POSITION PAPER 2

“Of course religion is important but I am a Malay first before I become a Muslim”. Discuss.

Assalamualaikum w.b.t.
“Of course religion is important but I am a Malay first before I become a Muslim”. It is very complicated topic to discuss but I try my best to give my opinion. Nowadays, a phrase like that always can be here from mouth to mouth of society in order to determine what is important for them. But is it true? Is race are more important than religion? Is it true that we are Malay first before Muslim? In my opinion, I strongly disagree with it because we are Muslim before we are born and Islam is an "imported" religion than beliefs.
If we look forward deeply in the origin of man, we can define that we are Muslim before we are born. In fact, when we still in our mother’s womb, we had been asked about the religion, our beliefs. Why I’m saying it? It is because when we are about four month in our mother’s womb, we had been given “Ruh” and “Ruh”, itself had been asked either he or she want to be a Muslim or not. What is “Ruh” says? “Ruh” said that he or she will be a good man and only beliefs in Allah s.w.t. However, as we born, we are related to our family, cultural, race and environment. That’s why I assume and agree that we are Muslim before we are Malay not we are Malay before we are Muslims. In related to the topic, I’m not saying that race are not important but here I want to state that we are Muslims first either our family are Malay, Indian, Chinese and others. For me race are the second place after religion because on our Judgment Day or hereafter, we are being ask about our religion, our beliefs, our a’mal, our sin, our good deeds and all our “akhlaq” in the world.
Besides, how can we determine that when we are Malay, so we are Muslim? Have we fulfilled the characteristics of being a Muslim? In my opinion, when look into today’s world, Islam is more an "imported" religion than beliefs. Malays choose to be Muslims only when it suits them and revert to their old cultures and traditions freely. Islam is a religion but, to many Malays, Islam is a culture. It is a practice handed down by their fathers, and their father's father before that. It is something they do out of habit rather than out of the education they have received. Either we are Malay or Muslim, it is more important if we can be a proper or good Muslim. In this case, it means that we have to complete ourselves with characteristics on being a good Muslim as stated in Holy Quran and Hadith. There is a hadith where Prophet says that “it is established that Islam or being a Muslim there are five things upon it. There are to declare that there is no God except Allah s.w.t. and Nabi Muhammad s.a.w. the messenger of Allah, to perform the daily prayer, to give charity, to visit the house (Al-Haj at Mekah) and to fast in Ramadhan”. In addition, in order to get the validity of our religion (Ad-Din), it depends on the existence of both Islam and Iman. How we want to clarify the Iman? As stated in Holy Quran that “We have Iman in Allah, in Angle (Malaikat), in Kitab (Holy Quran), in Rasul, in Judgment Day (Hari Akhirat) and lastly in Qada’ and Qadar”. If we explore and understand what it means, we will not confuse eiher I am a Malay first before I become a Muslim.
As a conclusion, we have to know the relationship and differentiate between being a Muslim and being Malay. We have to be clear about the religion and culture as the majority of Malay Muslims confuse between them where they take both as one and the same on many an occasion. They practice religion as if it was part of the Malay culture, or adopt some of the old cultures thinking they are doing an Islamic thing.