Suspect Islamic study circles: Religious teas, Part 1

Photo: AZHAR MAHFOF/The Star

In our rush to attain Jannah (paradise) and piety, we forget the following: character references and critical thinking. For a certain set of Malay Muslims in Malaysia, peer approval of a person or organisation and the concept of total submission to faith mean accepting a teacher (usually foreign) and his or her teachings as God’s gospel. And this is where it gets dangerous.

Being seen as observant of their faith and yet modern has become urgent for many in Malaysia. Practising Muslims see their faith contested in the media – both at news portals and on social media – and feel it is their personal jihad to protect their religion, and today’s Muslim finds modern technology a boon in Islamic religious teachings: webinars, social media platforms such as Facebook, and instant messaging platforms such as WhatsApp and Telegram can reach Muslims in ways not possible before. Videos on tajweed (Quranic elocution) and prayers are forwarded and photos of Islamic doa (prayers) are made viral online. The observant and seeking Malay Muslim need not go far to find out more about his or her faith.