Convert Muslim preacher ticks off Malay media for featuring Chinese animal zodiac to enliven CNY spirit

Focus Malaysia:

Convert Muslim preacher ticks off Malay media for featuring Chinese animal zodiac to enliven CNY spirit

MULTIRACIAL Reverted Muslims (MRM) president Firdaus Wong Wai Hung (main pic, left) has hit out against Malay-language media for “over-enthusiastically” accorded coverage to predictive elements based on Chinese animal zodiac which border fortune telling thus run afoul of Islamic teaching.

The much-revered preacher within the Malay community pointed to interviews with feng shui experts even though most of the Malay-language media audience are made up of the Malay-Muslim demographic.

“The Malay-language media is so eager to cover the CNY festivity that they interviewed feng shui masters whose prediction based on the Chinese animal zodiac is itself an art of fortune telling,” he penned in a recent Facebook post.

“Although there is a warning from Prophet Muhammad SAW about whoever goes to a shaman then his prayer will not be accepted, and that whoever believes in the shaman then he no longer believes in Allah (kufur), perhaps what is important for some Malay-language media is that we have to show tolerance by promoting harmony in such a way.”

On the contrary, Firdaus noted that observation by his Chinese-language media monitoring team found that “rarely or almost no Chinese media” would provide in-depth coverage on who the Prophet Muhammad is during the Maulidur Rasul celebration, what is the Al-Quran during Nuzul Al-Quran, or what is Isra & Miraj, Aidilfitri and Aidiladha.

“What the Chinese media is interested in is to accord coverage on Islamic lectures that can attract their readers and to be made a source of laughter. Can we expect the Chinese media to act like the Malay media (in providing coverage on CNY)? Based on our monitoring, this is rare or almost non-existent.”

Firdaus who converted to Islam on Aug 10, 2005 recalled that few years back, he reprimanded a TV station for inviting a so-called feng shui expert in conjunction with the CNY celebration “with the programme’s Muslim host was even prepared to ask how his fortune was during that year”.

Chinese animal zodiac (Pic credit: Wikipedia Commons)

All in all, this is Firdaus’ frank advice to the Malay-language media fraternity:

“We can respect without having to promote nor accept what the non-Muslim Chinese community wants to believe in. But aware or not, the Malay-language media is promoting something that is prohibited in Islam (containing elements of prediction).

“That’s their right what the yet-to-be Muslim Chinese community wants to believe in. As Muslims, we don’t believe in all that for they clearly contradict the teachings of Islam. We all need to reflect on our action.”

As for his detractors, this is what Firdaus has to say: “Are there those who want to insult me for rendering advice to Muslims? Are you saying I’m more Malay (than the Malays themselves)? I’m not bothered about your insults so long as I speak the truth.” – Feb 16, 2024



Main pic credit: Mohd Fadli Salleh Facebook