Jihad and the Islamic state
PAS, for one, hasn't batted an eyelid and wants the declaration to be made in Parliament while DAP, which doesn't seem to know these days whether it is coming or going, has proposed the matter be debated in the august house. The PM himself, meanwhile, wants PAS to explain its concept of an Islamic state and accused the opposition party of trying to mislead everybody by pledging that it will reveal the details when it comes to power in Kuala Lumpur.
Patently, neither does Dr Mahathir's declaration that Malaysia is an Islamic state holds water no matter how well meaning the attempt to 'steal the thunder' from PAS. Although Islam is recognised as the official religion of Malaysia, while allowing for freedom of worship, the fact remains that there is separation of religion and state in the country.
Hence, it would be more accurate to describe Malaysia as a secular state. Even describing Malaysia as a Muslim country would be stretching the truth since non-Muslims equal the former in number while land-wise, the vast expanse of Sabah and Sarawak makes the federation a largely Christian-occupied nation.
An Islamic state is one where God is the head of state and represented on earth by an Imam of sorts, the Quran is the constitution and the Syariah (the Path of God) forms the legal basis. By this definition, there isn't even one Islamic state in the entire world and this includes Saudi Arabia which is the Holy Land for Muslims and Iran which underwent an 'Islamic' revolution during the closing chapters of the 20th century. In Islam, unlike Christianity, there is no separation between church (religion) and state.
Islam simply means "submission to God's will". Jihad takes place to defend Islam whether within oneself or an external attack by un-Islamic forces. Jihad can be explained both as an internal spiritual struggle and a Holy War.
True Muslims view life through two approaches i.e. whether something is Islamic (submits to God's will) or un-Islamic. For example, ursury (excessively high interest rates) is considered un-Islamic and, hence, the advent of Islamic banking which is similar to what modern/Western bankers call investment banking.
However, being Islamic is not the monopoly of Muslims. One could be non-Muslim but quite Islamic in one's actions. Similarly, one could be a Muslim and be quite un-Islamic in one's actions.
For example, there are people who commit all sorts of atrocities against their fellow human beings and claim that their actions were Islamic simply because they are Muslims. A Muslim, for example, cannot attack a non-Muslim for an un-Islamic reason and claim that his action was Islamic simply because the other fellow is a non-Muslim.
Clearly, the terrorists who attacked the WTC in New York and the Pentagon in Washington on Sept 11 cannot claim to have been Islamic in their actions. Their actions were blatantly un-Islamic. The fact that the terrorists were Muslims attacking a 'non-Muslim' land is besides the point. One's actions doesn't become Islamic simply because one is a Muslim taking on non-Muslims. This is distorting the message of Islam where one greets another with the words "Peace be upon you". The effect of this greeting is simply to make one aware of the peace and instill it in our inner nature.
