To all my fellow Malaysians, regardless of race or religion, I would like to share passages from two books — one written by a Muslim and the other by a Jew.
The passages from The Eternal Message of Muhammad by Abd al-Rahman Azzam:
“In its modern form, nationalism is a new evil, and racism is worse still; and there is no cure for either except to uproot tens of millions from their present places of residence and confine them to specific geographic areas.”
The Message of Muhammad recognizes neither nationalism nor racism in their modern contexts; the fatherland of the Muslim admits no geographic delimitations—it coextends with the faith. In reality, it is a spiritual fatherland, just as religion is a spiritual matter.”
“Racism, or a fanatic attachment to tribe, nation, color, language, or culture, is rejected by the Message as a product of pre-Islamic idolatry. The prophet declares, “He is not of us who preaches bigotry.” Islam rejects every form of bigotry. All loyalties are directed to the word of God, and no relation above the spiritual is recognized.”
