Deeparaya is, as far as I am concerned, a basi issue. Our societies are plagued with so many illnesses. In the name of Islamic state, dissidents are detained without fair trial. Corruption is rampant be it in Kuala Lumpur or Kota Bharu. God’s name is hijacked to further one’s political ambition. A municipality can be declared an Islamic city without meeting the criteria of a city. Even Khairy also wore something like a rosary while making his rounds in Pasir Mas. Combining the names of 2 festives, for most of us, is really trivial.

Rajan Seri Mohd Elfie Nieshaem Juferi (MENJ), my good friend, has explained to me the background of his entry, which basically can be applied to all entries in his blog:

  1. The blog is solely for the consumption of Muslims. Therefore if non-Muslims come to visit it and feel uneasy, it is not his problem. It is your problem because you idiots failed to understand his version of true Islam.

  2. He is not against mutual understanding or tolerance or visitation. It is the mixing of names that he’s up against. And according to the history, corruption of almighty Allah’s holy Islam had always started from mixing names with other idol-worshipping polytheist pagan religions.
  3. Religious purity must be defended at all cost, and in discussing religious issues, Malaysian context is a neglectable factor.

With his explanation, it is clear to us that he has proven that his brand of Islam is not universal, because not only the values of his brand of Islam failed to match the aspiration of the whole mankind, it is also alienating the rest of us in the world, while a truly universal philosophy should be acceptable to all.

My other friend, Wina, has taken a slightly different perspective. She claims that mixing the names of festivals of 2 religions are effectively acknowledging their Gods. True, believers of every faith recognise only their own God. However, whether this combination of festive names constitutes a mixture of 2 religions or a confusion of each other’s Gods is still very much debatable.

One thing I can be very sure of. Those who coined the term Deeparaya did that purely for the purposes of commercial reasons, or maybe what you call national integration, for the harmonious living of different communities. They didn’t do it for the sake of corrupting one another’s religious teachings. So you guys are really over-imagining.

MP for Seputeh, Teresa Kok has related her experience. Some Muslims residents in aDBKL flat in her constituency, under the influence of narrow-minded extremists, refused to celebrate Eid together with Deepavali. Due to their imaginative fear of a mixture between 2 religions, a precious chance for 2 civilizations to understand each other is wasted.

As a respected public figure in religious affairs, people like Datuk Seri Harussani Zakaria should guide the population towards embracing a more ethical and harmonious society. Unfortunately, failing to see the bigger picture, his speech is always more often than not a national disservice.

A lot of our daily words can find their roots in Hindu culture, many are widely used nowadays, for example, Seri, Maha, Negara, Guru, Jaya, Samudra, Purnama, Raja, Menteri, Utara etc. How far have these Hindu-inspired terms corrupted our agama, bangsa and negara ? You tell me :-)