For some I might be a kid who have little to none knowledge about Islamic How-To. I am learning though. So maybe we shall argue it in a non-textbook fiqh perspective. In a more sensical point of view. Because it is what i think the point of religion after all : practicallity. (Is it even a word)?
So, the big question. Do saying seasonal greetings make us a non-believer? Make us believe in the statement we say?
While we believe that it is a simple harmless common courtesy, does it undermine our aqidah? Do you mean it when your neighbor passes by and you say " Mampir bu haji". I never mean it. Bu haji know i never mean it and hence never once drop by in my house. We know we just being nice to each other. And it is very pleasing to be nice, don't you think? Because i do think so.
The most common pro-greetings argument is that saying greetings doesn't mean you believe in the essence of it, and going so far to give a parable such as : " If one saying happy graduation, do he also graduates?" . But when you say : " Happy birthday mamat" , you don't neccessarily have a birthday either, you just believe that Mamat have his birth that day. Same applied. Regardless the fact whether Mamat or in this case, Jesus was born or not that day or whether Jesus birthday is that significant for us, it is indeed important thing to our lovely Christian friends.
Imagine you are in a park, with your friends. Suddenly a friend come and bragging about his favourite soccer team winning. It is not your favourite soccer team. Everybody have one. You can be a nice guy to congratulate him or you can be that bitter jerk who say that their winning was a fluke and his team is suck anyway.
Or you can be that mom in the park. When another mom come and say that her kid is the most handsome kid in the world. Yes, indeed her kid might be ugly as hell, But do you want to be that mom that say it to her face? The one who say " your kid is so damn ugly. My Kid is the best. Look at his photos now. I will slap your face and murder your family if you think otherwise". Or you can be the lovely mom who compliment her and her kid. Do you believe her kid is more gorgeous than yours? Nah. Our kid is always the best. But you don't want to be that mom, do you?
Now let's get to the part where we bash the authority, shall we? It is what every cool liberal young adult do after all. The conservative bigots that called MUI who ban christmas greetings altogether and started our life-long debate. So old school in this progressive modern world.
Actually let us not. I never know why we love to bash MUI so much. I get that they issued controversial fatwa here and there. but if they contradict you so much, you might want to introspect yourselves. Do they really are old school or is it you that strayed from the righteous path further than what you perceive yourselves.
The fatwa to not say christmas greetings is applied to all population after all. To prevent so-called "degradation of aqida". Whose aqida will be undermine by saying a simple greetings right? Truth is, many of ours. Yes, our population is that dumb. There is nothing wrong indeed in saying greetings. But it might leads you to the curiosity of their beliefs. There is nothing harmful by wearing santa's hat in your work. But it might brings you to the drinking afterparty. We might go batshit crazy if there are no ketupat decoration or a cuti bersama if lebaran coming. But we don't want to share holiday atmosphere even if it in public space? How can we be so selfish? Because we are majority? But we always complain about persecution of minority don't we? How can we be so prick?
So the fatwa is actually indeed to protect our people, the clueless one. Agung Herclueless. You might not get the reasoning because thanks God you are able to distinguish what to do and not to do. The line between become tolerant and become musyrik. But unlike you guys, some just don't have that mojo.
Imagine you, as a parent, have a kid again. Your kid is hanging out with smokers. You don't want your kid to smoke because you believe it is unhealthy. But you cannot control your kid to attempt to smoke or not. Next logical thing is to prevent your kid to hang out with those smokers altogether , isn't it. Of course you can educate your kid the danger of smoking and trust them to make decision. But doesn't it require more work and thus harder to pull off ? Why don't we always take the easy way out?
So as an intelectual elite group of our massess, you can be an excellent and exemplary human being. Instead of bashing our decision maker, you can take the mantle of responsibility and symbolic or maybe literal santa's hat and show that greetings is harmless and won't undermine your aqidah. And then we can be tolerant mass, to non-moslems and among moslems too, as you aspire and full of taqwa as ever.
Merry Christmas.
Khairu Nuzula
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