Malaysia needs someone like Imam Mazhar Shaheen to model civilized speech and behavior of this kind in place of the trash talk, bluster, bullying and mindless squabbles about who has a lock on using “Allah” and who is a real Malaysian.
This kind of action is what would give “One Malaysia” substance and give Malaysians –of all faiths and all ethnicities–a shot at building a strong nation.
Like Egypt, Malaysia does not lack for good people. It does not lack for citizens willing to work together to build a better future for “our discerning children.”
The question is: do politicians and religious leaders in Malaysia have it in them to provide the public space for the kind of interfaith understanding and mutual, respectful acceptance shown in this video?
We had it once. We could have it again.
Simple. Beautiful. So hard to do. Can be done. Yes. It can be done.
Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. Gives us all reason to hope.