JULY 8 ― On June 22, 1633, physicist and astronomer Galileo Galilei was condemned to house arrest at the will and pleasure of the Holy Office of the Catholic Church. Apparently the Church was not too happy with his logical view that the earth revolves around the sun. Reason was therefore imprisoned and for 300 hundred years, the Church’s "divine” thought - that the sun revolves around the earth - prevails within the Catholic Church’s community. Dissenting views were not tolerated and proponents of dissenting views were prosecuted.

Back to modern-Malaysia, recent events resonates the past, in the light of these cases:

·        PP v. Azmi Sharom [2015] 8 CLJ

·        Kassim@OthmanAhmad vs Dato’ Seri Jamil Khir Baharom & Ors ([2015] 1 LNS 1150)

·        ZI Publications Sdn Bhd & Anor vs Kerajaan Negeri Selangor; Kerajaan Malaysia and Anor ([2015] 8 CLJ 621)

·        Berjaya Books Sdn Bhd & Others vs Jabatan Agama Islam Wilayah & Others ([2014] 8 CLJ 51).

·        Dato’ Seri Syed Hamid Syed JaafarAlbar (Menteri Dalam Negeri) v. SIS Forum (Malaysia) [2012] 9 CLJ

Whilst the Government views Malaysia as a moderate country - as in the words of our Defence Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein - "Malaysia on IS hit list as we represent moderate Islam” (New Straits Times, 16 November 2015) - the above cases do not reflect the Government’s moderate stand in dealing with dissenting views.

The perception that we are a moderate country therefore warrants further scrutiny, especially in the light of our recent capability to export independent religious fighters to the Middle East. Question remains as to how, suddenly, a ‘moderate’ Muslim nation like Malaysia is able to develop this capability. A simplistic answer to explain the direct involvement of Malaysian Muslims in the Middle East conflict will be that these people are just delusional. Another convenient answer is that they have not received the "true” Islamic education.

However, "true” Islamic education is very subjective. The Muslim community itself is fragmented into many sects, and in the quest of claiming the throne of "true” Islam, one sect sometimes clashes with another, leading to bloodshed, as seen in the Middle East and East Asian region. For the time being, the Muslims in Malaysia - predominantly Sunnis, are spared from bloody sectarian wars plaguing their brothers in the Middle East. It could be that the majority of the ‘moderate’ Muslims in Malaysia have received the "true” Islamic teachings. In my view however, this is a flawed assumption, and one which may lead to a false sense of security.  Consider the following train of thought which remains entrenched within the Muslim community on Malaysian soil:

1. A state should come under the purview of Islam because Islam is above everything. This means the governance of a state should not be separated from Islam, hence, the term "Islamic State” - (see "Islam, Secularism and Liberal Democracy”, Nader Hashemi, 2009:146 - quoting the then Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak as saying: "We have never, never been secular because being secular by western definition means the separation of Islamic principles in the way we govern a country”)

2. Islam, as a comprehensive religion, cannot be excluded from the public and personal affairs. Hence, it is incumbent on the state to control the personal belief and practices of fellow Muslim. Any deviations from accepted practices will invite State intervention - (see "Islamic Leviathan: Islam and the Making of State Power”, Seyyed Vali Reza Nasr, 2001:14 & "Al-Hulul Al Mustawradah Wa Kayfa Jaat ‘alaa Ummatina” [How the Imported Solutions Disastrously Affected the Muslim Community] - Yusuf Qaradawi - 1977:113-14).

3. Ulamas (Islamic Scholars) defines what constitutes as accepted Islamic practices and laws. Questioning Ulamas’ views is not acceptable as they are considered by the Muslim community as "the inheritors of the prophet’s teachings”, and only they have the necessary expertise to interpret the Quran. (see for example, "Islamic teachings in Malaysia sometimes wrong because of blind faith - Dr M”, the Malay Mail, November 20, 2015).

Generations of Muslims in Malaysia have been exposed to this train of thought while studying in public and private institutions in Malaysia.  This is well articulated by Professor James Chin, the Director of the Asia Institute of the University of Tasmania, in his article titled "Malaysia - Clear and Present Danger from the Islamic State” (Brookings Research - December 16, 2015):

"While it is obvious that JAKIM, BTN, and similar bodies, do not officially support IS’s caliphate project or its murderous ideology, their promotion of a uniquely narrow Malay-Islamic worldview indirectly supports and complements the IS brand of intolerance. Many young Malays at the primary and high school level in the Malaysian school system are steeped in a view of Malay Islam that resonates with the IS worldview that there is an "us-versus-them” world order.”

It does not take a genius to draw parallelism between the entrenched thought system which is present in Malaysian institutions and the ideologies espoused by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria ("ISIS”). In both cases, the act of challenging established thought will be dealt with by the state’s instrument of enforcement. The only difference between the two is the process of administering "justice” and the severity of punishment.

Let me add a caveat though. This entrenched thought system does not necessarily turn a person into an extremist. A lot of my Muslim friends possess the same train of thought - it does not make them extremists, and they remain as peaceful people notwithstanding their thought process. Nevertheless, I have no doubt that this entrenched thought system remains a fertile breeding ground for a non-tolerant society - a catalyst for extremism. Within the Malaysian Muslim community, this unchallenged thought system has been set into motion for decades, and our motherland Malaysia is now slowly reaping the seeds sowed in the mind of its children.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online.