A question of faith

NOV 14 — I have been mulling over the same question over the past two months: Is Islam the topic of discourse overdone, and do we need another conversation about it?

Covering Islam and Muslims is not for the faint-hearted. Especially if you are a Muslim woman writing in a Muslim country, and have not been schooled in religious studies, and looks like everything that is the opposite of what a Muslimah should be.

Once upon a time, I wrote a book, which was really a compilation of articles I wrote for Malaysiakini.com, titled I Am Muslim. It was written and published when I was in my 30s. 

I am now writing about believers of a faith in Malaysia in a column for this website, titled Holy Men, Holy Women. As I conduct research, meet with people of varying and different faiths, I collide with that world I wrote about once. I read with awe, humour, embarrassment about all things religion which appear in the Malaysian media.

That book was not a personal journey that so many readers felt and assumed it was. It was really stories about Muslim life, which centred around the city, though I did embark on excursions out of Kuala Lumpur.

People kept asking me to do another IAM. There were failed attempts to get others to contribute to a book, but sadly, submissions were angst riddled. Confessions of sins which are now redeemed. There were not enough essays to make a book. I created a website. That tanked too. My publisher told me to take a break. I did for three years and came up with Holy Men, which has to be resuscitated soon!

My editors told me to think again. Write about the Muslim experience around Malaysia. My family and friends told me to pursue the idea. I conducted a straw poll. I counted my age and wondered whether I was stark raving bonkers to even think about attempting this. When you hit your 40s, you ache everywhere. In spite of the exercise and foods you put in, age reminds you that you’re not as young as before.

Islam in Malaysia, post publication of my book, has become more politicised, and angry. But it can be also kinder and inspiring, with ustazes such as Dr Asri Zainal Abidin and Dr Juanda Jaya. Social media has created a boom among young Muslims in Malaysia. Child marriages, inter-faith wars, how can you not cover this? Kuala Lumpur’s brand of Islam is not the same as that in Penang, Sarawak or Perlis.

In the five years since IAM was published, many things have happened, and many more writers, intellectuals and activists have come to the fore, representing diversity in Muslim conduct, thought and lives. It’s been exciting to see all this, and it’s also been exhausting to observe too.

“But you’re already travelling and meeting these people along the way, anyway,” friends said. I plan to cover a family’s journey from the Middle East to Java to Malaysia in Holy Men the book, so why not expand the theme?

While do I want to cover and revisit again, will the voices I plan to write about be as important when already you have A-list intellectuals and writers who have assumed the role (of ambassadors of Islam?) They’re sexier. The people I write about are normal Muslims, who have dreams, hopes, challenges, and they’re not sexy.

Unless there’s a cause attached to them. For example, a makcik in Kelantan will only be attractive if she’s relevant to an issue: child marriages etc. Who wants to know what she thinks or dreams about? Everything about Islam and Muslims these days is KL-centric, and angry.

Perhaps I should sit on this first. Maybe there is no need to even write about the Rest of Malaysia, when the media covers KL-centric stories most of the time. Why should I anyway, when it’s easier and less stressful to not do so.

Right.

* The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.