Malaysia: Why Ban The ‘Lets Read The Quran’ Campaign?

When religion is made into a business and becomes a source for personal income, self interest will be involved in its policy-making. This is the real cause behind the banning of the ‘Lets Read The Quran’ campaign in Malaysia. The statement given by the chairman of the Malaysian Comission of the Licensing and Control of the Quranic Text, Harussani Zakaria (who is also the mufti of the state of Perak) that this campaign should be banned is quite obviously to protect the interests of the Islamic priesthood and not for the benefit of the Muslim masses. This ban is utterly illogical and according to Harussani, ostensibly because if the verses of the Quran are collected and printed without the Arabic text, this will deviate the beliefs of the Muslims. I will answer this claim in due course.

The main problem here is the perception of the Islamic priesthood which is gradually becoming disparate from reality. They to have to live in the human world which needs funds to acquire daily needs. Islamic priests have to become very creative in marketing themselves effectively. This is due to the fact that competition also exists in the religious industry. Islamic priests who charge exorbitant amounts for their lectures will experience decrease in consumer demand. They also need to stay relevant and hence engage with topics like deviant teachings and periodically attack the Shi’ites, which is a constant crowd pleaser Malaysia (scandals sell!).

Perhaps the funniest priest in this group is the ‘chicken ustaz’ (ustaz is the traditional name for Islamic priests) who sells chickens which are subjected to the recital of the Quran. Although these chickens cannot understand the message of the Quran, Harussani and his priests have no problem that these chickens are not actually listening to the recital either (which is sinful according to them). After all, chickens are constantly clucking. Could it be that the Islamic priesthood supports its own and tries to exclude people who wish to study religion democratically?

There arealo Islamic priests who are immune to economic forces. Even if the economy flounders, they’re still going strong thanks to the protection of the government with billion dollar budgets. They don’t even need to report to the people on what they actually did with the money, even though the people themselves are feeling a gradual tight squeeze on their own spendings. Islamic priests like these will forge policies concordant with their own situation. Why on earth would they take the trouble to encourage people to read the Quran if those people would later pose them questions which will put them in a difficult situation (like why does the Quran condemn priesthoods!). It is better to them to stick to beautiful, melodic recitals which no one understands, least of all, them. There was even a reality TV program once called ‘The Quran Academy’. Not once was the Quran’s message discussed. It was more like American Idol but with beautiful recitals instead! Did Allah descend the Quran for this purpose?

Maybe the Islamic priesthood does not realize but the world is changing. Even though there has always been people who question religion, but now their numbers are exponentially increasing. This is due to the fact that information technology can increased at a radically rapid rate. Social media has also enabled taboo topics to be discussed and allowed oppressed minorities to find support.

The group which has most benefitted from the aforementioned developments are Dissenting Muslims, Muslims who question, challenge or leave the faith. The internet gives them the protection they deserve to carry on their discussions. I have absolutely no problem with their dissent at all. In fact, I think it is a marvellous avenue for believing Muslims to introspect their faith and find a deeper experience of Islam.

One of the complaints of the Dissenting Muslims is the method with which the Quran is taught, namely that it is taught as a magical hymn book rather than as philosophy. In fact, its message is hardly engaged with. Perhaps as children, these dissenters felt no connection because they could not fathom why they were being made to spend hours reciting something they could not understand. Hence they withdrew and ultimately became atheists. Many of them exist at present.

This is why Harussani’s move to ban the ‘Lets Read The Quran’ campaign makes no sense. If people need translations, of course that person cannot understand the original text. So what is the problem with omitting the original from campaign’s document? If readers wish to verify the translation or compare it with others (a good move, to be sure), they only have the reference for those verses. So what is the real problem here? Is the original text some magical recital, like ‘abracadabra’ in the story of Alladin?!

In this day and age, the notion of the Quran as a holy book which is sung for spiritual rewards will no longer be largely acceptable. Muslims want a religion relevantfor the times. The Islamic priesthood needs to have open dialogues and help the people see the wisdom of this book. What does the Quran teach about politics, economics, morality, theology and other subjects? If the Islamic priesthood cannot answer these questions, why are they preventing others from attempting to do so?

Even though we cannot (and indeed should not) expect that others would accept our beliefs, we should deliver the message in the wisest way possible. This is indeed the goal of the Lets Read The Quran campaign. They aim to create a positive public discussion about the Quran. We should support and contribute time and effort towards this initiative