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Yesterday I posted the Perak decision about the poco-poco dance without making any comments. Well here is some feedback from relevant sections of the community (all of whom are Muslims) about the decision by the Perak Mufti to ban the poco - poco dance in Perak. From The Star (truncated) :

Many believe Perak should not forbid poco-poco dance

PETALING JAYA: The "poco-poco" dance .. should not be banned in Perak, said Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Dr Mashitah Ibrahim. She said there was also no reason for Jakim to consider banning the dance...

Perak Mentri Besar Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir said (Perak) would adhere to the committee's ruling.

Former Perlis Mufti Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin said there was no rational reason for the dance to be banned.. "In my opinion, the poco-poco' dance is a must . . .," he wrote in his blog.

Barisan Nasional Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin said he thought the edict was a case of misplaced priorities ...

PAS central political bureau member Khalid Samad described the decision as "ridiculous" and "completely unacceptable".

Sisters in Islam said it regretted ..the imposition of arbitrary and intrusive policies in every aspect of Muslims' lives.

If you will recall this mufti was the same fellow who once upon a time said that watching Bollywood movies may affect your faith. I suspect he must have seen something in a Bollywood movie that inspired him to make such a statement. My view is a Bollywood movie may make you brain dead but I don't know about the 'faith' part. The mufti did not say which Bollywood movie made him come to that conclusion. Or which scene in the movie?

The same mufti also caused substantial alarm (and headaches for the Police) when he made the claim that about 200 Muslim children were about to get converted to Christianity in some church in Ipoh. It turned out to be a false alarm. (Imagine what would have happened if you or me had made the same claim in public? Wont we have been called liars? Wont there be action taken against us?).

After this poco-poco episode in Perak, there has been a comment made that muftis should be elected and not appointed. Feel free to express your views. Even if they are appointed, I dont think a Mufti should be appointed endlessly without retirement. I think muftis, just like anyone else holding public office, should be put on a short leash. If they wander off into strange ramblings, they should be just let go.

The religious people are fond of saying (I did not say this ok) that one should be "specially" qualified before making pronouncements about their versions of religion. I dont agree with this view at all when it comes to "religion" because 'religion' is not an exact science. It is not even a science at all. The fact is that according to the religious people themselves, one of the most important prerequisites to discuss their version of "religion" is that we "tidak boleh menggunakan akal". So if we 'tidak boleh menggunakan akal' then what "special" qualifications do you need? Your akal has to be left at home.

But going with their own requirements, Dr Mohd Asri Zainal Abidin the dynamic former mufti of Perlis - who does not agree that the poco-poco dance should be banned - holds a PhD. It is good to have a PhD anyway. It is a major yardstick in the process of acquiring knowledge. But what are the qualifications of Harussani Zakaria? Does he have a PhD? Or a Master's degree? Or a bachelor's degree? Or a diploma? Or a 'sijil agama sekolah tinggi'?

So Dr Mohd Asri Zainal Abidin, a former Mufti who holds a PhD says the poco-poco should not be banned. Harrusani says it should be banned. What are Harrusani's qualifications? He definitely does not hold a PhD. And looking at Harussani's track record, he has made many pronouncements (including this one) which has attracted strong comment from the public. In this latest episode we see Ministers, former Muftis (with PhDs) and political leaders disagreeing with him.

The excuse that the poco-poco has Christian elements in it, and therefore it will make Muslims become Christians, is not based on logic. It is most likely based on the same concept of "tidak boleh menggunakan akal" that is relied upon so often when 'religion' is concerned.

If we rely on the concept of "tidak boleh menggunakan akal" then can we also say that the learning of Mathematcs can also influence people to become Christians? Because when we do additions in Mathematics we use the "+" (plus sign). The plus sign "+" looks like a Christian cross as well. 2 "+" 2 = 4. So should we put a ban on the "+" sign? I think this is a relevant question too.

What about the letter "t" ? Isnt there any danger that someone may be influenced to become a Christian because the letter "t" also looks like a cross? For example when we spell 'm u f t i', it may have an impact on some people, maybe like some scenes in Bollywood movies? What about the letter "X" ? "X" certainly is a cross. If there is enough fear of "t"s and "X"s, then maybe one day these letters will be banned too.

What about T - junctions? Or simpang empat junctions? They certainly look like crosses. Should we make them oblique or crooked? We certainly do not want some poor person to get converted to another faith simply because he stopped at a T - junction.

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