Lina Joy Saga - A Rhetorical Plot

May peace be upon you always.

Caveat : Before anything else, Let me just say that I am a very very RELUCTANT blogger. Gliding from Blog to Blog (or Blog Hopping) is Never my hobby. Getting others to agree with me is Not my interest. And increasing my Blog Rating is just so not me.

So here goes. The world is now mourning for LINA JOY - perhaps the Christiandom only (?). The muslims in Malaysia are Overjoyed(?) for the victory? What victory? Hemm...where are all these coming from and leading us too? So this is a religious battle? I'm not sure to laugh or not to laugh in witnessing, yet another rhetoric ploy of the media (local or international) and the blogging community. So I feel very much compelled to post this. Bummer!!!

By comparison, Lina Joy's story was not even close to the Nadra Tragedy that sparked riots in Singapore some many years ago - in the 1950s. If you have not read the real life story, get the book. I can lend you the book if you want. Contact me.

To say the least, I'm appalled by all these - either the Pro-Islamics or Anti-Islamic sentiments. Too many insinuations and the hidden agendas by all parties. And I am sure they are beaming with joy by their own handiwork of these rhetorical plots.

Let me see, to say that Lina Joy has no freedom to choose her faith is a Foul Cry. She certainly has been a christian and had changed her name for many years now and still living in Malaysia. And to get the court to change the NRD's long standing procedures - simply based on "compassion and freedom" is truly an Orchestrated Ploy. And now it becomes a political twist? And some say that the court should Not decide based on facts?

My Rhetorical Questions:

1. What is exactly stopping Lina Joy from obtaining the legal document from Syariah Court that she has renounced ISLAM?
2. Has she actually initiated that process and the Syariah Court has rejected her?
3. Now who is crying wolf here?

Mind me, I am certain ( as a matter of fact) that if Lina Joy were to go through the process via the Syariah Court, it will Not be the 1st case where the Syariah Court will concede to a person who does NOT want to be a muslim. But the master mind of this rhetorical plot would not want this to happen - to expound and manipulate the issue further. Isn't it oblivious enough by the captions on the Media everywhere?

For the record, Islam does / will not gain or lose - whether or Not Lina Joy is a Muslim. The only person who will gain or lose is Lina Joy, herself. Since religion is a choice, and she has made that cautious choice, it is to her interest to get the document. (I still could not figure it out (already) why she chose the civil court to overrule NRD’s procedures – know so well that she could have done so via the Syariah Court.

If I don't know any better, someone is orchestrating this (perhaps by my own insinuation, Lina Joy herself is mastermind-ing this).

Here is my personal account many many years back (early 1980s):

• I was in the army then. As fate had it, I was on 24 hrs stand-by duty and was in the camp operation room with a Malay officer ( I think he was a major). High ranking malay in the army back then, were rare. (at least in my country)
• As our conversation progressed, he talked abt islam. But there were something amissed on what he had said about Islam. We went into circles until he told me that he was a Christian convert.
• By then, I realised where all these were leading. So i asked him..why was he still holding a muslim name? (Note : By this time, whatever he said abt Islam did not matter to me anymore - since he was NOT a muslim.)
• And so we got entangled into a heated discussion (not argument though). I certainly scrutinized him for bearing a Muslim name - when he was a proud CHRISTIAN? I pointed out to him that he MUST CHANGE TO A CHRISTIAN NAME immediately for the following reason(s):

1. Bearing a muslim name would only confuse his muslim friends / opponents - considering that he was all charged up to propagate his new set of beliefs. Very deceitful. Mind me, it is no co-incidental that most / some of the Indonesian Christian Bible, printed / translated the word GOD as ALLAH. Literally Allah means GOD.

2. Since religion is a personal choice, (though he was born into islam), it was only fair to the muslims or to the christians that he changed his name - allowing everybody to identify him from afar as a non-muslim. This would allow him to spread his new religion seamlessly.

Personally, I don't want any of my muslim family and / or friends to be duped and deceived by such individual. Believe me, I have no qualms on him (or anybody) wanting to be a Christian.

3. As a person who has decided to renounce ISLAM, he has also GIVEN UP his every right to talk or think FOR Islam. So none of his words abt islam - GOOD or BAD would hold any water. There would be no bearing what-so-ever.

Considering all these, and assuming that his case became a court battle and the court decided that he could keep his muslim name - HOW WOULD THAT MAKE ISLAM WIN OR LOSE???

Would Islam win or lose by the label he was holding? Would he lose his freedom - whether or not the court ruled in his favor? Would the Christiandom win Big?

My point is, stop the insinuation or any other theory craps behind this Lina Joy's verdict / saga. Shall we?

Or you would rather tell yourself that it is better to manipulate and duped others for your own rhetorical joy.

Waallahualam

/dzan