Thoughts on the cow’s head temple demo incident this Merdeka

By now you would probably have heard about the cow’s head temple demo incident, where a group of people marched with a severed cow’s head, took turns stepping on it and threatened bloodshed in the name of Islam. All because they didn’t want a Hindu temple relocated to (their) Section 23 in Shah Alam.

I’ve been thinking about it for a few days, and it’s unfortunate that they would choose to do this on the eve of Malaysia’s 52nd Independence Day, but believe it or not, their actions, originally intended to cause strife and ignite tension, may also have unwittingly caused some good. Let me explain.

At first, I was beyond disgusted. I was appalled. I… I had no words. I had never seen such ridiculous people, such… barbarians. These were people who had zero respect for others, people who thought that just because they were Muslims they could do whatever they wanted in the name of their religion. And the worst part is, there were kids in that demonstration. Young boys who chanted slogans along with their narrow-minded, disgusting adult leaders, who took turns desecrating the cow’s head (cows are sacred in Hinduism).

And then, I was embarrassed. I was genuinely embarrassed to call these people my fellow countrymen, and above all, I was embarrassed for the Muslims in the country. I read tweets and blog posts and comments about the incident, and I saw how ashamed many Muslims were about their so-called brothers in religion. I saw how horrified they were at what had happened, and you know, maybe for the first time ever, I was completely on their side. I wanted to defend them, to tell people who would make generalisations about Muslims, stop, they’re not all like that. Those demonstrators do not represent Islam. They’re gangsters, they’re an embarrassment. Do some research, see how genuinely sorry and angry Muslims are. They’re as horrified as the rest of us.

Just because those demonstrators did it in their god’s name doesn’t mean they speak for all Muslims. Religion isn’t bad, it’s when humans twist it and manipulate it for personal gain, when they use it as an excuse to behave like Neanderthals… that’s when it’s made bad. I don’t speak only about Islam. I’m a Christian and I can tell you, Christianity also has its share of deludeds, kooks and hypocrites.

So where was I? Yes, the temple demo was organised with hatred in mind, designed to provoke and cause racial disharmony and promote intolerance. But for me, once I got over the shock of it, took a deep breath and opened my eyes a little wider, it did just the opposite. The way I see it, what it really ended up doing was create a space and an opportunity for people of all races and religions to unite in their condemnation against it and against the misuse of Islam (and perhaps of all religions?).

I’m pretty sure this was the last thing they expected, and I take satisfaction from that. It does not mean, however, that these people should get away. This is an opportunity for the government to do the right thing and all eyes will be on them to see what happens next. Something should be done before these men – and all those who supported or encouraged them – spread their abhorrent attitudes to more people.

Happy Merdeka, everyone.