Love in the Eyes of Death

Highly Sensitive Article

Every country has a constitution, and it is the responsibility of public servants to uphold that law to maintain peace and order in the country so it does not descend into chaos. But in Malaysia, it gave way to something darker. The constitution in Malaysia enabled the government to insert religion, or in particular, Islam, into our law. And I believe it is a terrible idea.

According to a website, religion is known to be a personalized group of organized values, customs, and rituals that frequently revolve around the belief and the existence of a supreme being, such as a personal deity or a similar supernatural entity. Malaysia is a country that believes in diversity and celebrates the fact that there are diverse people living there. They celebrate the holidays and festivals of those diverse cultures. But, there are laws put in place by the government that are following the laws of Islam and not other cultures.

Having Islamic law merged with the regular law is not a good idea because it reinforces the idea that one religion is superior to the other. Aside from that, having other people following the laws of a foreign religion that is not part of your religion and your beliefs but celebrating the diverse cultures in this country is hypocritical. Because other people have different religious beliefs to celebrate the diversity of those beliefs and making them follow the rules of a different religion is hypocritical.

Examples of other people having to follow the rules of the religions of others and not their own are the restriction of specific movies. Recently, Malaysia issued a ban on two different Disney movies, which are Lightyear and Thor: Love and Thunder. Those movies were banned in Malaysia because they featured LGBT scenes, and anything related to the LGBT community is considered non-halal to Muslims. Personally, I am not a fan of Disney movies. But I do not believe that movies should be censored because of a religious law that is not theirs.

Another example is a movie called The Way Back. It is a movie this is about an alcoholic basketball coach having another chance at redemption when he is offered the chance to coach a high school basketball team. This movie is an inspiring and motivational movie that talks about alcoholism and second chances. It has the chance to push someone to be better and redeem themselves after they made a life-changing mistake but the movie was not shown in Malaysia because it features alcohol, a drink that is not drinkable by Muslims.

Another argument to be had about not having religion in government is freedom. As we approach the 21st century, more and more people are aware of their rights and they are fighting for their freedom after being oppressed for centuries, especially women and people of color. Everyone has a right to wear whatever they want, and say what they desire to say because they have the freedom of choice and freedom of speech. As of right now, Iran, a country ruled under Islam law, is in chaos after the murder of Mahsa Amini, a 22- year old woman after she was arrested by the morality police for wearing loose clothing and not wearing her hijab. As a result of her murder, Iran is now under civil unrest as the citizens are taking it to the streets, protesting for their rights and fighting for their freedom. The citizens of Iran are protesting by burning their hijabs and cutting their hair in public. They demand the Iranian government make changes to their law to provide their citizens with the promise of freedom. Even though social media has been cut off within Iran, the protestors have global support from people all around the world such as in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Rome, Korea, Zurich, and many more.

However, although my argument sounds promising, there are some counterarguments that may supersede my point. Because most of the people living in Malaysia are considered Muslims, we should be following their rules, customs, and religion.

According to statistics and the history of Malaysia, the majority of the population living in Malaysia are considered Muslims. There is a saying found in the Letters of Pope Clement the 14, and it is "When in Rome, Do as the Romans Do". It means that we should adapt to the customs of the people in a certain place or a situation and behave as the native people do in respect to them. That could also mean that the minority people living in Malaysia such as the Indians and the Chinese have no choice but to follow the majority of the people, which are the Muslims, rendering their voice useless and disrespected.

To summarize the article, religion should not be in government because it reinforces the idea that the religion in the government is far more superior than the other religions that are not in religion and the lack of freedom because of the rules in the religion that ordinary people not in that religion have to follow. However, religion should be in government because we should be able to respect the customs and traditions of others.