Question. Which is more annoyingly self-righteous: the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) or the media? No. It’s not the MUI; they are far less annoying than the media, the self-proclaimed ‘voice of reason’!!
In spite of all their outrageous comments on issues ranging from Facebook to Hollywood’s latest disaster flick 2012, the MUI actually has never intended to impose their ‘truths’ on people who differ from them. Faith is something that you cannot debate rationally for it is made out of fear and anxiety – not logic. The MUI clerics, like the great medieval philosophers, are fully aware of that axiom. There’s no room for dissenting when it comes to ‘belief’: so, the MUI says, you just take it, or leave it. That’s why their fatwas are always exclusive; issued only to serve the interests of those who recognize their authority. If you are not a Muslim, or if you are but don’t believe the council holds the highest authority to speak for the religion, like the majority of Muslims in Indonesia, then you need not to worry about what the MUI is saying. They are not talking to you! What they are saying does not matter to you! But the media like The Jakarta Post and The Jakarta Globe are just so happy every time the MUI is acting stupid. Do they know that all religions are stupid? They are. Really. That’s why human beings love them so much. It’s not news anymore. So what’s wrong with the MUI saying that 2012 is against Islamic teaching? Ain’t the Vatican saying Dan Brown is telling a lie with The Da Vinci Code? The call for a ban from the MUI is virtually never enforced. Alcoholic beverages are available here. Prostitutes are everywhere. Pirated porn DVDs are, well, secretly sold but are easy to get. True they deem Ahmadiya heretic; but, remember, it’s the AGO that issued a regulation to ban the persecuted group. So all the media frenzy about the MUI calling for a ban of this and that is just ridiculous.
The MUI is indeed less talkative than the media.The media speak everyday. They have wider audience. Their mission is also not less majestic than that of the Muslim clerics: to “enlighten” people. This is the root of the problem. The media always speak of what they believe to be ‘universal truths’ which everyone should embrace. Indeed, it’s hard to tell if there is such thing as ‘a universal truth’. You may need to take a philosophy class, read hundreds of books and a lifetime reasoning to get the answer. But one thing for sure: what you believe is a universal and objective truth could be seen as a particular and subjective proposition by other people. The journalists are no exception. The thing is, they make their opinions known to public and present them as ‘rational arguments’ which are based on ‘indisputable facts’. And that’s exactly what makes them look annoyingly self-righteous. If you a read a newspaper: you’ll probably find the daily sermon: The government is wrong. The government should do this instead of that. The government is right. For we, the journalists, SAY so. The people are always right. For we agree with them. If not, they should be educated. They lawmakers are lazy, stupid and immoral. They deserve to be mocked. And so on.
I maybe biased. And I can also be as self-righteous as the MUI and all the ‘enlightened’ journos. But neither I nor the MUI is as insistent as the media in telling the people, the whole nation, that what they say is right.





‘Alay’ Rules!
Published October 29, 2009 berbagi 6 CommentsTags: alay, sane comments on alay
So it seems The Jakarta Post is the first to write about the “alay” thing. And the writer has done quite a good job. Stop bullying people on the Net. Let’s make our digital sphere a safe place for everyone.