To nurture a culture

There is vibrancy in Malaysia that is hard to match especially when we consider how diverse our society is when it comes to our ethnicity, culture and religiosity. The focus here however will primarily centralize on our respective cultural religiosity which is one of the most effective avenue in promoting unity and understanding. At the core, we are driven by what we choose to believe in and what not to believe in.

Depending on how we choose to engage with religiosity, both our own and others, it shapes and moulds our very moral foundation as well as our perception of not only existential matters like life and death, but also our relations with those around us. Given recent trends though, its effects have been more divisive than uniting.

Some would argue this is probably a fault with religiosity both as a concept and how it is practiced by those who identify themselves as faithful. The blame is shifted to the existential other, deviants, misguided and what other labels which we attach to those whose practices lies outside the scope of popular orthodoxy and ultimately stand distinct from the community itself. The issue is then further intertwined with other issues such as ethnicity, culture, economic and educational disparities.

The unfortunate predicament that we may find ourselves in once we go down this slippery road of ill formed prejudices, we begin to not only create a divisive fissure within our own society, but we run the risk of inhibiting our spiritual and personal growth as well. Religious growth in a modernizing world depends largely on our ability to engage with each other. Through meaningful engagement in our public discourse can we not only refine our own sense of spirituality, we may even discover new meaning and insights into how we can view the world and how we relate to society at large as well as defining our place in the universe. These possibilities are stifled however if we allow ourselves to be entrapped in a language that only knows bigotry.

What compounds this problem further is when we choose to ignore it. Once an issue arises, before any discussion can be made, it disappears from public discussion before any meaningful understanding and compromise can be made. It may have some lingering presence in the online sphere, but its presence in popular discourse has been relegated to nothing more than a soon to be forgotten unresolved event. Nothing gives prejudices, and intolerance room to fester more than ignorance that is enforced and accepted. When meaningful communication ceases, society slowly deteriorates and the ones who pay the price is not only ourselves, but future generations. If we continue to let it deteriorate, the identity of what made Malaysia proud and great, whether it be our cultural harmony, diversity, neighbourly and compassion nature, will slowly disappear as time marches on relentlessly.

Resounding from a quote from Anas Zubedy’s book, The Middle Path which reflects these sentiments on the matter, “Whenever it is something of collective significane, there is always a need to constantly communicate and recommunicate important ideas”.

Malaysian values, reflected in our admiration and love for all things just and peaceful, our distaste for meaningless conflict and our collective desire to build a better Malaysia not just for ourselves, but also for future generations. What is required the most is the platform to promote these sentiments and make them reflected in our cultural reality. The freedom to communicate without hindrance from socially constructed boundaries, and the discovery of nomenclatures in our language to convey our nuances in a way which promotes unity are among these platforms. It is a task that can be organized not just by large organizations and government bodies, but also society at large. In fact it is strongly argued that society at large plays the most pivotal part in ensuring that the values of Malaysia is kept strong and alive throughout the generations.

And much like how Rumi commented on belief and unbelief in the above quote, his idea of unity among all spheres of religiosity has a relation to the state of unity in Malaysia. Malaysian society may be divided in various ways now, akin to the yolk of the egg and the membrane which surrounds it. But through nurturing, care, time and effort on the part of Malaysians, it can create something more complete and whole. Through that we can perhaps move forward and find much more meaning in our lives, the lives of those around us, as well as new and exciting ways of seeing the world.

“The quest and the call for Unity is larger than politics, it is our nation’s core. Prime Ministers and ruling powers come and go, but the initiative to strengthen unity is a constant, ongoing process in which we all must play an active role in.”