this is suppose to be my facebook..

Muhammad Fahmi Hussaini on melayu keliru tentang Hari raya:

all the hassle about the article has awaken many and forced us to question ourselves what exactly is happening to the Singapore Malay Muslim Community.

Coincidentally Dr Yaacob Ibrahim had recently announced the establishment of a panel of people who would look into the challenges of the Malay Community. Has our society really reached the critical stage to acquire such services?

Confusion is often caused by lack of knowledge. And lack of knowledge is caused by various reasons - ignorance being the most common.

It is about time that this community realizes that knowledge in both duniawi; to improve our standard of living, and ukhrawi; to strengthen our iman, build character and faith, is equally important to live in this world. We are no longer living in an industrial age where humans function like machines but we are living in an ever growing global community that seeks efficiency and effectiveness in all areas. Today, those who can compete will survive, and those who can't often leave their future solely to fate, maybe to death. But before we can even compete at that level, we must first overcome ourselves. How can we if we lack the knowledge?

Going back to the topic, we have to begin to realize that there is a fine line as to how much we can practice religion and culture at the same without compromising each other. It is either you succeed in defining that line or stick to one side or abolish the wall and have flexibility of being on either side whenever you want to or whenever we FEEL we like to. How we decide this is to find our direction in life. Where are we heading?

We have to begin to realize that our time in this world is temporary and that the ultimate end in our lives is to return to the utmost Supreme, th Creator of all creations. As Muslims, it is time that we realize that we need to direct our lives to Allah swt. But one may ask,"What happens to our culture?"

Islam doesn't forbids you from practicing any culture. Culture gives your identity, it decorates your life. But religion; religion is the core of your life. It governs your life. Culture doesn't. We need to realize that. We also need to realize that a level of tolerance needs to be observed. How much is as long as our religion permits and it is only with knowledge that we define this value.

Islam forbids us to break into groups and claim one to be better than the other. One say Tauhid is of most importance, another says Fiqh. Another says Akhlaq. Islam comes together, and everything is equally important. We do not take it part by part but we practice it gradually into our lives and let it become OUR CULTURE. Neither do we isolate and abandon those who practice or know less than us. They need to be embraced and nurtured.

Let us not be ignorant of the truth and change the path of our lives to the better. Let us not wait for fate to solely decide our future. We are Muslims and we know of our obligations. Even if we don't, Allah will always give us the opportunity to discover so as long as we put in the effort and try.

Wallahu'alam