Voting your way to heaven
Here's something to think about:
PAS (the opposition Islamic party) has maintained that voters who back the party will have a passage to heaven while those who reject it will go to hell, its spiritual adviser Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat said."The heaven and hell issue is nothing new. It is already stated in the Quran that those who rally behind Islam are also those who want to live under divine laws laid down by Allah.
"And naturally they will go to heaven for choosing an Islamic party while those who support unIslamic parties will logically go to hell," he told reporters after speaking at a weekly sermon at the PAS headquarters in Jalan Datuk Pati here yesterday.
Whatever you Americans want to say about Bush, at least he never claimed that those who don't vote for him would be sentenced to eternal damnation...
The same guy quoted in the article above has also said that "women are trouble", when asked to clarify statements by PAS religious advisors calling women the source of all evil. He has been known to blame women wearing lipstick for inviting rape, and in July 1999 he told Kelantan state officials to employ fewer beautiful women in the civil service, because pretty women "end up having rich husbands" and have less need for a job.
PAS controls Kelantan and Terengganu two out of Malaysia's 13 states. They have banned women artistes from performing in Kelantan, tried to enforce a dress code on tourists who visit the state, and also tried to impose a dress code on non-Muslim women workers in Terengganu. They backed off on the last two after the hue and cry that arose.
I wonder sometimes whether PAS is trying to shoot itself in the foot, but the fact is they do appeal to some folk. Religion is a very emotive issue. I mean, say something to insult another man's religion and viola! you'll have fireworks. When it comes to religion, a lot of people (Christians included) simply react without thinking. Witness Michael Coren, who has received hate mail from his fellow Christian brothers and sisters. Why? Because he wrote a column saying he didn't like Mel Gibson's movie, The Passion of the Christ.
Anyway, religion can stir up great fervour and give a party political leverage, although it can also earn the same party some brickbats. If you're the praying type, you might wanna pray for my country. We go to the polls on March 21.