Understanding Najib's pluralism

There have been quite a number of comments on pluralism on the net and the print media since the Prime Minister has warned that religious pluralism is unIslamic. It is obvious that such statements would continue to stir debate, because the underlying nature of its discourse is much related to exclusivity and superiority.

Besides, how does one reconcile pluralism with equality in the Malaysian context where ethno-religious dominance helps in maintaining the legitimacy of the current political establishment? The fundamental essence of pluralism within religious beliefs is the creativity in spirituality that it unfolds.

For instance, different religious orders within the Catholic faith has brought about greater variety and creativity of spiritual traditions, that have made the church into a vibrant and exciting spiritual force, commonly linked to the foundation of truths related to the teaching of Christ. It is vital to understand that while one has an exclusive understanding of basic tenets of faith, that does not in any way jeopardize the inclusive and pluralist aspect of spirituality as could be observed in the religious orders.

The second aspect of pluralism could be seen within the context of living in a multi-ethnic and multi religious society such as in Malaysia. If pluralism is against religious belief how is one to live side by side with persons who are from a different religious belief, since one thinks of oneself and one’s religion as superior?

How is equality that is stated in the Malaysian Constitution reconciled with the Prime Minister’s view? This basically leads to superficial relationships among communities of different religious beliefs and shows a fatal flaw in the Prime Minister’s assertion. This is the reason we find Malaysian religious leaders are still finding it difficult to come into a common ground on issues of great significance and substance.

What we see is a get-together during religious festivals, whilst asserting the slogan of 1Malaysia, but not standing side by side in fighting injustice in the Malaysian context, such as corruption, nepotism and abuse of power. This is the sad reality in Malaysia where political leaders are still unable to understand the substance of their own slogans and in the process confuse their followers on where they really stand.

Political survival takes precedence instead of doing what is right and ethical. Malaysia today needs an exodus from exclusive ethno-religious dominance to common ethical religious dominance in our social and political life. Unless this takes place we will continue to see contradictions in 1Malaysia.

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