Oleh/By : DATO SERI DR MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
Tempat/Venue : JW MARRIOT HOTEL, KUALA LUMPUR
Tarikh/Date : 04-05-2001
Tajuk/Title : THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE
WORLD EVANGELICAL FELLOWSHIP
Versi : ENGLISH
Penyampai : PM
I wish to thank the World Evangelical Fellowship
for inviting me to share my thoughts with participants
at this General Assembly of the World Evangelical
Fellowship today.
2. Religion should be viewed as a way of life
envisioning, as its ultimate goal, the day when all men
can live together in perfect understanding and peace.
Historically, the beginnings of a religion are
characterised by the proclamation of positive truth in
a flush of enthusiasm. After the period of first
exuberance, however, there may be long centuries when
men have to practise their religion without anything
comparable to the initial exhilaration. Thus, even
though there is no doubt that many great religions have
nurtured and shaped the concerns and commitments of
their adherents, nevertheless as humans they can, and
sometimes do, direct their faith or religious
commitments toward what is not truly the teachings of
the religion.
3. Hence, it is not surprising to find history being
replete with instances of religious conflicts, coercion,
persecution and intolerance even among co-religionists,
more so of course against those of other faiths!
The highlights are well known to all of us: the struggle
over monotheism in ancient Egypt; the bloody suppression
of the idolaters in Israel; the trial and execution of
Socrates; the killing of alleged heretics by Christians;
periodic pogroms against Jews; the Inquisition; the vicious
bloodletting of the religious wars between Protestants
and Catholics; and so on. In Islam too there have been
many so-called `jihad' against fellow Muslims and
persecution of Christians and Jews in their societies.
During much of these the true teachings of Islam were
ignored or deliberately misinterpreted, as when some
Muslims declare other Muslims as apostates and infidels
in order to justify their wars against these people.
4. Consequently, there have been numerous accusations
by those who are against religion, that it is the source
of conflicts, persecutions and injustices. It is also
said to be the opium of life. In a way, a look at the
historical facts and evidence will tell us that some of
these charges appear to be justifiable. They are in fact
difficult to deny. But it is questionable whether they
are really due to the true teachings of the religions.
5. Before the rise of the Roman Empire, religious
intolerance was the rule rather than exception within
their society. Each tribe living within the Empire had
its own Gods or Goddesses who watched over its members
and governed the area. A person joining the tribe is
forced to accept its deities wholeheartedly. The
ancient Israelites are known to have committed vicious
genocides against neighbouring tribes partly at least
due to religious differences.
6. When Christianity was adopted as the religion of
the Roman Empire in the late 4th century, instead of
tolerance, more intolerance set in. Pagan temples were
confiscated, and their priests and priestesses were
either persecuted or massacred. Jews in particular were
senselessly persecuted as they were blamed for the
betrayal and crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Breakaway
Christian movements, including the Protestants and
the Huguenots, were hounded and forced into exile by the
Catholics. In turn the Protestants were intolerant of the
Catholics and others and would periodically burn so-called
witches.
7. Then there were the Christian-Muslim warring encounters.
These prolonged and violent Crusades resulted in the deaths of
hundreds of thousands of Muslims and Christians. The Crusades
were justified on the grounds that the primary aim was to make
it possible for Christians to go on pilgrimage to the Holy Land
without threat.
8. Although the Crusades had no lasting effect in the Islamic
world, where they were seen as mere routine frontier skirmishes
of two opposing armies, the conflict influenced Christian
perceptions of Muslims to this day. That Christians had lived
among Muslims in the land holy to both religions was ignored.
These Christians were actually slaughtered along with the
Muslims because they dress in the same way as the Muslims. And
so whole populations of the towns of Palestine were put to the
sword. Forty thousand were slaughtered in Jerusalem alone.
9. When the Europeans colonised North America, Africa, South
and East Asia and Australia millions of natives were killed
through wars or pure genocide because their heathen lives were
not regarded as worth preserving. Forced conversions on pain
of death were practised especially where the Spaniards and the
Portuguese established their colonies. In the process the
locals became so divided that they would war against each other
to this day. This is what we are seeing in the Philippines and
Indonesia and elsewhere.
10. In the 20th century, inter- as well as intra-religious
conflicts continue to afflict societies. These include; the
stand-off between the Roman Catholics and Protestants in
Northern Ireland that have resulted in thousands of deaths
among followers of each denomination, the Iran-Iraq war of the
1980s leading to uncountable losses of lives and destruction of
properties, the genocide of 200,000 Muslims by Serbian Orthodox
Christians in Kosovo, Bosnia and Serbia, and the tragic and
cruel killings of Muslims by Muslims in Algeria. In Palestine
the cruel killings are going on. The world stood by and hardly
raised a finger to stop these modern-day barbarism.
11. Notwithstanding the above, the history of inter-religious
relations is also full of anecdotes of cordial interactions
between Christians and Muslims. In fact this started as early
as the time when Muhammad was appointed Prophet. A Christian,
Waraqa ibn Nawfal was reported to have reassured Muhammad that
his traumatic experience in the cave on Mount Hira in 610 C.E.
was a genuine call to prophet hood. Then the first group of
Muslim emigrants sought asylum in the Christian kingdom of
Abyssinia. The ruler Negus wept when he heard Jaafar ibni Abi
Talib reciting verses of the Quran about Jesus. He then
exclaimed that, "The difference between you Muslims and us
Christians is just this line" - (which he drew in the sand with
his walking stick).
12. It is also narrated that when the Christian delegation
from Najran came to see the Prophet Muhammad around 628 C.E.,
they were offered to say their prayers at the mosque of the
city. Why did the Prophet open the doors of the Medina mosque
for the visitors? He opened them for the sons of his brother
Isa or Jesus Christ.
13. Intolerance breeds injustice. Injustice invariably leads
to rebellion and retaliation, and these will lead to escalation
on the part of both making reconciliation almost impossible. It
would appear that during times of stress, despair and
frustration, people become increasingly irrational, and they do
things which they never think they are capable of. And so we
see hideous brutality perpetrated by the most gentle people.
14. Once started religious strife has a tendency to go on and
on, to become permanent feuds. The situation is not unlike the
tribal feuds which existed among the ignorant pre-Islamic Arab
tribes of the Arabian Peninsular. Today we see such
intractable inter-religious wars in Northern Ireland, between
Jews and Muslims and Christians in Palestine, Hindus and
Muslims in South Asia and in many other places. Attempts to
bring about peace have failed again and again. Always the
extremist elements invoking past injustices, imagined or real,
will succeed in torpedoing the peace efforts and bringing about
another bout of hostility.
15. Perhaps religion and deep faith makes it impossible for
enmity between people of different religious faith to become
reconciled. It is because of this that some advocate
abandoning religions and faith in God. Many now openly
question the existence or relevance of God. They claim that
the world would be better if there are no religions, no belief
in God. The question that must be asked is whether the fault
lies with the religions or is it with the people practising the
religions?
16. Even a casual examination will reveal that the adherents
of most religions have deviated from the original teachings.
Some have become extreme and fanatical and it is these people
who give religions not only a bad image but actually cause
religions to deliver the opposite results from what were
originally promised. And these people are so seemingly
religious that few dared to go against them for fear of being
declared heretics. And so we find the simple teachings of the
Prophets becoming quite different from the religions that we
practise now.
17. The Quran says, "you faithful Muslims, do as we have
recommended and what was recommended to Abraham, Moses and
Jesus: unite in faith and do not separate". Unfortunately we
find the followers of the same religion divided into numerous
sects and denominations. Is this what was taught by our
religions? Religion should unite not only people of the same
faith, but all of humanity, whether they are of the same faith
or not. Religion should make people in the East brothers to the
people in the West; a white man brother to the black man; it
should make the believers merciful and kind to all human
beings, even if that person subscribes to a different faith.
18. It is narrated that once when the Prophet Muhammad was
distributing alms to the poor, an idol-worshipper asked for his
share. Muhammad said to him, `you are not of my religion, so I
won't help you". So the poor man went away feeling very sad. At
that very moment the angel Gabriel came down from heaven with
an urgent message for Prophet Muhammad, which said, you do not
have to lead them all to your faith. That is, you, Muhammad is
not responsible for the religious beliefs of all people, but
for assisting them regardless of their religion. You have to
inform them, but whether they follow or not is for God to
determine. God shows the right way to whomever He wants.
19. After the Prophet received the angel's words, he said,
"send the man back to me". He gave the man what he needed and
never again did he refuse to help anyone in need, regardless of
religion. God says, "What you give others is for your own
good". It is as if humanity is made of one soul, so if the rich
man helps the poor man, it is as if he were helping himself.
Muhammad like other messengers of God, was human and human
beings make mistakes. But God corrects them.
20. The edicts of God the Creator have been brought down from
heaven through the Prophets. They are not only aimed at making
peace among people but to encourage them to join hands in
brotherhood. Until mankind returns to the true teachings, we
will never be able to eradicate intolerance. If intolerance is
allowed to spread unabated, then it will spell disaster for
mankind. Today we talk about human rights as if we have just
realised it. But our religions have promoted human rights
thousands of years ago. It is because we have forsaken the
teachings of our religion that we now have to rediscover human
rights.
21. No one can be held responsible for acts committed by his
ancestors. Yet most of us are still fighting each other because
in the distant past our ancestors had fought. Because 500
years ago the Turks massacred the Serbs, today the Serbs are
still bent on revenge seeking to kill Muslims in Bosnia and
Kosovo because of what happened 500 years ago.
22. We are now at the beginning of a new century. It is a
good time to resolve to break away from the tragedies of the
past and to build on the realities of the present.
23. We now know what the 20th century has brought us. We had
welcomed free trade and liberalism in the hope that capital
will be invested more widely and so help spread wealth
throughout the world. Capitalism was rather subdued in the
days of Socialism and Communism. The Capitalists showed their
friendliest face in order to survive and defeat Communism and
Socialism.
24. Now the Socialists and Communists are no more. Capitalism
is the winner. The option to defect is gone and Capitalism need
no longer be friendly. Greed now rules, unabashed greed, Greed
with a capital G. Anything done in order to amass more wealth
is legitimate and honourable. Why should anything stand in the
way of unlimited acquisitiveness?
25. Perhaps the only hope lies in religion, in the true
teachings and not the corrupted teachings. God had always sent
Prophets to guide man whenever they strayed away from the right
path and suffer as a consequence. We have a need now to return
to religion as we face the new culture of greed which is
tending to destroy us. It should not be just a renewal of
faith but a return to the guiding principles of religion which
has always condemned greed.
26. The world, through a combination of God-given resources
and human ingenuity in terms of technology has never been so
rich as it is now. There really is no need for anyone to take
everything for himself in order to be rich. There is enough
for all of us to share. Poverty in this day and age is
indefensible and a disgrace for the level of civilisation that
humans have achieved. No one should be poor if those of us who
are not religious are not so greedy. Certainly the rich must
not steal from the poor to further enrich themselves. Giving
away a fraction of that stolen money as charity cannot be
described as philanthropic.
27. In multi-racial, multi-cultural Malaysia it is also
worthwhile for religious leaders to revisit their roles as we
move into a new era in the development of society. The greatest
contribution they can make is in promoting tolerance among
their followers. For example, major religions uphold good
neighbourliness and the honouring of family ties. These noble
values should be given a strong emphasis in all activities
organised by the religious body.
28. Religious leaders may also wish to consider setting up
inter-religious working groups at the various levels of the
community. These can work to improve mutual understanding,
adopting best-practice models from successful experiments where
effective local and national mechanisms have been established
for inter-communal communication, awareness and acceptance of
the undertakings made when one is converting to another
religion for whatever reason. Sensitivity to the beliefs of
others must prevail. Islam makes it clear that we must accept
that others will believe in their own beliefs, worship in their
own way. To them their religions, to the Muslims theirs. Just
as Muslims must accept the others rights to their own faith,
others too must accept and respect the rights of Muslims as
Muslims.
29. This is in line with verse 48 of Surah Al-Ma'idah of the
Holy Quran translated thus, "To thee (O Muhammad) We sent the
scripture in truth, confirming the scripture that came before
it, and guarding it in safety. So judge between them by what
God has revealed, and follow not their vain desires, diverging
from the truth that has come to thee. To each among you, We
have prescribed a set of rules of practical conduct and a
spiritual way and an open way. If Allah had so willed, He would
have made you a single people, but His plan is to test you in
what He has given you, so strive as in a race in all virtues.
The goal of you all is to Allah; it is He that will show you
the truth of the matters in which you dispute".
30. The young generation should be the target of a consistent
effort to protect and preserve religious tolerance. Young
children are usually free of biases and prejudices. Pupils at
the kindergarten level have no qualms about studying and
playing together. They often walk hand in hand without the
slightest feeling of distrust and insecurity. They provide the
best example of tolerance and peaceful co-existence.
31. However, more often than not this splendid and cordial
relationship will cool off as they grow up. Parental input and
other environmental influences may start to shape their minds.
And this will result in prejudices they had not known before.
The relevant religious authorities should look into ways of
halting the loosening of the bondage of friendship of these
young children. They can be made known of each other's
similarities and differences, as far as religion is concerned.
And it must be impressed on them that if they could respect one
another, then living together as a community, even while
professing different faiths, would not be an impossible task at
all.
32. The other vital role of religion in this post-modern age
is ensuring harmony in society by not knowingly and blatantly
sowing the seed of discord. It is true that it is the nature of
some religious denominations that propagation of their faith is
obligatory. But we should be careful that we don't propagate
religions at the cost of conflicts and violence. Such
conflicts can only bring about an environment where religions
cannot thrive.
33. We must be careful when undertaking matters involving
religion. The sensitivity of others of different religious
prescriptions must be given due considerations.
34. Let us hope that the 21st century will once again give
religions a role in the life of mankind, a role which can be
good and constructive provided we do not deviate from the
teachings in our attempts to establish the righteousness of our
own faiths.
Sumber : Pejabat Perdana Menteri
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