me, ladies and gentlemen, how many of you really know the origins of Malaysia's festival and celebration? well, we do know that Hari Raya AidilFitri is to celebrate the end of Puasa, CNY is to celebrate the 1st day of the chinese calendar, Deepavali is like Festival of Light, and X'mas is to celebrate the birth of Jesus. i bet that's all you know (the one you don't celebrate sangat2 la). those celebrations are mooted from the religions' beliefs (except CNY. but in this case lets replace CNY with Wesak Day). but why? for sure apart from the commercialised reasons, there are the real reasons. i mean, we dont celebrate AidilFitri just to celebrate the end of Ramadhan. there are other reasons too, right?

the next day, there was a reply in the topic's thread. the entry was, "sebelum kita nak tahu pasal agama lain, baik kita mendalami agama sendiri"

and there i was, stumped and dumb-founded with what i read.
we talked and talked about the need to have inter-religion dialogues and talks, in order to create an even blissful, united and prosperous nation. but even before we are able to do so, people started to question the motives, the why?s and the need to do so.

in order to win the non-muslims heart, we need to know about them. from social up till religion. gain their trust. ready to accept them.

then, when the time is appropriate, show them what Islam is all about. its not having to fast in Ramadhan only. its not having beard or veil only. it is more than that. those things stated before are part of Islam.

from my observation, the negativity of Islam's image is being potrayed by both sides. the non-muslims, and the muslims too. on non-muslims side, they quickly reached a conclusion and made assumptions that Muslims are terrorists. on the muslims side, we acted aggresively in such manner (road demonstration turned into violent battlefield between protestors and the authorities) that it created a bad publicity.

people would say, "u told me that the word Islam derived from arabic word means Peace. and u also told me that Islam is a peaceful religion and faith. but tell me, why are the majority of today's terrorists are Muslims?"

standard answers: "they are being deprived by the non-muslims. since they have no other medium to release their frustration, they went to the path of a terrorist." OR "they are Jihadist. fighting for the greater cause in the name of Islam. and they are not terrorist, they are heroes."

cant we just say, "they are falsely being led to believe they are fighting a holy war. being depressed for so long, they have been easily influenced by these-no-good people. its not because of the religion matter. although thats what they're claiming to do. its either they've been misled to believe its a true cause, or, they wanted to get even with their depressor." ??

why is today's world in like so screwed? because of our arrogance and the egoistical need to have everyhting. even when we know, its not ours.

festivals and religion celebrations are just around the corner. so why not take this opportunity to at least know a bit about the celebrations?

p/s: i'm not asking you to participate in the festivals (there are several sensitive issues on this matter).
:P