Islam Best Suited To Play Positive Role In Multi-ethnic Society

Kuala Lumpur - In a sense, Islam is best suited to play a positive role in a multi-religious and multi-ethnic society like Malaysia, International Movement for a Just World (JUST) president Dr Chandra Muzaffar said.

Speaking at a forum, ‘Islam and the Future of Inter-Ethnic Relations in Malaysia‘ here Wednesday, the political scientist said that this was because Islam embodied many aspects of universalism such as justice, accountability and good governance.

"I would argue that Islam, in a sense, is best suited to play a positive role... because the resources it had... given the universalism that is embodied in the al-Quran... It is the only scripture that prohibits a person from compelling a (another) person to adopt Islamic religion or any religion for the matter... (and) openness, accommodating everyone... those principles are there.

"...which is (also) why the British historian, Arnold Toynbee, once argued in his 1948 book "Civilisation on Trail"... that of all religions, Islam is the one that was most capable in overcoming the racism in our time and it has that potential," he said.

The forum was attended by foreign diplomats, academicians, members from several non-governmental groups and scholars.

Unfortunately in Malaysia, partly because religion was linked to ethnicity, Chandra said there was a barrier.

"Because of this... the link to religion and ethnicity, somehow we have not been able to go beyond this but the potential is there," he said.

Dr Chandra, who is also a professor at the Universiti Sains Malaysia‘s Global Studies, said that more emphasis should be given to the universal values and principles in Islam.

In his talk, Chandra argued that a big chunk of the non-Malay communities in Malaysia had, in a sense, retarded the progress of national integration because of their failure to understand the Malay language as the national language and the Malay privileges.

Source: www.bernama.com.my (June 11, 2008)
Credit Photo: www.success.co.il

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