First, the little something. Went to library to stock up on books for holiday, and being a person who thinks "Never limit yourslef", I headed to the Malay books shelf...Experimenting, you know.. And so a book caught my eye, a novelet for Muslim teenagers from Indonesia, titled "Yang Tak Tersentuh". Reading the back cover, one of the story is about a pastor-to-be loving a Muslim girl, which I thought is pretty interesting to be featured in an Islamic novel. So I proceeded to read the compilation of short stories.
Then, one of the story turned out to be about a pair of Christian teenagers (explicitly stated, and the girl was even described as wearing cross-shaped earrings.) deceiving, drugging and "christianizing" a Muslim girl. Until here I was still okay. But then, I read below the story, a postcript: "
"Catatan: Wawah adalah korban program kristenisasi di Padang, Dia diculik, diperkosa, dipaksa melepaskan jilbabnya lalu dikristenkan."
(Literal translation: Wawah is a victim of the christianization program in Padang, She was KIDNAPPED, RAPED, FORCED TO TAKE OFF HER TUDUNG and then 'CHRISTIANIZED'. Emphasis mine.)
Say WHHAAAAATTTTTT?????? DID I READ THAT CORRECTLY????
The moment I read it I was so angry at the author, at the publisher who allowed the book to be published,at whoever that is who taught the author that kind of skewed belief...the desire was very strong to do *unspeakable things* to any persons invloved in the perpetuation of this so very misleading and damaging lie! ARGH!!
Don't get me wrong. I do not think that all Muslims and Islam are bad because of that. Just as the people who raped the Chinese community while shouting "'Allahu akbar!" in May 1998 did not represent Muslims in general, I'm sure (or at least, i really hope) this defamation does not represent the view held by Muslims in general. Not all Christians are saints either. We did our share of shameful things, entrenched in the church history and impossibel to erase. I am just SO.VERY.ANGRY that in this day and age where it is difficult enough to allay the tensions between people who are perceived as different, someone seeks to plant such a potent seed of discord. I mean, c'mon RAPING people to "christianize" them????? Hello!!!!?? And pray how would Christian wives react if their husbands decide this is a more fun method than going through the difficult way of living their lives as examples of Christian teachings???!!!
Grrrrh...But enough about that. When I was browsing also found a book about polygamy, specifically on the polygamy of Aa Gym, previously quite a respected Muslim preacher who pretty much lost his popularity after he decided to take another wife. (See, i have faith in the common sense of the general Muslim population in Indonesia.) A funny coincident since I brought it up in a chat with my friend in the morning.
Curious, I read the back page and this is basically what is said, translated:
"In the view of Aa Gym, polygamy, which is allowed, is demeaned, while having an affair which is prohibited became the norm. It is this basis that encourages Aa Gym to marry another wife.
So, it is highly probable that Aa actually did not want to practice polygamy, but this fact forces him to choose this road. He did not have even a bit of desire to practive polygamy, but circumstances forced him to do it. An emergency measure for the purpose of telling every Muslim who does not yet know that sexual relationships outside of marriage is haram (wrong) and polygamy is halal (right)."
Pretty speechless by the time I finished reading that... Kalau mau polygamy dan ada wanita yang mau dimadu, ya silakan aja, asal adil, tapi masa harus di justify sampe terbitkan buku segala??!! parah!
Oh well, aside from these two glitches my evening went rather well. The weather is perfect for reading,and Jasper Fforde's new novel is out! Those who claim themselves booklovers, especially who love classics, simply must read him! He takes classic characters and weaves around them masterful plotlines... the newest novel is titled "The Fourth Bear", in reference to Goldilocks and the three bears, and I quote:
"The Gingerbreadman - psycopath, genius, convicted murderer and biscuit - is loose on the streets of Reading."
Also there is a question that I wonder why I have never asked before:
"How could the bears'' porridge be at such disparate temperatures when they were set at the same time?"
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