Focus on ‘real’ issues
THE recent furore over the snack food “Pretzel Dog”, a name alleged as causing delays in Auntie Anne’s halal food certification’s approval by the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim), has again raised unnecessary angst among Muslims. For instance, the brouhaha in the media when Jakim refuted Auntie Anne’s claim and accused the food outlet of misleading the public. Even the minister in charge admitted that the matter was blown out of proportion by social media. But, “A rose”, according to Shakespeare, “by any other name would smell as sweet”, which presumably would mean that A&W’s Coney Dog, now either Coney Beef or Coney Chicken, tastes just as good despite the name change.
So, where is the problem? Is being politically correct an absolute must? After all, sausage-based food is a recent culinary import. There is, too, local delicacies inaptly named like tahi itik. The question then — should the names of food be “Islamised”? That form should take precedence over substance suggests simply a fixation with the superficial, a lack of depth, and the absence of profundity. Given that the controversy revolves around Islam, claimed by its champions as a complete weltenschauung (world view), surely Jakim’s pertinence to the religion is more than just silly stuff. How about ensuring Islam’s growth and development in the country? To spend much time over form then is to ignore the essence of what makes Islam one of the world’s great religions. As to the halal certification, it should be an unambiguous, simple procedure centred on content of the food, the hygiene of the production facility and the preparation itself. Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom, the minister in charge of
Islamic affairs, said Jakim had no intention to ban the use of wellestablished food terms, but the name of the food should reflect societal norms, and the people’s perception and sensitivity should be taken into consideration. Fair enough.
Hence, Jakim’s manpower should then be mobilised more in line with current needs; like ensuring that the misrepresentation of the religion by Daesh or the Islamic State is corrected. Also, the challenge of Wahhabism to the long established practices of the Shafie mazhab (school of thought) in this country must be tackled. Jakim must take the lead and prevent the country from reverting to, for example, the Talmudic punishment of stoning to death, or rajm, not found in the Quran. Jakim, too, as the country’s premier institution for the development of Islam, must take the lead in advocating a faith that seeks to build the country economically, socially and politically. Malaysia must seek to become the new centre of contemporary Islam, especially now with parts of the Middle East in chaos; but that cannot happen if the obsession is with all things perfunctory. An Islamic renaissance can only come when works of such great Islamic philosophers and theologians as Ibn Rushd, Ibn Sina, Al-Ghazali, Ashaari, to name but a few, become mainstream knowledge. When young Muslims can cite alGhazali’s seminal work The Incoherence of the Philosophers as they do Einstein’s E=MC2, only then Jakim would have achieved its purpose.