The Malay Muslim Myth

(Image from this amazing website!)

I think this image sums up how I feel about the whole Malay-Muslim myth that has taken such a stranglehold on the Singaporean Malay-Muslim population. They seem to have forgotten their roots - that while the majority of Malays are Muslim nowadays that there are still Malays who are not "naturally" Muslim.

They have forgotten that the Malay culture has non-Islamic elements and many practices stem from previous Hindu and animistic times. Kuda kepang performances still happen at weddings, despite a MUIS fatwa against them. The traditional throwing of rice, sprinkling of water and egg hovering over the bridal couple's face while they are on the dias is not Muslim.

This guy explains why it's problematic to make Malay and Muslim synonymous way more articulately than me. I think it's dangerous to lump the two because you end up confusing people who might go, "eh I thought only Malays can't change their religion" - when really it is the biggest sin for ALL Muslims, regardless of race, to renounce Islam. On the flipside, you might get Muslims (especially recent converts who may not be well-versed in their new religion) in Singapore mistaking Malay customs for Muslim practices when said Malay practices might against Islamic tradition - the previously mentioned kuda kepang being a prime example.

It saddens me to see the myth that all Malays should be Muslim strangle a good proportion of the Singaporean Muslim population. It saddens me that people cannot stop to think about things logically and would rather jump to conclusions and judge before understanding the big picture. Perhaps if we had an indigenous Malay population in Singapore like the orang asli in Malaysia, maybe we'll realise that not all Malays are one and the same.

The knee-jerk reaction to Christian-Malays truly alarms me. There's a vibe of disgust, shock and condescension. In my opinion, regardless of whether a Malay-Christian is someone who has renounced Islam or someone who was born Christian... they deserve our respect and at the very least, tolerance. Who are we to judge them for their decisions or how they live their life? You don't just non-Malays who aren't Muslims... why the extra attitude towards Malays who aren't?

Culture does not get eroded because you change religion - does being a non-Roman Catholic make one any less Italian? If people really care about their culture, they will do their darndest to preserve every element they can.

And really, if you're afraid of them corrupting your fellow Muslims... perhaps the bigger question you should be asking yourself is if you've inculcated a strong enough belief in yourself to NOT be swayed by external influences. If your Iman (faith) is strong, if you are true to your convictions - nothing anyone says and does can change your mind.
 
Bonus semi-related mini-post:  
Another comment I came across during a few discussions - oh now you can't take for granted that the Malay person who's selling you your food is selling you halal food. To which, I retort, that if you're that stringent about your food, regardless of where you get your food from, you shouldn't take halal for granted! If you think about it, some Filipinos look Malay - so even if all Malays were Muslims, you might mistake a Pinoy for a Malay and accidentally buy non-halal food because you're operating on an illogical premise!

People with this mentality are the ones who go to Europe and order beef sausages (and since beef sausages in Singapore are usually halal) not realising that there's a good chance that even if the sausage meat is purely beef, that the sausage casing might be pork.

It never fails to boggle my mind, how Singaporean Muslims take the ease of finding halal food for granted in Singapore... and don't bother to research what they're putting in their mouth.