There were always dogs in my life — Dina Zaman

OCTOBER 22 — My first encounter with one dog was when I was very young, and it was a wolfhound owned by my aunt and her Italian husband, and his name was Arturo. They visited us in our apartment in Moscow, and while my mother screamed blue murder, my father and I were delighted by this happy bundle of fur.

The second dog I encountered was Krocka, owned by the very same couple, and it was a Doberman whose idea of fun was chasing all of us very aggressively around the garden, when we visited them in Italy. Until today, I view Dobermans with great suspicion. The moment I see one, I turn back to where I came from!

But there has always been the presence of dogs in our lives. My uncle, whose late father was the eminent Mufti of Terengganu, speaks fondly of their guard dogs in private moments.

Granted that the dogs were kept to guard their home, and that very fact scandalised the whole state of Terengganu, they had a special place in my uncle’s and his family’s hearts.

In fact, many of my good friends, whose grandfathers were ustazs, kept dogs to guard their homes, and my friends have happy memories of their faithful canine friends.

So it was heartening to observe from afar, the response to Syed Azmi’s I Want To Touch A Dog event that was held last weekend. After all the political peccadilloes we Malaysians had experienced, something positive was happening.

It had the markings of, and is a success: Syed Azmi had the mandate of the state religious authorities and an Ustaz spoke at the event. A thousand Malaysians of all faiths came to support the event. It cannot be denied that the event would be deemed controversial in a more and more religiously regressive Malaysia.

Within 24 hours, the conservatives and Malays who opposed the event, condemned the event and the hapless organiser Syed Azmi.

In some ways, we should be open and positive to the backlash: One, it opened a debate. The event has created the space for Muslims to discuss and (dis)agree about the hukum of touching and keeping dogs as pets.

Two: Many Muslims, hijabbed or not, are creating their own boundaries, and this is forcing the ulamas to deal with the very situation that they (Muslim Malaysians) will not be cowed by fatwas and want to discover their faith on their own terms.

Three: This event has also opened a Pandora’s Box on mazhabs – Muslims in Malaysia follow the Shafie’ rule of Islam. But does this mean that the other Mazhabs are lesser in their teachings?  The question now (among many Muslims) is about whether Muslims can follow other Mazhabs instead of Shafie? After all, we Muslims must follow the Quran and Sunnah – the mazhabs are Islamic schools of jurisprudence.

While the three points above are being debated on, there is one thing that does not sit well with me.

The vitriol heaped onto the poor organiser and his family, the Ustaz who came to talk about Islam and dogs. How come this anger cannot be demonstrated towards social ills such as poverty, substance abuse, the plight of Muslim refugees in Malaysia?

I always refer to the Quran during times of grief, and this is one of the verses I turn to: Allah SWT says: “O you, who believe, avoid much suspicion, for some suspicion is a sin. Neither spy on one another, nor backbite one another. Would one of you love to eat the flesh of his dead brother? Nay, you would detest it, [so similarly, avoid backbiting]. And fear Allah. Indeed, Allah is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.” [Al-Hujurat, 49:12]

How can these Facebook mullahs accuse Syed Azmi of being a Christian? How dare they heap fitnah on other Muslim Malaysians. None of us are perfect, and each one of us has our own religious journey.

As someone who has been much maligned in this country, I have the following advice for Syed Azmi:

·         Don’t read anything or listen to anything about you or the event.

·         Do not fall prey to individuals or organisations who may use your position to strengthen their cause, but weaken your stance.

·         You can do these: be with very good friends and know that you did what you felt was right. These histrionics assume that they have a place in Syurga, but they are not Allah. They just think they are.

·         And since they have damned you (and many others) to hell, say this: I’ll see you there too.

·         Lastly, the more crap you receive, the more pahala you will get. Remember, number one is Allah. Not them.

PS: Janji kita jelita, ok?

*Dina Zaman is a columnist with Malay Mail Online.

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