When it comes to religion, be sensitive

Over the last couple of weeks, the topic of Islamic law, or Sharia, was again hotly discussed among Malaysians.

This time, however, it was not with regard to anything pertaining to the implementation of any form of new religious law – at least not in Malaysia.

The two developments discussed were the banning of public Christmas celebrations in Brunei, in accordance to its interpretation of Sharia law, and the introduction of a Sharia-compliant airline in Malaysia.

Their implementation would have no real impact on the way Malaysians carried out their daily lives, but being Malaysians, we like to discuss these things.

As a The Malaysian Insider reader, Harris Nasril quite rightly pointed out, the Christmas ban in Brunei was blown out of proportion.

What was a ban on public celebrations by Muslims was portrayed, by and large, as a blanket ban on all things Christmas by both Muslims and non-Muslims.

A common response by many was “non-Muslims should stay out of Muslim affairs”. While it may be true, given that Brunei is a Muslim country and non-Muslims here have little business talking about their internal issues, there is our proximity to Brunei.

But we have a similar Christian population, and practise a similar legal system and we have traditionally viewed Brunei as a model moderate nation, would cause consternation to those following trends here and in Indonesia.

And history shows that most erosion of minority rights – as many believe it is happening here – occurs gradually and in small increments.

The concern would not only be, therefore, that public displays of Christian celebrations were not allowed, but what next.

The other hotly talked about issue pertaining Sharia was the introduction of Malaysia’s first Sharia-compliant airline – Rayani Air.

Hot in the heels of Sharia-compliant banks, finance, food products and business processes, Rayani appears to be part of a trend of building products geared towards the Muslim market.

Rayani is not, however, the only airline to have thought of this. Another airline, this one based in the UK, Firnas, is also in its final stages of planning and is expected to be rolled out soon.

Elements of what Rayani Air plans to do to comply with Sharia, including the exclusion of pork, are already being implemented by our national carrier, MAS, and AirAsia, while AirAsia does not serve alcohol on many of its routes.

The compulsory wearing of headscarves by flight attendants and the reciting of Muslim prayers before take-off are done by an airline popularly used by Muslim and non-Muslim Malaysians alike – Etihad.

So what really is Malaysians’, particularly non-Muslims’, issue with a Sharia-compliant airline? After all, it’s a commercial product. As a consumer, if it irritates you that much, just don’t consume it.

Perhaps it’s not just the implementation but also the people choosing to implement it.

Because the people behind the airline are not Muslims and, therefore, arguably not doing it for religious reasons as much as they are for profit does not feel “kosher”. But it is after all, a commercial venture and not a religious one so that question should not really arise.

Or in the case of Brunei, that the driving force behind the religious laws is a monarch, who even until now, maintains close commercial and social ties with the West.

Perhaps, as part of this country and of this region, “liberals”, who resist Sharia and what is perceived by some as creeping Islamisation of everyday life, feel the need to maintain things as secular, wherever possible.

On the other end of the spectrum, conservative Muslims’ idea that they are under siege probably stems from what they see and read as Islamophobia that has steadily increased since 2001, fuelled by responses to Iraq, al-Qaeda and now Islamic State.

Religious sensitivities are, however, a tinder box.

Dissent to anything with a religious connotation should be done respectfully and carefully so as not to provoke what we need least of at the moment – confrontation.  

In discussing sensitivities, let’s not be desensitised ourselves.

Wishing everyone a happy new year and a beautiful 2016. – December 29, 2015.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.