OutSyed The Box

OutSyed The Box

Dr Mahathir And "Hadith"

Posted: 25 Sep 2012 02:03 AM PDT

I wish to thank my brother in law for sending in this comment from yesterday's Sun newspaper reporting what Tun Dr Mahathir said about the Quran and the hadith. This is what Tun Dr. Mahathir said :
  • "Muslim leaders tend to adopt the most severe punishment for crime, including implementation of hudud, in a bid to appear more islamic than others'.  He also said 'I find that we now give less credence to what is found in the Quran, but more to what is taught to us in the sunnah and hadith which is optional. Islam in essence advocates justice rather than mere punishment'..(The Sun, page 2, 24 Sept 2012)
  • "we now give less credence to what is found in the Quran"
  • "the sunnah and hadith which is optional"

In my humble opinion many "muslims" today are actually anti-Quran. The religious freaks among them are definitely anti-Quran. Quote a verse from the Quran and they get angry at you. Can you imagine that? They call themselves "muslims" but they get angry at their own Quran.  Kepala hotak terpesong macam ini, setan pun kalah.

Well, I really learn a lot from some of the comments that are sent in to my Blog. I wish to thank all those commenters.   I wish to thank one of my readers for sending me the link to Dr Qamar Zaman's Blog  Aastana  which you can access here.  This is a Blog site that discusses the Quran and Islam.  Dr Qamar Zaman is a Pakistani. 

Another of my Blog readers  has sent a comment about "Low Order Thinking" (LOT) and "High Order Thinking" (HOT).  Thank you again. The reader said that many of the comments that come in (from "muslim" readers, especially about Islam) is of the Low Order Thinking type. 

I delete many of these comments because they are too silly. (Sometimes I do let one or two thru just to show you how dumb they are). It is embarrasing to me that in our country there are people who have such Low Order Thinking especially about religious issues.  To make it worse, their comments are laced with rude or crude language.  It will lower the status of my Blog if I allow each and every one of these comments through. Plus also, the orang bukan Islam who  read my Blog akan lagi ketawakan orang Islam - nampak sangat kebodohan orang Islam. 

Try to understand ok. If you write a letter even to a crappy newspaper like the Harakah, the Editor will not publish each and every letter that you write. They will remove those letters that they deem are not suitable or which are too stupid. Even Harakah kena jaga standard kan?   

Folks, my Blog is certainly NOT a Harakah ok.  You want to kahwin empat bini, kahwin Siam,   kahwin lari, kahwin anak murid, kahwin janda, beli ubat kuat lelaki,  beli kacip Fatimah, baca doa budak dunggu jadi pandai, beli kismis ajaib, kismis tawaf and other such doodoos then please go and read Harakah. 

But this is OutSyed The Box. Saya pun kena jaga standard lah. Here I often like to challenge  the norm and challenge what is considered "orthodox" thinking. The language of choice here is English - a language I am very comfortable with and also because the most number of intellectual reference materials are in English.  Imagine if I wrote in Arabic, fa-lan yafhum.  

If you want to exchange useful information, you want to discuss something new, you want to learn something new, then  you are welcome here.  But if you want to repeat what you learnt in sekolah rendah ke, madrasah kat kampong ke, what your tok guru taught you, what your ostat taught you, then you can go and visit other Blogs. Or go and read the Harakah.  Dont waste time here ok.  

Everyday we can learn something new.  I would like to draw your attention again to Dr Qamar Zaman's  Aastana Blog.  This is the type of writing that challenges your mind.  Dr Qamar Zaman explains long held beliefs in the light of the Quran.  They are radically different from the traditional understanding.  Here are some of Dr Qamar Zaman's online PDF books that are available at his Blog. You can click on the following titles for the direct link :


I have read some of what he has written. You can read it and make up your own minds.  It is more important to see how a person argues their points and what proofs they present. Is there substance or not?

You cannot expect your ostat kampong or tok guru to discuss these things in such a logical manner. Those folks are brain dead - please accept my condolences. They will just scream and shout macam kera gila.  What is important is how a person presents his ideas or views, what proofs he provides to explain what he says.  And whether he presents his proofs in a logical manner. That is very important.

Then the people (that is you) can read, understand, rebut, reply, agree, disagree etc.  Compare what sort of proofs you can provide or whether you have any proofs at all for what you say. "My grandfather told me so" or "my ostat told me so" or "my tok guru told me so" is not good enough ok.  Kena pakai otak lebih sikit.  I dont know if this is asking too much. Fuse short circuit nanti, otak boleh blackout.  Shouting at the top of your voice, screaming worse than monkeys etc is just that - it makes you worse than monkeys.

Anyway if you are interested, you can check out the Aastana Blog. 

NGOs As Foreign Agents - Hishamuddin Wake Up.

Posted: 24 Sep 2012 09:49 PM PDT


First the news. 

  • Putin signs law branding NGOs 'foreign agents'
  • bill passed by parliament brands NGOs receive funding abroad as "foreign agents".
  • Putin "signed the federal law on regulating (NGOs) who carry out role of foreign agent"
  • requires NGOs receive foreign funding to register with authorities as foreign agents.
  • to allow checks of their income, accounting and management structure 
  • make public their sources of income and management.
  • "foreign agent" does carry negative connotations of unpatriotic behaviour.
  • "Materials published by the NGO in the media and on the Internet should be accompanied by a note that these materials have been published or distributed by an NGO carrying out the role of a foreign agent," 
  • broadly applies to any foreign-funded NGO engaged in political activity in Russia 

Firstly congratulations to President Putin. He is doing what is good for the Russian people. 

Secondly to all you genocidal and murderous racists out there, before you start championing the West, please explain why none of you demonstrate in the street asking the US and the West to stop bombing Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan? Or why dont you protest against the threat by Israel and the US to bomb Iran? Is it because only Muslims are going to be bombed? 

Or why is it that you cannot make any statements condemning the atrocities against the Muslim Rohingyas in Myanmar? Are you that bloody racist? What a heartless and murderous bunch of savages we have in this country. 

And the people who are bombing and maiming these countries are none other than the so called democratic and freedom loving West. What a bunch of munafiks.

Then they want to fund the NGOs, the SUARAMS, the M'siakini and other such riff raff to fight for freedom and democracy? Pi dah mabuk.  They want to bring down the Syrian Government, they bombed Libya to get rid of Ghaddafi, they got rid of Hosni Mubarak because they want to promote freedom and democracy?  What a bunch of munafiks?

Ok folks, the time has come. Now its time to ask the soalan cepu mas. Munafiks listen up ok. If the US and Europe want to promote real democracy how come they have not taken out Saudi Arabia? The most oppressive, racist, religiously maniacal society in the Middle East is Saudi Arabia. Why not the Americans and the West bomb Saudi Arabia and get rid of the Saudi monarchy like they bombed Libya and got rid of Ghaddafi?

Soalan cepu mas nombor dua : there was an Arab Spring in Bahrain last year as well. Then the Saudi Arabian Army crossed the causeway and shot and killed hundreds of Bahrainis and put down the Arab Spring in Bahrain. None of you munafiks complained. So munafiks - can you explain?

Why is the Arab Spring only allowed in non-US friendly countries but not in US-friendly countries? This is ok behaviour? Munafiks, over to you.

The same munafiks are here running the so called NGOs and websites which kononnya call for democracy. Pi dah mabuk.

How come you dont ask for Lim Kit Siang to resign? He has been heading the DAP for 44 years. How come you dont complain that his son has now taken over the party?  Is dynastic democracy allowed in your books?  

Munafiks, here is another soalan cepu mas. How come throughout the time of the dictator Mahathir Mohamed's 22 years as paramount ruler of Malaysia, his son was not allowed to even become Ketua Cawangan UMNO Kampong Seluar Terbakar? Can you explain that? And horror of horrors, Dr Mahathir retired from office nine years ago. Retired!!! Is that acceptable behaviour for a dictator? What about Kit Siang's 44 years on the throne in the DAP?  

And you keep quiet when Tokoh Liwat Negara, Pencipta Politik Wang and Bapa Rasuah Malaysia's wife is president and daughter is also a shooting star? His dearly beloved is No. 2. Everything is a family affair. Their party election was fully rigged. Rigged to the hilt. Tipu punya elections.  Munafiks - where is the democracy?

I agree with Putin that these NGOs and terrorist fronts should be labelled "foreign agents". They must be told to carry these words "Foreign Agents" on their letterheads. Especially those who receive funding from overseas or from foreign countries or foreign organisations inside the country. I agree that these NGOs and those who receive funds from abroad should :

  • register with authorities as foreign agents.
  • allow checks of their income, accounting and management structure 
  • make public their sources of income and management.
  • "materials published by them in the media and on the Internet should be accompanied by a note that these materials have been published or distributed by an NGO carrying out the role of a foreign agent,

I think this is a great idea that has now been made into Law by the Russian people. We really have to protect ourselves from these murderous types. 

Updated : Solution Looking For A Problem

Posted: 24 Sep 2012 07:07 PM PDT

Every religious group pushes their own agenda. There is one German Muslim scholar  by the name of  Muhammad Svend Kalisch at the University of Heidelberg in Germany. Kalisch is a German born, home grown scholar who became a Muslim at the age of 16.  A tenured Professor at Heidelberg, Muhammad Svend Kalisch created an  earthquake about four  years ago by claiming that most likely  there is no historical evidence for the existence of the Prophet.  (I believe he has since amended or changed that claim). Kalisch was using the modern academic methods of historical research when he made his statement. 

However it also came to the fore that Kalisch's religious indoctrination was of the Shia background where they downplay the role of the Prophet and play up the role of Ali the Prophet's son in law. So there is always some vested interest behind each religious grouping.  

Yesterday I attended a book launching by Abdal Hakim Murad (born Timothy John Winter), the English Muslim scholar of Sufism from Cambridge University. The title of the book was 'Commentary on the Eleventh Contentions'. It was a classic Sufi book - you cannot even understand the title. 

Even the grammar was off, 'Eleventh' is singular whereas 'Contentions' is plural. I always thought singular follows singular and plural follows plural : one cat jumps, many cats jump, one whale swims, many whales swim.  

The content was also not easily understandable. The author Abdal Hakim Murad aka Timothy John Winter did give a speech introducing his book. I think the crowd, a mixed group of locals and Middle Easterners resident here, was not  able to follow what Murad was saying.  At times I thought dia sendiri tak faham apa dia cakap. 

He spoke of things like fragmented aphorisms, ethnos (ethnicity) and Hebrew scriptural words like Edom - much of which I think went past the crowd.  At question time, people asked more simple questions about the Arab Spring and the hijab. 

I was invited to the event by a Sufi friend who was behind putting yesterday's program together. Once I saw the people in attendance, things sort of fell into place.  It was a gathering of like minded Sufi folks. There was a hugely overweight Arab guy also present in his robes, beard and turban - obviously the Sufi shaykh - all the locals were kissing his hand loudly, including my friend.  I think quite a few germs were spread throughout Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

The Sufis have a history as reactionaries who rebelled against the overbearing authority of the old caliphs and the religious authorities. To break the stranglehold of the religious orthodoxy (aka the jabatan agama gangsters of old) the Sufis developed their own "direct communion" philosophies. They said that they did not need the religious orthodoxy and could access "God" directly. 

My friends and I once met Sufis in Penang who claimed that by chanting some prayers they could see "God" in a piece of table top glass. Their "God" was at their beck and call. The reader may want to recall my earlier blog about "Delusion and Faith.'

Hence today's Sufis are quite against the Salafis. Abdal Hakim Murad terms the Salafis "Arab nationalists"  who are trying to impose an Arab style religion on the whole world. He also lumped together the Sunnis and the Salafis under the heading of "traditional Islam", implying the Sunnis are not too far from the Salafis either.    

The Sufis believe that through their elders or Shaykhs, they have seen the light. Their Shaykhs  are enlightened. They have seen the solution. Since they have seen the solution, they go around looking for problems. Isnt that just neat?  But this is religious indoctrination in general. Every religion feels that they have seen the light and they have the solution.

This is so different from the Quran and Science which study problems, seek to understand problems and then try to work out a solution. There are no ready made, permanent solutions in Science and the Quan.  One must apply the mind to seek solutions. It will be quite arrogant to insist that 'We already have the solution, now show me your problem'.

Among the Sufis there is always a covert dislike for the orthodoxy. I can fully appreciate and agree with them here. Hence Abdal Hakim Murad quoted the example of a chair being thrown against a window.  He said if there was sufficient force, the chair would break the window. Plain and simple. Murad then said that Sunnis, on the other hand, would say that Allah broke the window - through the action  of the chair. You know, silly arguments like that.  (In the meantime the 350 millionth Toyota has rolled off the Toyota assembly plant)

Coming back to the crowd - there were corporate personalities present including people I knew from my banking days. In the 90s I knew of corporate people who belonged to a tareqat or sufi group. They would  rush to entertain their Shaykh (who came from Tukey, Lebanon or someplace). Once a year, they would retreat to Switzerland or somewhere in Europe to spend a night with their Shaykh under the same roof. They believed that  by doing so they would gain 'magical powers' or blessings. It was said that the Shaykh would be consulted even before public listing exercises.  This was during the roaring 90s. And here is the catch folks : no money no religion. They would have to pay big time for the privilege of spending a night under the same roof with their shaykh.  Big money. 

Likewise the oversized Shaykh guy yesterday was driven off in a Toyota Harrier. That must cost plenty moolas. Also the Shaykh guy's tremendous girth would cost plenty moolas as well.  Plenty falafel and kous-kous to fill up that tank.

And I dont think the cost of Abdal Hakim Murad's trip here would have been covered by the sales of his un-understandable book. They were selling it for RM30.00 a piece and I doubt they sold more than 20 books yesterday.  

So what gives?

I think Murad was brought in as a marketing tool to win over new members. A Mat Salleh masuk Islam, Cambridge University scholar and author of un-understandable Sufi books would be just the right tool to awe the local kampong boys to join the hood.   

You got money? Who your daddy? No money no religion.

Update : Here is a YouTube sent by a reader (thanks bro) showing some Sufis doing the breakdance. Watch the guy kissing the feet and hands of his Shaykh.
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