From Dollar to Islamic Dinar- the conversion of Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson converts to Islam.
Many years ago, the UMNO general assembly, was stunned by a declaration. It was made by a representative of an UMNO delegate from one of its overseas club. He announced proudly that Michael Jackson, had converted to Islam.
There was a thunderous applause. The sober among us, exercised emotional restraint. We had no way of ascertaining the truth of the announcement.
It turned out that MJ had not converted. Today, we are once again told of the same thing. Michael Jackson has converted to Islam. He is also due to face legal suit from a Arab Sheikh in a few days in
If MJ were to be converted to Islam, that is good. Its an addition of one person to the over 1 billion people of the Islamic faith. 70% of which live in abject poverty and the majority of whose nations are grouped under the less developed countries.
That tells us, that Muslims as a whole are what? Poor, lived in less developed countries, depressed, intensely stressed out and so forth.
The mentally subjugated people, from within and without, needs this kind of stress relieving news. It adds some sun in the gloomy days of the Muslim.
The point is, does Islam need the conversion of a celebrity to perk our great religion up? The news of whether whacko Jacko had converted or otherwise should not be used as an accreditation to our religion. The kind of news that is most welcomed by a mentally oppressed people.
That was the feeling one gets from the unquestioning delegates of the UMNO General Assembly many years ago. It’s the kind of reception one would normally associate with a culturally subjugated people.
Its like Razak Baginda supplementing God to whom DS Najib has pledged his innocence to. Allah is not enough just as Islam is unfulfilled unless a person like whacko Jacko comes along.
6 comments:
baginda ain't too hot eh?
but he is quite bright.
Bro Sakmongkol,
It hard to say that. To us it may be insignificant, but to others it means a lot.
One good example of celebrity conversion to Islam is Muhammad Ali, the boxer. For us, it does not mean anything. Just an addition of one in a billion. But his conversion sparked many conversions in the us. People who idolized him would want to find out of what is so special about Islam that a celebrity figure like Cassius Clay would want to convert to and change his name to Muhammad Ali.
I remember listening to a speech by an American who admitted that he begin his search for Islam upon the conversion of Muhammad Ali. At the time of Muhammad Ali, the influence of Nation of Islam is very strong. People who converted to Islam (or rather Nation of Islam), particularly the black people will usually adopt a name with the surname X, for example Malcolm X. The reason is because they believe that the surname the possessed is not of that of their ancestors. How the hack would a black american from Africa has their ancestor surname of Jefferson or Jackson. These surnames were believed to be the surname of their master when their ancestors were once a slave. So the X replaces their name to symbolize an unknown surname.
To cut the story short, when Muhammad Ali converted to Islam, he did not adopt the name Cassius X as what many would expect. In fact they discussed on the best name for him and finally arrived at Muhammad Ali, a name with only pure Islamic figures, i.e. Muhammad and Ali. The reason is because of his celebrity status. They know that the conversion of Cassius Clay would be the headlines and the talked of the world. The name Muhammad Ali would be mentioned, written, talked and spread all over the world. History would record the name of Muhammad Ali as the greatest boxer in modern history.
On the conversion of MJ, it seems to be quite reliable as for this time, it is widely reported by the western press. We just hope for the best. We miss someone like Yusuf Islam (cat steven). One should feel happy to see people receiving the hidayah, no matter how small or how insignificant they are.
Do Muslim people now in a relationship with Allah spiritually? Have we developed high spiritual level of relationship with god? Or are we just followers in term of physical and surface of Islam only.
The Jews and Christian emphasize the spiritual part more than the surface. Is god really unfair in letting us Muslim become 2nd class or maybe 3rd class citizen on this earth now? Or maybe it’s our fault for not really get in touch with god spiritually. Do our doa’s and prayer answered by god? Because after thousand of doa’s and prayer by people of Palestine and Iraq they still remain the same. These people are the most devout Muslim on this earth and yet god chooses to ignore or delay the help? Can we say that? Or are we missing something here.
Do we understand Islam by just reading books and listening to sermon by an Ustaz that read another Ustaz’s books who read another Ustaz’s book. Does our mind and soul play any part in acquiring any knowledge of god?
Not a single Al-quran was written until 300 years after Mohammad SAW last sermon. What were they doing? Does the term reading al-quran ever exist at that time? There must be something that we missed regarding al-quran…and its power.
Non Muslim who studied Islam are still baffled why Muslim would read Al-quran but not knowing the meaning of every words. Isn’t it not like asking your newborn child to read before the child can utter the word MAMA? Isn’t language developing itself by speech before writing come along?
Maybe we Muslim should reborn ourselves and learn to utter MAMA first before anything else.
Grand Marquis you are right that every new conversion should be celebrated, not with loud applause but perhaps with a softly uttered shukur ; even the Prophet (saw) celebrated the conversion of Umar (ra), a great personality who convinced others to convert islam as well.
But Sakmongkol was lamenting the state of mind of the Umno delegates who appeared to be so starved of good news about Islam that MJ's reported conversion was enough to send them into rapture. It is as if they had so little confidence in their religion that they needed some proof of the greatness of Islam. To their minds, MJ was the proof. What a pity.
Ubierect, a small correction to your post. You said:
/* Not a single Al-quran was written until 300 years after Mohammad SAW last sermon. */
You may be referring to the Bible whose contents was decided upon and compiled during the Council of Nicaea 300 years after Jesus left this earth.
The Quran was written during the Prophet's (saw) lifetime and the verses were also immediately memorised by many Companions. The Quran was compiled into its present form during Caliph Othman's (ra) "rule." Othman ordered diacritical marks to be added then so that even the pronunciation, not just the meaning, is the same. One reason for the compilation was the deaths in battle of many of the Companions who had memorised the Quran. In a mainly oral society, Othman was afraid of the loss of the original sources of the Quran.
[OK, I'll get off my pulpit now :-)]
A TABIB, THANKS.
My point is Al-quran is not about reading alone or memorize only...go deeper than that..if you know what I mean.
Yesterday I attend a lecture an ex-priest sheikh yusuf estev from texas. He is still in Selangor now, u can check his events at islamevents.com
Tidak kering gusi mendengar beliau beri syarahan.
ML
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