YOURSAY ‘No ruling by the courts on transgenders can ever smear Islam.’

Ruling on transgenders 'could undermine Islam'

Anonymous_ABG: Khairul Anwar Ismail of the Muslim Youth Movement (Abim) declared that the decision of the Court of Appeal in favour of transgenders will be the virus that can destroy Islam.

How and in what way this destruction could happen, he did not explain. If he could explain, then Muslims, Christians and followers of other religions could join shoulder-to-shoulder and defend Islam.

Since Islam was formed, it has fought and won many battles and survived without the help of Malay Muslims.

To the best of my knowledge, the transgender community people are law-abiding. Like Kairul’s mother, their mothers conceived them and when they were born, Allah blessed them differently from Kairul.

Indeed, the punishment and ill-treatment of these people because of their gender amounts to disrespecting Allah.

Hmmmmmmmm: Khairul has the exact same thinking as those white Americans 100 or so years ago who felt that African Americans should not have the same rights as them because they are different.

The worst offenders were the Christians hiding under the KKK (Ku Klux Klan) hoods. Now everybody knows that they were wrong.

Treating everybody equally and fairly, regardless of whether they are different or not, can only enhance your religion, not undermine it.

Axolotl: Unless the intelligent, sane and reasonable Muslims in Malaysia step up to the plate and take charge, this country will soon overtake all other failed Islamic states in terms of reactionary policies that stifle individuality, suppress creativity and innovation.

There can be no real progress without honest, fearless, free individuals. No regulatory body or committee ever invented anything worth noting - their job is just to keep themselves looking busy and comfortably employed.

Anonymous #45527285: The Malays are humble and compliant. They do not like to simply challenge the authorities.

It appears that religious zealots have taken advantage of their humility and come out with all kinds of legislation to control their mind, thoughts and conduct.

Based on the Malaysian constitutional principles, religious laws should be confined to marriage, divorce, custody, maintenance and distribution of properties. Other forms of human conduct and behaviour should be within the realm of Parliament to enact laws in line with the fundamental liberties in the constitution.

Laws like in Kelantan, which imposes the separation of gender in cinemas, shopping malls, beauty/hair saloons; forceful wearing of attires; encroaching/intruding into people's privacy; wearing of make-up; and etc, should be challenged on the grounds of being ultra vires to the fundamental liberties in the constitution.

Observer: Indeed, Abim leaders are talking rubbish. Giving human rights to transgenders will not destroy Islam, the identity of Muslim society and that of all people of religion in Malaysia. People should not be discriminated against based on their sexual orientation.

Tok Karut: I believe Khairul is bordering on contempt of court. Really, how is it insulting to Islam? State the argument, head of Abim legal bureau. Kata loyar tapi tak de argument yang sahih atau menasabah.

Like, have you spoken to any member of our transgender community or do you run away thinking that your proximity to them might affect your ‘iman’ by osmosis?

Think: Religion or a belief system should only spread love, kindness, peace and unity for the sake of goodness on earth, if it is to exist. It should serve no other purpose than this.

If a particular religion or belief system has parts of its teachings to appoint people to cause threat and harm to someone else for whatever reason in the name of a "divine law" or a God or gods, then it is no doubt a man-made system to fulfil a male personal ideology.

Malaysian 1st: God loves everybody, including transgenders. There are many Section 377 offenders in the country. Go do the dark lanes when the night falls. You see transgenders and non-transgenders behaving the same.

Yet there are God-fearing transgenders. There are transgenders many times better than non-transgenders, especially those claiming to be religious. God knows the best because He is all knowing.

Mk: Let me ask the Abim leader a question. Have the transgenders weakened your faith in your religion? No? Then why do you think other people's faith will be weakened?

This is just holier-than-you attitude. I think what the conservatives fear most is losing power and influence (and wealth, of course).

Mohican: Khairul, recently a religious leader told an interfaith audience that corruption is worse than sin. There is rampant corruption everywhere, theft with impunity of public funds and huge abuse of public funds, year in and year out as reported in the Auditor-General's Report.

Now, doesn't this undermine Islam more than transgenders? Why do you people only consider a condition among a small group of people, who are how they are through no fault of theirs, as being such a huge sin that it will threaten a religion and shake it to its core?

Village Idiot: Although I personally think the LGBTs (lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders) are 'sick' in the head, having been a medical doctor since 1989, I recognise that these people have a serious problem.

To me, they still are human, and ought to be accorded their rights, as disdainful as it may be to me. I feel that people like Khairul should accord the LGBTs their right to existence.  

Swipenter: People like Khairul take everything that is not to their liking as setting out to confuse and destroy Bolehland Muslims and his ideal of Islam. No wonder such Muslims seek to contain and control every aspect of Muslim way of life.

They try to restrict access to information, knowledge, demonised diversity and pluralism, different views, cultures, identities, etc.

This could only mean that they themselves have no strong self-confidence and identity of their own that they seek to reaffirm their own self-worth by demonising, insulting and even harming others different from them.

Fair Play: Abim, I would like to ask you a fundamental question that would test your intellectual capacity and reasoning power.

Why is that LGBT are born into every community and major religions of the world, including atheism? Is it because man proposes while God disposes?

Desperate for Change: Well done, Court of Appeal. Transgenders are human beings. They have equal rights, just like any other Malaysian. How will they live if the Islamic institutions hound them? Where will they go?

Vijay47: Of the millions of things that could occur or we could encounter on Earth, I am sure that there must be some which would not undermine Islam, confuse Muslims, or weaken their faith.

I would be glad if some Islamic body would, for the benefit of both Muslims and non-Muslims, list down these three or four items so that we would be aware of what does not cause distress or disaster to Muslims.

Who knows, the list might even strengthen our own faith.

Imraz Ikhbal: No ruling by the courts on transgenders can ever smear Islam. It is the bigotry of Muslim clerics with their perverse advocacy that mars and desecrates the beautiful religion of Allah.

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