Review: The Reluctant Fundamentalist

by Mohsin Hamed.

Untitled-1Changez’s personal journey of transformation and the conflicts driving it were believable enough I guess, but not particularly dramatic or striking (and lacking almost entirely in fundamentalism). His critique of American society/empire was also fairly tepid. I suppose that’s where the “Reluctant” comes from in the title, but it made the novel somewhat bland, like Confessions of an Economic Hitman Lite. On the other hand, the unusual narrative style worked well and kept me interested in the identity of the American agent till the end. I also liked the nuanced images of Lahore, Pakistani society and Changez’s position in it. So I think I’ll still pick up Moth Smoke or Rising Asia which play to RF’s strengths, taking place entirely in Pakistan and featuring experimental styles of narration.

Goodreads page.

Gurindam 12 Fasal 3

The 12 Gurindam of Raja Ali Haji

_______________________
This is the gurindam of the third issue:

Ini gurindam pasal yang ketiga:

When we guard the eyes,
Idle fantasy is minimized.

Apabila terpelihara mata,
sedikitlah cita-cita.

When we guard the ears,
Evil gossip cannot come near.

Apabila terpelihara kuping,
khabar yang jahat tiadalah damping.

When we guard our tongues
We ensure good outcomes.

Apabila terpelihara lidah,
nescaya dapat daripadanya faedah.

Guard your hands carefully
from sins both light and heavy.

Bersungguh-sungguh engkau memeliharakan tangan,
daripada segala berat dan ringan.

When the belly is too full
What it produces is distasteful.

Apabila perut terlalu penuh,
keluarlah fi’il yang tiada senonoh.

Take heed of the middle part,
it is there that many men lose heart.

Anggota tengah hendaklah ingat,
di situlah banyak orang yang hilang semangat.

Guard well the feet
from walking the pathway to defeat.

Hendaklah peliharakan kaki,
daripada berjalan yang membawa rugi.

 

______________________

Raja_Ali_HajiGurindam Dua Belas is a 19th century Malay poem written in rhyming couplets with free meter. It has 12 parts, each dealing with a different pasal, or issue. It was composed by Raja Ali Haji (1808-1873), an intellectual of the Riau-Lingga court best known for his history Tuhfat al-Nafis (the Precious Gift).  I’ll be posting my translations pasal by pasal.

Gurindam of the First Issue

Gurindam of the Second Issue

No God But God

… and Reza Aslan is the Author.

nogodbutgod

Tight composition, fast pacing, authoritative tone: it’s no surprise it was a bestseller.  Of politics and history it is a good introduction for the non-muslim.  But if the intent was to present a vision of how muslims should understand their faith under the challenge of modernity, it falls way short.  Even presuming the raft of hostile orientalists he draws from represented the most neutral and authoritative of western scholarship on Islam, the author’s own tone and framing make it needlessly more odious. We are informed the Prophet was “indecisive”, an “empty vessel”, a “hooked nose” Arab, that the Quran *was dictated by* its environment, that the 5 daily prayers are apocryphal, and for that matter the entire hadith corpus should be thrown out the window, etc. I’m not reverse Fox-News-ing him and saying he must be a staunch muslim to write a book on Islam.  I’m just saying this book is speaking to and from a position so far removed from the Islamic scholarly tradition that I can make no use of it.

Universalising Islam in Malaysia

iic1by Hew Wai Weng

in the Malay Mail [Full Text].

“In the past, ethnic Chinese who became Muslims were assumed to lose their Chinese cultural identity and become “Malay”. The recent emergence of Chinese Muslim cultural identities, which combine both Chinese cultural symbols and Islamic messages have challenged this widely held perception that “Chineseness” and Islam are incompatible.”

[Photo: Islamic Information Center, Kuching]

Gurindam 12 Fasal 2

The 12 Gurindam of Raja Ali Haji

This is the gurindam of the second issue.

Whosoever grasps what follows here
Must know the true meaning of fear.

Whosoever neglects the prayer
Is like a home without a pillar.

Whosoever neglects the fast
Has lost in both this life and last.

Whosoever neglects zakat
Earns from their wealth no barakat.

Whosoever turns from pilgrimage
Has not fulfilled what he has pledged.

Ini gurindam pasal yang kedua

Barang siapa mengenal yang tersebut,
tahulah ia makna takut.

Barang siapa meninggalkan sembahyang,
seperti rumah tiada bertiang.

Barang siapa meninggalkan puasa,
tidaklah mendapat dua temasya.

Barang siapa meninggalkan zakat,
tiadalah hartanya beroleh berkat.

Barang siapa meninggalkan haji,
tiadalah ia menyempurnakan janji.

___________________

Gurindam of the First Issue

Gurindam 12 Fasal 1

This is the gurindam of the first issue.raja_ali_haji2

Whosoever to his faith holds not
Is a man whose name will be forgot.

Whosoever understands these four
Truly stands among the knowers.

Whosoever has knowledge of The One,
Command, forbid: he will not turn.

Whosoever has knowledge of self
Has knowledge of Allah, azza wa jal.

Whosoever has knowledge of the life of this earth
Knows it is deception of no true worth.

Whosoever has knowledge of the Afterlife
Knows this world is profitless strife.

________________

Ini gurindam pasal yang pertama

Barang siapa tiada memegang agama,
sekali-kali tiada boleh dibilangkan nama.

Barang siapa mengenal yang empat,
maka ia itulah orang ma’rifat

Barang siapa mengenal Allah,
suruh dan tegahnya tiada ia menyalah.

Barang siapa mengenal diri,
maka telah mengenal akan Tuhan yang bahari.

Barang siapa mengenal dunia,
tahulah ia barang yang terpedaya.

Barang siapa mengenal akhirat,
tahulah ia dunia mudarat.

________________

Gurindam Dua Belas is a Malay poem written in rhyming couplets with free meter. It has 12 parts, each dealing with a different pasal, or issue. It was composed by Raja Ali Haji (1808-1873), an intellectual of the Riau-Lingga court best known for his history Tuhfat al-Nafis (the Precious Gift).  I’ll be posting my translations pasal by pasal.