'There are truths on this side of the Pyrenees, which are falsehoods on the other'
'We know the truth, not only by the reason, but also by the heart'.
'We know the truth, not only by the reason, but also by the heart'.
- Balise Pascal
The time has come for the ‘truth’ about the religious belief of Revathi Masoosai to be acknowledged by the Muslim authorities, regardless of their (unfounded) fears of allowing her to be the Hindu she wants to be, which her heart tells her to be, and her will directs her to be.
One of the fears of the Islamic authorities is of course the adverse snowball effect, that by allowing a Muslim to leave the folds of Islam, it may cause a stampede of people from the Muslim community.
Quite frankly, that’s unlikely because if we take the example of Buddhism, a religion where Buddhist parents (or even the monks) may not convert their children into Buddhists (though they may bring their children up in accordance with Buddhist teachings), we see that today, in many parts of the world, Buddhism is the fastest growing religion.
So when malaysiakini tells us that Revathi Masoosai, born to Muslim parents but brought up as a Hindu by her granny and married to a Hindu in accordance with Hindu rites, declared: “I am a Hindu and I choose to remain this way", it's time for the authorities to hear her.
Unequivocal has been her assertion about her belief, yet one may wonder why religious officials at the Islamic-run rehabilitation centre were still confident she could be ‘rehabilitated’ to embrace Islam ...
... to which she stated clearly: "What are they talking about? They have separated me from my child and my beloved husband for six months. Even if I was given a million dollars, I will never follow them."
The seemingly blind and obdurate insistence that this woman, who has made such a strong declaration of her religious preference, could be rehabilitated into the Muslim community beggars belief. So it may seem!
But in Malaysia, one has to look for the politics behind the authorities’ unrelenting ‘punishment’ of a woman whom we (and they) know would never ever surrender away her Hindu faith.
Unequivocal has been her assertion about her belief, yet one may wonder why religious officials at the Islamic-run rehabilitation centre were still confident she could be ‘rehabilitated’ to embrace Islam ...
... to which she stated clearly: "What are they talking about? They have separated me from my child and my beloved husband for six months. Even if I was given a million dollars, I will never follow them."
The seemingly blind and obdurate insistence that this woman, who has made such a strong declaration of her religious preference, could be rehabilitated into the Muslim community beggars belief. So it may seem!
But in Malaysia, one has to look for the politics behind the authorities’ unrelenting ‘punishment’ of a woman whom we (and they) know would never ever surrender away her Hindu faith.
Yes, there’s always the politics, and it’s precisely this politics that saw Revathi subjected to an indoctrination which has now ricochet into adverse publicity for Islam - an unsuccessful rehabilitation which had driven her into open defiance against the religion which officials had attempted to make her re-embrace.
With the general election just around the corner, the UMNO-led government is acutely aware that PAS is waiting to pounce on any retreat on the Revathi case. ‘Tis a case of the olde ‘holier than thou’ struggle for the hearts of the Muslim community, so bugger the virtue of ‘compassion’.
And one would not be completely astray in suspecting that the spin has continued that Islam has not yet lost Revathi, that she has only been released into the guardianship of her Muslim parents, and that the authorities is convinced that the recalcitrant woman will eventually be rehabilitated to become once again a member of the umma wahidi.
With the general election just around the corner, the UMNO-led government is acutely aware that PAS is waiting to pounce on any retreat on the Revathi case. ‘Tis a case of the olde ‘holier than thou’ struggle for the hearts of the Muslim community, so bugger the virtue of ‘compassion’.
And one would not be completely astray in suspecting that the spin has continued that Islam has not yet lost Revathi, that she has only been released into the guardianship of her Muslim parents, and that the authorities is convinced that the recalcitrant woman will eventually be rehabilitated to become once again a member of the umma wahidi.
