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Alhamdulillah, on Friday and Saturday I had the valuable experiences to listen to His Eminence Prof. Tariq Ramadan of Oxford University speak to his audience in Singapore. He was in the republic to speak at the LSE Asia Forum 2008 where he responded to the presentation by Prof.  John Sidel of LSE and Zainah Anwar of Sisters in Islam on “Controlling Knowledge: Responding to contest and change in control over religious knowledge”. The day after, Prof. Tariq addressed the MUIS Public Lecture on another interesting topic, “Prophet Muhammad’s Enduring Message to Humanity”. Prior to the public lecture, with ALLAH’s grace and HIS mercy, together with Hanna (Post-Grad student in NUS) and Faeza (RSIS research analyst) I was given the opportunity to meet Prof. Tariq himself and speak with him for nearly an hour talking about several issues facing the Muslim world, with specific focus on Muslim issues in Singapore. Amongst the issued addressed include the religious orientations, engaging the public with discourses on Islam, the Islamic learning and adapting to modernity based on Islamic texts.

First of all, the LSE Asia Forum was indeed a very exciting and informative forum. Combining scholars from all around the world, especially Europe and Asia, the forum managed to address several issues comprehensively with both perspectives from the West and Asia. The session on religion knowledge was an insightful one. Prof. Sidel mentioned that in this secular age, there is a fear of religion amongst the people. At the same time, he pointed out that religions boogeyman like Osama Laden of Al-Qaeda and Pope Benedict of the Vatican is the general representation of the religious images.  He brought out the issue of democratization and its impact on religious knowledge, where it promotes popular participation and less authoritarian enabling the online learning of religious knowledge. According to him, popular religious figure like the hip-hop Mullah – Aa Gym’s popularity is fading away after his second marriage, as people can make better choices now with the advent of technology. Zainah Anwar then continued to talk about the democratization of politics in Asia that enable the emergence of civil society.  She relates this to the democratization of religious knowledge that allow for the free-marketplace of religious information. This will lead to a power shift from the traditional religious authority to the contemporary ones. Traditional authority must now have to compete with other interpretations of Islam and cannot claim to have the only authority on religious knowledge as before.  However, Prof. Tariq had a different view which I personally feel do make sense. He believes that Islamic dynamism can take place within the close political system. The democratization of religious knowledge in the information age need not necessarily be problem-free. To teach less and learn more in religion is problematic. This will lead the religious knowledge to be in the state of anarchy with the lack of any authority. Then, who will be speaking for whom? This brought me to think of Osama Laden’s fatwa. As a result of the ‘democratization of religious knowledge’, meaning Osama has the right to issue his own call for jihad and not just him but anyone who can claim to be speaking for Islam, this can be disastrous.  Prof. Tariq reminded that knowledge has to do with authority, and authority has to do with knowledge. On the same session, Zainah Anwar also touches on issues of Political Islam, especially with the rise of PAS in Malaysia. She cautioned the audience not to downplay the threat of political Islam. She called for us to be critical of the Islamist politicians because they are despotic. I believe this could be the reaction felt by some people with PAS softer its tone in the recent election, where it shifted its manifesto for the creation of an Islamic State to a welfare state.  Perhaps the call by Zainah Anwar reflects what is happening in Turkey, where its secular fundamentalists are very critical and mistrust their ruling party where its politicians were historically linked as being Islamist.  Conversely, Prof. Tariq had the opinion that mistrust before checking is problematic. He said that political Islam is as complex as Islam is. Changing terminology by these Islamist parties must be proved by their actions.

Secondly, I feel that the public lecture by Tariq Ramadan is so far the best MUIS Public Lecture series. The charismatic charm of Prof. Tariq managed to bring the presence of the Prophet S.A.W to ‘life’ when he explained about his humanity and how humane he was. That makes him a very close figure to us and possibly to be emulated.  He managed to deliver a spiritual message in an academic style. There is so many things for me to talk about his lecture, Insya’ALLAH I will write a post exclusively for the session soon.

Finally, the experience of meeting Prof. Tariq in person was more than the words can describe. It was a very enriching and insightful session. He shared many things with us and truly appreciates for his willingness to meet us despite his busy schedule in Singapore.  I must say that he is such a humble scholar, despite being a Professor at the prestigious Oxford University. He asked us to address him as Tariq and not Professor if the latter being addressed, he will not response. He spoke with us passionately and reminding us that the more knowledge we have, the more we must serve the people and not the other way round. Indeed he is walking the talk, truly a scholar worthy of respect. He added that a lot people keep emailing him telling him of their support and always be ready to be behind him. However his message was, do not just be behind him, but be beside him. That was very profound and has a deep impact in me.  Well, we need a Singapore’s own Tariq Ramadan.

That’s all for now. Insya’ALLAH I will share more on some key points, summary and my personal notes on the talks given by Professor Tariq Ramadan in his recent trip to Singapore. May ALLAH bless him and may more of him to come, Amin.

It has been more than 4 days since the disappearance of Singapore’s most wanted fugitive, Mas Selamat from the ISD custody.  His photos can be found literally almost in every part of the island and security has been stepped up along the borders. It is quite disappointing that he is still at-large and insofar no reliable information that may help the authority to find him.

Perhaps, for the first time in national history that incident like this is causing massive outrages amongst fellow Singaporeans.  From online blogs and forums, people are complaining about the saga and demanding more explanation from the authority. The assurance given by Dr Rohan Gunaratna during a CNA interview didn’t help much to silence the public. He was saying that incident like this are bound to happen everywhere, even in countries like US and UK security lapses did occurred. However, I believe that it is not justifiable to say that this incident needs to be tolerated.  It is outrageous that this incident did happen in such manner.  Nevertheless, lessons that can be learnt from such incident include the need to be on guard all the time and stay vigilant.  

A lot of people are blaming the authority for such failure, with some even posted online comments of demanding the resignation of DPM Wong. I wonder how, his resignation will helps to solve this security problem? Some people are just taking advantage to attack the government politically amid this crisis. At the same time, the too much reliance of government for every facet of life in Singapore is turning this nation into an unhealthy nanny state. Political activists have been lobbying for a greater civil society presence in this republic, yet have reached the stage where our society is politically matured? Just witness some MPS in several PAP housing estates, the residents expect too much from their MPs and think that MPs can solve the underlying problems, which some are created by them? Aristotle mentioned that man is by nature a political animal, however in Singapore context, Singaporeans are by nurture, economic species.

Coming back to the Mas Selamat saga, it is quite disturbing also to see some public figures that may be seen as trying to gain some public spotlight by officially showing they are ‘helping’ the authority to look for Mas Selamat via distributing notices to people. While this effort should be commendable, the way some public figure(s) (who’s known to many for regularly stealing the spotlight) is seen busy giving speeches and talking to the media highlighting his effort in galvanising volunteers to help in this massive manhunt.  I am in no position to make any judgement on his ‘effort’, but somehow analytically you can’t escape from hypothetically not think otherwise. However, who knows if they are sincere about it? Then perhaps its good, Wallahu’alam.

In retrospect, it is also quite worrying that some people tend to ‘sympathise’ with the JI’s fugitive and questioning the truth behind everything, albeit indirectly. Again, I am in no position to give any definite answer. However these sympathisers are quite disturbing. Despite numerous efforts from several agencies, including the mainstream Asatizah and the RRG team, there are still people who are not convinced and downplay the terrorist threat in this republic. Perhaps more need to be done to ensure that Muslim community especially are united in our War Against Terrorism – not because it’s an American-led but because the notion of Islam itself that rejects terrorism, tyranny, oppressions and injustices.

It is quite shocking to read the latest news alert on Wednesday night when it was announced that Singapore’s most wanted JI member managed to escape from ISD custody. Knowing for its second-to-none gold security standard, it is hard to believe a clumsy incident like this had happened in Singapore. MHA issued the media statement only slightly after 8 pm on Wednesday night, around 4 hours after the detainee, Mas Selamat reportedly to have escape from the Whitley Detention centre, located near the Old Police Academy and in the vicinity of several schools like SCGS, SJI and ACS (Barker Rd).

First of all, this incident raises several questions to many shocked Singaporeans. I believe only few would have anticipated this to actually happen in Singapore. It is quite puzzling as to how a dangerous man like him managed to give a slip to the security personnel at the detention centre. Reply given by DPM Wong Kan Seng in parliament after being probed by MPs didn’t shed much light to event surrounding this security lapse. It is known that he had been taken from his cell to go to the visitors area to meet his family, when he asked to use the toilet. That was when he vanished. I’m not very sure how convincing this explanation is to the public-at-large; however it raises more questions marks than full stops. Although DPM Wong urged the public not speculate, I believe it is hard not to do so when little information are given by the authority. An independent investigation committee will be set up to study the case carefully, however you can’t just stop thinking and pondering upon what exactly went wrong in the detention centre. Aren’t the security was supposed to be tight enough? How about all the surveillance technologies installed, like the CCTV et al? All that didn’t worked?

Secondly, it is outrageous to find out that the news of his escape was only made public after 4 hours of the manhunt started. Although it was assured that there was no imminent danger as gathered by intelligence services, the fact that a high-profile terrorist suspect was at-large without public knowledge for several hours is a call for concern. However, I’m sure we all know MHA was trying its best to do what it could, especially in a rare situation like this. One thing maybe they can do is to launch “The Great Singapore Terrorist Hunt” and provide monetary incentives to rewards members of the public who wish to participant in this ‘race’, as one STI respondent put that Singaporean love ‘hongbao’…haha!

Thirdly, as a result of this incident, securities checks are being tighten up in many areas especially the checkpoints bordering Malaysia and Indonesia. This is causing unnecessary disruptions to the flow of vehicles in highways and causeways. Definitely, now is not the best time to go to JB, unless you want to be caught in the massive traffic jams. The former Indonesia-based JI leader told CNA that Mas Selamat may have fled Singapore and could already have been in Sumatera Island where there is a JI support network that can shield him from the authority. Security analysts also theorized that he may be trying to get out of Singapore to seek protection and this itself may pose danger to this region. Just hope that he’s still in the island and not escaped to either Indonesia or Malaysia. After all according to Dr Gunaratna, his main aim now is to survive, especially after the severe disruption of the JI network in Singapore. If he was able to flee Singapore then this will cause great embarrassment to the republic for the failure to safeguard the security of the region, especially in keeping this dangerous man under its custody.

Well as of now, after more than 48 hours is his escape, no signs telling that he’ll be caught soon. Ironically, some funny Singaporean actually called the police and declares he is Mas Selamat when he was just trying to joke around with the authority. It is absurd that some irresponsible Singaporean uses such opportunities to make fun, while a serious security issue is happening. Speculations are also mounting as what exactly is happening and what had happened. Some people suggest that he may have escaped by using some ‘magical spell’, though hard to believe, surely you can’t rule this out completely. While some conspiracy theorists suggest creative ideas like he is actually still in the detention centre, this is just an exericise and the most funny I heard is he escaped wearing the Gurkhas uniform as he also looks like one!How creative can these people be!!hahaha!

Massive manhunt is still ongoing with his photos are visibly everywhere in the island. In Masjid Al-Iman for example, I saw every floor including its entrance are pasted with pictures of Mas Selamat (more than the portrait of President Nathan you can find :P). Indeed he is really a WANTED fugitive. I read also that his family house in Teck Whye is being heavily guarded by the security forces. I’m sure he is not that unintelligent to have return to his home. But whatever it is, he is really causing a lot of problems to the community. I just hope this saga will end soon, if anything were to happen (Na’uzubillah) Singapore as a country and Muslim community as a race will be in the unwanted spotlights. What we need to do now is of course to stay vigilant and do not be complacent. After this saga end, our security forces are liable for explanations to the public and perhaps it’s about time for us to rethink our safety standard.

Recently, the Turkish government introduced a bill to end the banning of headscarves in public Universities in Turkey. The bill was overwhelmingly supported by member of its parliaments, both form the ruling Islamic-oriented AKP and the opposition from the Nationalist Party. (ST, February 7, 2008). The proposal calls for the insertion of a paragraph in the constitution stating that ‘no one can be deprived of (his or her) right to higher education’.

However, deep-rooted secularism fanaticism in Turkey had once again prompted several secular extremists to hold street demonstrations to protest against the move to lift the ban. Protestors include University deans from dozens of private and state universities who believe that lifting the ban will ‘undermine the secular notion of the Turkish republic’. Secular-oriented unpopular Republican Party had also warned the government that they will challenge the amendment of the constitution in court. At the same time, the powerful military arm, had reportedly tacitly warn against any move to jeopardise the secular ideology of the state. Previously, they had launched several coups to overthrow government that supported was deemed to be Islamically-oriented.

It is quite ironic here when we talk about modernization vis-a-vis liberal democracy, democratically elected government are not free to govern according to the majority of the peoples ‘wish. Despite having the Islamist background in the past, the AKP managed to secure a resounding victory in the recent general election, albeit being opposed by several secular fundamentalists. Being a legitimate democratic government, they should be allowed without any interference from the bureaucracy and judiciary to halt any move when they are legally the government of the state. The people that placed them to power had long envisioned for more justice and fundamental human rights to be observed in Turkey.

It is not the question if Islamic rights, instead it is the universal human rights that guaranteed the freedom of religious practices. I wonder how wearing the headscarves in Universities will undermine secularism. The argument that ‘the head covering as a political statement and fear that lifting the ban at universities would pressure all female students to cover themselves up’ by the secularist is absurd. Why would others be pressured to wear the headscarves in the first place? Are they admitting that is the will of the people to put on the headscarves and therefore banning it in Universities is justifiable? Isn’t this an anti-thesis to the basic notion of human rights? At the same time, isn’t this oppression to the majority for the will of the minority? Is this democratic?

For now, we can only have a look and see approach. If the government is being toppled once again by the military, we’ll see secularist chauvinist force at work that will only undermine the principle of democracy that was introduced by the West themselves.

Alhamdulillah, the ‘O’ level result is finally out and more surprises for the Malay community. First of all, for the first time in the national history, a Normal (Academic) student has managed to obtain 7 distinctions in GCE ‘O’ level examination. That result is a remarkable performance for student of Normal (Academic) stream, whom generally being stereotyped of being educationally inferior. Additionally, once more another Malay student managed to set a new national record bringing double joy to the Malay community, after the surprising PSLE milestone in 2007.

At the same time, I am very astonished by the GCE O’s achievements of some student from Madrasah. Perhaps one of the best Madrasah O level performance thus far, when 3 Madrasah students shared the national record of being the best O level private candidate, with the three of them obtaining 5 A1 and 2A2. Moreover unexpected was the result was verified by MOE (BH, January 26, 2008), this didn’t happened during my time in Madrasah. Mabruk! and Congrats! to Faiz and Faizin of Al-Irsyad and Zahida of Wak Tanjong. The joy that I feel is even more multiplied as the three of them are from the Madrasahs where I belong, Al-Irsyad and Wak Tanjong. Indeed, what was said by Faizin in BH, “Sekurang-kurangnya ini juga menunjukkan pelajar madrasah juga boleh bersaing dengan pelajar sekular” clearly reflect the desires of the Madrasah students to stand on par with their counterparts in mainstream school. This remind me of the time when I was in Madrasah, perhaps different from them, I have no desire to compete or to see myself on par with those friends from the mainstream school. I used to have an inferiority complex and always see myself and my other Madrasah friends as incompatible in relative to those students from the mainstream school. I’m not sure what resulted in us having this type of mentality, but the image and the portrayal of the Madrasah student as being academically-weak really had impacted us to subscribe to that belief of self-degrading ourselves. Perhaps this has been an ages-long self-fulfilling prophecy in Madrasah, especially when the reproduction of such image and perception were given serious attention. Even with the tremendous improvements made by the Madrasah in recent years, with Irsyad in particular recorded 70.4% of 5 O level passes in 2005, above the Malay national average of 62.8% and slightly behind national average of 80.7% (Charlene Tan et al 2007: p.117), I believe it is still not sufficient to dispel the myth about Madrasah being a problematic institution.

However, I doubt that should the priority of the Madrasah in the first place. There is no point in wanting so much to do the best for the sake of wanting to show we are the best. Instead, Madrasah should continue focusing on providing holistic education to student in shaping them with necessary skills, academically and religiously. Being the Singaporean Madrasah student, they must be adequately trained so that they can be an asset to Singapore and to the Muslim community-at-large. Madrasah student have a stake in the national interest of Singapore and thus should be included in our effort of nation-building that provide opportunities for all in this democratic state.

I was reading ST Interactive and caught up with one article on MUIS Halal Certification. It is just amazing how our halal certification is being well-received and globally recognised. Despite some skeptical by our community itself towards MUIS, indeed if we were to compare it with other religious authority in other countries, perhaps MUIS is one of the best, but I guess being Singaporean we demand more than just satisfactory right?. Anyway, I was even told that the halal unit in MUIS is very reliable and I guess MUIS have an edge by tapping into the reputable corporate name of Singapore Inc. It is fascinating how the halal food industry is growing and with the growing economy of Middle East, this should open up more opportunity for Singapore food companies to venture in this oil-rich region. Kudos to MUIS for such an achievement, but I was told by that Dr Y was considering of making the halal certification to be privatised, just like the korban project. Well, I’m not a market analyst thus I can’t comment too much but whatever it is, proper procedures must be put in place. While our halal certification is progressing with its recognition and image, I’m sure we should not regressed by privatising it unless it is proven privatisation will be better for halal certification. Halal certification is one niche area for MUIS, hopefully they can also perform better in other areas, Amin

From ST, January 25, 2008:

Dr Yaacob said: ‘Halal certification not only widens companies’ market share locally, but it also extends their reach to bigger markets overseas.’

One example is home-grown company Thong Siek Food Industry, which distributes halal-certified seafood to nine countries including Australia, Brunei and South Africa.

Local companies are also expanding to the Middle East following a decision by the United Arab Emirates to recognise halal products from Singapore.

“Mmmmmmm……….HALAL! I kasi 5 “O’!”

(Disclaimer: The above quote is fully fictional and has no relation with the Minister featured, any resemblance is purely coincidence.)

Photo: ST Interactive

Ayat-ayat cinta, the best-selling Malay (Indonesian?) novel written by the M.A scholar of the University of Al-Azhar, Egypt had once again ignite the sparks of interest towards Malay literatures. I must admit that this novel is the first Malay novel that I read after more than three years when I was forced to read Malay novels like A Samad Said’s Salina back in my A level years. Admittedly, I’m not a fan of Malay novels and I find most of it (at least those that I have try to read) is generally typical love story that portray the general portrayal of the Malay image of indolence, backstabbing attitude, indulging in vices and many other non-progressing message. Definitely, I’m not saying all, I’m sure there are better Malay novels out there that has yet to come into my radar or it’s just me that have no interest in reading it. Literature works like Hamka’s “Di Bawah Lindungan Ka’bah” is perhaps some exceptional.

Anyway, back to “Ayat-ayat Cinta”. Months before I grabbed to read this book from JB’s MPH, several friends of were recommending this book to me. However I was contemplating as I do not like fictional books, I would rather read Mahbubani’s “Can Asians Think?” or Huntington’s “Clash of Civilizations”. Those books make more sense to me. But oh well, I decided to give it a try, it was between this novel and Tehrani’s “Bila Tuhan Berbicara”, apparently this title “ayat-ayat cinta” managed to ‘seduce’ me..haha! I remember when I was in my secondary school years; I’ve read novels like “Cinta Madinah” and “Sesegar Nailofar” which in my thought very similar to “Ayat-ayat Cinta” as the plots are all situated in Middle East. However, after begin to read “Ayat-ayat Cinta”, I realised this is even better than those novel I’ve previously read.

SYNOPSIS

The story begins in a suburb of an Egyptian street where Fahri, the post-graduate Islamic studies student from Indonesia were studying at Al-Azhar and his friendship with Maria, a Christian Coptic girl living upstairs. It is interesting how the author portray the amicable relationship between a religious and pious Muslim and a devoted Christian Coptic family. Despite having different faith, their love for The Holy Lord unites them in the name of humanity and compassion. I really like the part where Fahri asked Maria for help, when another Muslim girl downstairs, Noura was being brutally tortured by her ‘father’. Fahri SMS Maria and plead her help for the sake of Isa al-Masih (Jesus Christ), as Maria was reluctant to get involved and Fahri couldn’t attend to the girl as he observed a stringent religious code of conduct that prohibits him for touching the non-Mahram. There is also a part when Fahri went for a dinner with Maria’s family in a posh restaurant and Maria asked him to dance with her. Strongly upholding his faith, he explained to Maria graciously why he could not accept her offer to dance together and Marie politely understand.

Another memorable part for me is the first encounter between Fahri and Aisha, a Turkish-German lady who eventually asked for a marriage proposal via her uncle that happened to know Fahri personally. They first met in a public transport, when Fahri defended an American lady; Alicia who was being mocked by the Egyptians for she was an American (another Arab anti-American rhetoric). Aisha who was happened to be there joined to protect Alicia from being harmed by the emotionally-naive Egyptians. They managed to exchange contacts and Aisha made friend with Alicia, as she was eager to learn more about Islam from her. She contacted Fahri to arrange for a meet-up as Alicia wanted to ask him questions about Islam. Fahri had also seek Maria’s help to translate an Arabic book on Islam to English so Alicia can have a copy of it and read it herself.

To cut the story short, Fahri and Aisha finally get married in a moderately-lavish wedding, all arranged by Aisha. When Fahri was first proposed by Aisha’s guardian in Egypt, he had no idea how Aisha look like. He thought it was Nurul, (an Indonesia undergraduate that he likes and she in return also silently likes him) that had sent someone for a marriage proposal; instead he was shocked when it was Aisha, the lady barely met twice. As Aisha is wearing a ‘niqab’, he had no idea how she looked like. During the marriage proposal or in Syariah known as ‘khitbah’, Aisha revealed her face to Fahri, where he was mesmerized by her exceptional beauty, SubhanALLAH…”Fa bi ayyi alaai rabbikuma tukazziban” (And which bounty of your Lord that you want to refuse- Surah Al-Rahman) Without knowing that Aisha is a wealthy heir of her millionaire mum who married a Muslim convert while doing some ‘dakwah’, Fahri was shocked that Aisha brought him to a luxurious apartment facing the Nile River of Egypt. He was even given two ATM cards with hundred thousands worth of money inside. Aisha was determined and had full faith that these money and all her assets will be used for greater good by her beloved husband. Nevertheless, not used to luxurious life requested that they sell the luxurious apartment and live moderately. He even told his wife that he wanted to return to Indonesia and continue his ‘dakwah’ work. Being a diligent wife, she willingly agrees. Here, I personally see some resemblance to sacrifices of the very first Ummul Mukminin, Sayyidatina Khadijah r.a.

Anyway, coming back to this story, the apex of the story is when Fahri was accused of raping Noura (the girl that he helped). Noura had filed charges against him purposely as she was upset and disappointed with Fahri for rejecting her love. The only alibi that can testify of Fahri’s innocence is Maria. However, she was in a coma. Her illness is unknown but it was said that her health begun to get worst after Fahri’s marriage. Her diary revealed that she had secretly fallen in love with him and upon knowing of his marriage, she had no desire to continue living. In order to regain her consciousness, Maria’s mother approach Aisha and ask her a favor which many women will object to – asking her to let Fahri’s marry Maria. Aisha, already troubled to find solutions to free her husband from the unjust court ruling in Egypt, without much hesitation agreed and told Fahri to marry Aisha. Despite knowing the permissibility of polygamy, Fahri refused as it was his principle that he has not wish to marry more than one (same like me hahaha). Previously, Nurul had even written a letter suggesting polygamy for him as she had also fallen in love with him. However, after being persuaded, he finally agreed and Aisha took out her wedding ring and pass it to Fahri. Although she had initiated it, El-Shirazy’s managed to show her humane side when she felt jealous witnessing the marriage took place. Finally, Maria woke up and managed to testify Fahri’s innocence. Aisha was overjoyed and return to hospital to take care of Maria, as she had fainted after the verdict. During her unconsciousness, she dreamt that she wanted to enter paradise, and she met Mother Mary who told her of another one condition that she need to fulfill before the door of heaven can be opened for her. She woke up and……… (read the novel..haha)

My thought

Well, first of all, what I like about this novel is the methodology applied by El-Shirazy in educating the readers about the concept of love in Islam. He had succeeded in relaying that message, with sufficient verses of the Quran about love and also the hadiths of the Prophet S.A.W. He also creatively conveyed some other learning points, like some ‘ahkam’ (religious laws) and other pointer by inculcating the works of the great Muslim scholars in literary way, make it even easier to digest and less serious, yet the message is a serious one. He also touches on the issue of inter-faiths relation which I believe a very good portrayal. One thing I am surprised is his daring move to talk about polygamy, which is a taboo issue, especially in Indonesia. (I remember that when I was in Bandung, just after the Aaa Gym 2^nd marriage, it was a big issue and he was boycotted by almost half if not more for committing polygamy)

As for the realistic part of the story and the character, I guess it’s quite hard to find someone as-nearly-perfect as Fahri and Aisha, at least in Singapore, not sure about the Indonesians. Several friends of mine told me the characteristics of the characters are quite too idealistic, but perhaps that is something for us to ponder upon. Personally, I am not looking for someone as good as Aishah because I myself is not as almost-perfect as Fahri. However, what I can learn from them is the spirit of endurance of perseverance in our journey of obtaining love for the sake of The Master of Love.

As for some critique of this novel, I believe some feminists may condemn the portrayal of women in his writing. I disagree with how he showcased the emotional Nurul when she suggested for polygamy through a letter addressed to Fahri. The image given was as if even educated girl like Nurul could not resist her love and had to be reminded by the guy to be rational. I totally dislike this part as some people may interpret it in such a way.

Silver Screen

Anyway, the movie for this novel is already being played in Indonesia. I can’t wait for it to be screened in Malaysia, at least I can watch it in JB, hopefully, Amin J For those who like to read something different in Malay literatures, I would suggest you grab this book. I managed to read in less than a week despite it being nearly 500 pages (something which very rare for me to finish).

That’s all for now, kindly give your comments and share your thoughts.

Wassalam.

Ridhwan Bin Mohd Basor

Assalamualaikum Wr Wb,

Alhamdulillah finally this blog is officially online and open for blogging Thanks to Fazli for all the assistance and technical support. Insya’ALLAH this shall be my official blog and more post will be coming up soon. It’s the beginning of the semester and so many tasks to do, but well I hope this blog will be regularly updated with a lot of my insightful views on several matters. To my blog-hopping friends, I’m sure this blog is another avenue for you to drop by and enjoy reading, I’ll try make it interesting as much as possible, Insya’ALLAH. In the meantime, do leave me a message in the tagboard and suggest on ways how this blog can be more interesting. Other pages are currently under construction, to be done soon. Anyway, below posts are imported from my previous blogs that I feel beneficial to keep it here. Happy reading

Sincerely,

Ridhwan Bin Mohd Basor

Assalamualaikum WR WB,

Went to jalan Raya with KPM buddies (yes again), however only Qaya, Sarah, Mohksin and I were free, and it was just an unplanned one. At 2.15 all of a sudden Qaya called me and told me if I was free to go to Mohksin’s house since we haven’t went to his place for Raya, so yah since I was free I decided to go to Mohksin’s place.Went out quite late as I went back for a while after my class my Wisma Indah, I reached his place around 6 pm. Well, we all spent quality time there, watching the Ummahfilms, and hence I upload one episode of it below. After that went to Saqinah’s place and went to Sarah’s. Alhamdulillah it was another interesting occasion, especially when we all meet, the ukhuwwah is too strong for us to part…(hahaha step mana nya emotional jer :P)…but anyway yah….it was really enjoying. Anyway it’s late already….sleepy a bit..so yah here is all I can tag for now, Insya’ALLAH see you all again, Amin.

Enjoy this video!!

Here are some tips for the Khatibs to make Jummah (Friday Prayer) go more smoothly. This is part of the videoblog series, which can be found on www.ummahfilms.com.