One Way Ticket, One Way Ticket... (sung to the tune of, errr... One Way Ticket?)
Read about some of the topics covered by the 'esteemed' and 'learned' religious minds at a recent convention (ya, I know I'm using a couple of these adjectives as loosely as the elastic in Kak Pidah's knickers).
Article in NST Online: Use ISA on those who leave Islam, says lecturerSome of other quotes are quite informative:
"Suggestions on how to deal with those who leave Islam came in many forms at a convention yesterday, ranging from the Internal Security Act, lengthy counselling to even elimination."
Zulkifly said the majority of apostates were non-Muslims who converted to marry Muslims, only to leave Islam upon dissolution of the marriage."Converts usually return to their original faiths because of loss of interest in continuing as a Muslim or lack of financial or emotional support upon divorce. This normally results in them giving up."Ain't that the truth? That's why I'd advise all love struck, doe-eyed non-Muslim girls who are enamoured by the phenomenon of circumcised appendages - you'd better think very carefully about what you're getting your hands on (pun intended) before you convert.
Like some of the people at the convention emphasised, you are checking into a roach motel, a Venus flytrap... (methaphorically speaking, of course. I wouldn't want to appear insensitive, ok!). "You can check in, but you don't check out!."
...Negri Sembilan Mufti Datuk Mohd Murtadza Ahmad said the concept of freedom of religion in Islam had been misinterpreted. "The Quranic verse: 'There is no compulsion in religion’ does not mean that a Muslim can leave Islam as he wishes, it [only] means that non-Muslims cannot be forced to enter Islam.Sing it with me, One Way Ticket, One Way Ticket... One Way Ticket to the.... you decide!
3 comments:
Sometimes I wonder if there's really a correct version, as everyone seems to be able interpret verses to his/her own liking.
And, why are they afraid to let Muslims leave Islam? Is it because they know many will jump at the chance to do so? Have they so little confidence in their religion which they so proudly embrace?
http://malaysia-today.net/blog2006/holds.php?itemid=1120
To quote a couple of paras on Raja Petra Kamarudin's article on the same topic:
"Anyway, the point I am trying to make is, the Imam did say my wife need not convert to Islam. She, however, wanted to. But the Imam did not caution her that once she converts to Islam then there is no turning back. If she later discovers that Islam is not really the religion she wants, she cannot go back to being a Catholic but must remain a Muslim till the day she dies. And the Imam also failed to caution her that she could be arrested or be put to death if she decides she wants to revert to being a Catholic.
This is something that converts should be told so that they do not find out later that they are stuck as Muslims -- and they find this out too late, after becoming a Muslim, and not before they convert. After all, we do not want non-Muslims having the impression that they had been tricked into becoming Muslims. They might think that since it is so easy changing from another religion to becoming a Muslim then it must be as easy to leave Islam.
Intending converts must be told to read the fine-print in the contract. Once they become Muslims then that is that. There is no turning back. If they are converting not because they have finally discovered the true religion but so that they can marry a Muslim, then they must be made aware that if the marriage breaks down they must still remain a Muslim even though they are no longer married to a Muslim. So they must become Muslims because they want to, and because they believe in Islam, and not so that they can marry a Muslim. And they should also know that a Muslim husband can divorce his wife by just reciting the phrase “I divorce you” and that is the end of the marriage.
Once the non-Muslims know this but still insist on becoming a Muslim, then they would have only themselves to blame once their husband abandons them later and they are stuck as a Muslim without a husband for the rest of their life."
"Anonymous said... Sometimes I wonder if there's really a correct version, as everyone seems to be able interpret verses to his/her own liking."
That's usually a problem when people lose sight of the forest for the trees.
When they are no longer guided by the basic tenets and spirit of a religion - but by obscure passages tucked away in a few pages of the book, which they interpret literally word for word or skew the context to their own purposes, not god's.
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