Is it God’s calamity?

Many many years ago, when the huge tsunami struck Aceh, Penang, Kedah, Phuket, Sri Lanka and many other areas in the vicinity, something shocking came to light.

Many Muslims I knew started saying that the reason such a calamity happened was because God was angry at the sins of the people and so this was his punishment.

How can anybody think that God would commit such cruelty when all we ever learn in Islam is the fact that God is the all-merciful and that he will never forsake you?

I criticised it among my friends and family but then just decided to let it go since these Muslims weren’t really in any positions of authority and hence could be influential in society.

Then, two days ago, someone in a position of authority and could be influential in society said something that shocked me even more.

The deputy mufti of Perak, Zamri Hashim, stated that Malaysia Airlines had apparently angered God so much that all that has happened is God’s wrath.

According to the deputy mufti, the fact that the airlines serves alcohol in it’s flights and that the cabin crew dresses indecently, has exposed them to God’s wrath.

Firstl I think it is nothing short of a miracle that the deputy mufti has such a clear telepathic link to God’s intentions. He must be an extremely enlightened person.

Second, he probably overlooked the fact that God is so forgiving that human beings pale in comparison. God is all-forgiving while humans aren’t so.

Thirdly, there were so many innocent people on the flight. The most obvious has to be the number of children on the flight that has been killed.

Do you mean to say that God, who is all-merciful and all-compassionate, would actually want to punish innocent children for something they didn’t do?

No matter what your argument for this one is, I just have to admit that I find this so difficult to digest, almost unthinkable, that God would do such a thing.

Here’s the thing. As a religious authority figure, the deputy mufti has all the right to call for Malaysia Airlines to be more shariah-compliant and be more Islamic if he feels the need to.

But by associating the incident that has happened where hundreds of lives have been pointlessly killed is just insensitive, inhuman and disrespectful.

I wonder what perspective the deputy mufti would have if his family members were victims on the flight (let’s make it clear that I wouldn’t wish this on anyone)?

How I see it is that the plane was shot down by a missile or some sort of weapon while it was flying over a country that is in turmoil. It was human violence, clear and simple.

I feel that the victims of the MH17 tragedy and their family members deserve respect and honour. What the government has painstakingly done to receive the bodies is commendable.

There is definitely no need for disrespect from any quarters, much less from religious figures and authorities who should know better.

Let our thoughts and prayers be with the victims and families of MH17 and MH370. – August 29, 2014.

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