JANUARY 15 ― The Butterfly Effect in Chaos Theory states that small changes in a given system can have major effects elsewhere. I broadly agree with this principle. Things do not materialise out of thin air. One does not get an apple without first planting an apple tree and tending to it. The apple is the result of that long process.

It is the same with the recent phenomenon of Malay-Muslim Daesh fighters and the latest news of them killing over 30 people. They are the result of a long process of indoctrination often called “Islamisation”, a misnomer if there ever was one.

Last week, the ethnically Chinese ultra-Malay Islamofascist scholar Ridhuan Tee Abdullah suggested that all Malaysia’s airlines serve syrup (presumably rose syrup) and cendol on their flights instead of alcohol. He lauded Malaysia’s first “Islamic” airline, Rayani Air, for refusing to serve alcohol in accordance to what he says are “Islamic principles.” One should praise Tee for at least staying true to Malaysian beverages and not go “brand Arab.”

However, there are a number of problems with Tee’s position. The first of which should be patently obvious ― Rayani Air seems to be owned by non-Muslims, if we observe the names of the founders. As a Muslim myself, I have no problem with that fact but Muslims of Tee’s persuasion might. What if the profits of Rayani Air goes to doing haram (forbidden) things? Do we need pledges from all non-Muslim (and come to that, Muslims too!) staff members stating that they would engage in halal activities while in the employment of Rayani Air?

Secondly, Tee seems to be under the misapprehension that Malaysia is some kind of Taliban state. Our Constitution states that Islam is to be the religion of the federation. This in no way implies that Malaysia is an Islamic state in the conventional way the phrase is understood.

Our national airline is a product of our multi-cultural, multi-religious and multi-racial makeup. It therefore should bear the characteristic of multiplicity, not singularity. Tee’s notion of “Islamic” is fascist and oppressive.

Why did I connect Tee’s inane syrup and cendol suggestion with the “martyrdom” of Malaysian Daesh fighters? Because what Tee is doing ― and he is only one in an army of Islamofascists ― is to create isolation for the Muslim community.

Muslims get their own designated spaces like religious schools, where they never interact with other people. Consequently, they become very parochial in their outlook and insular in their thinking. They may end up seeing other human beings as mere kafirs (infidels) rather than equals.

Last week, there was a report that two Malaysian Daesh fighters killed themselves in two separate attacks in Iraq and Syria. Mohd Amirul Ahmad Rahim, 26, when he detonated the bombs strapped to him, killing 21 Kurdish fighters. Mohamad Syazwan Salim, 31, who joined Daesh with his brother, detonated his vest in an Iraqi police training centre, killing 12 and wounding 20.

Would I call them “martyrs”? Absolutely not. They were young and foolhardy and simply bought into the rhetoric given to them. Had they asked the right questions to whomever fed them this ideology, they would not have been sold so easily.

More importantly though, did these fighters arise out of nowhere? Obviously not. Both are clearly the product of our Islamic education. Probably in schools and possibly in madrassas as well. They were fed the moonshine of the Islamic State, the utopian state which aims to recreates the time of Prophet Muhammad.

This rhetoric is very effective on Muslims, especially when they are not told of the strife faced by the Prophet during his leadership years in Medina. The companions of the Prophet who inherited the leadership of the nascent state experienced uprisings and civil wars where three out of the four caliphs were murdered. This is the reality of the history.

In truth, the dissociative mindset perpetuated by Tee and his Islamofascist cohorts prepares the fertile ground which helps Daesh recruiters do their job. Potential recruits are made to recognise that Muslims are some sort of chosen people with their special privileges. Other people have less rights and must give way. Tee’s famous “Darul Babi” comment feeds into this narrative very well.

I do not believe Islam is like this at all. Not at its more essential level. Islam has ideals (which are totally opposite to the so-called “Islamic state”) but it is adaptable to any situation. It is not about some utopian Islamic state but rather a state of Islam which means a state of peace.

*This is the personal opinion of the columnist.