COMMENT | Muslims and the trumpet of faith

COMMENT | There is a mosque not too far from my home in Petaling Jaya. The mosque is located on one of the floors in a flat, surrounded by a multi-racial, multi-religion neighbourhood.

In the past, the mosque had a habit of turning up the volume of its speakers during religious talks and sermons. The worst was when it happened late at night, at a time people were trying to get some rest.

During one of these occasions, I heard the preacher at the mosque freely speaking about the attire of the non-Muslims, comparing it with Muslims and their Islamic-friendly attire.

“Kalau kita tengok kat luar sana, Cina-Cina pakai macam-macam. Ada yang pendek, ada yang sendat dan ada yang macam tak cukup kain. Bahagian tubuh badan yang sepatutnya di jaga rapi, dijadikan tontonan umum. Anak-anak kita pula terikut-ikut dengan fesyen mereka tu. Ini haram, tuan-tuan dan puan-puan.

“Kalau mereka yang bukan Islam nak pakai macam mana pun, suka hati mereka lah. Lagipun apa mereka peduli pasal halal haram. Tapi kita ni yang Islam, bukan macam mereka. Kita mesti jaga aurat, jangan dijadikan tontonan umum.”

(If you look at people out there, you’d see the Chinese wearing all sorts of attire. Some are short, some are tight and some don't have enough fabric. Parts of the body that should be covered are exposed. And our children follow their fashion sense. This is forbidden, ladies and gentlemen.

Whatever the non-Muslims want to wear, it’s their choice to make. After all, what do they care about halal and haram? But we are Muslims, we are not like them. We must take care of our aurat, and not expose ourselves for public viewing.)

Despite being a Muslim myself, when I heard those words blasting out from the speakers in the middle of an afternoon, on a weekend where people of different religions were out and about in the neighbourhood, I felt embarrassed. I took a deep breath and...