One Man's Meat By Philip Golingai
Why is PAS so against Valentine’s Day? It has equated the day to: roses + candlelight dinner + love = sex.
PAS urged the government to place anti-
Valentine Day's
advertisements on television to discourage
Muslims from celebrating the
event.
FROM what I’ve been reading, PAS has been equating Valentine’s Day to: roses + candlelight dinner + love = sex.
Curious
to know how Feb 14 can lead to sex, I met PAS Youth chief Nasrudin
Hassan at-Tantawi at the party’s headquarters in
Chow Kit,
Kuala Lumpur
on Saturday. I thought the secret would be revealed.
“Why is PAS so against Valentine’s Day?” I asked Nasrudin.
“We
don’t want to ban Valentine’s Day. What we want is to state that
Muslims cannot celebrate it as it is not a day which is celebrated by
Muslims,” he said in
Malay.
“Non-Muslims are free to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Why can’t Muslims celebrate Valentine’s Day?” I asked.
“It is not a Muslim activity. It is from another religion. I am not clear about it.
“Some
say it is from the Christians or other ...” he said, stopping abruptly
as he probably decided not to speculate on the origin of Valentine’s Day
so as not to offend non-Muslims.
“But it is usual in
Malaysia
that it encourages couple to go for date at a suspicious, quiet and dark
place like a hotel, a park or a beach. And that is wrong.”
“Religion aside,” I said, “what’s wrong with Valentine’s Day?”
“For
example, I read in the newspaper a few years ago that a hotel in
Terengganu had a promotion for its Valentine’s Day dinner where the
first 10 couples to register would get a free night stay,” Nasrudin
said.
“Doesn’t that show that Valentine’s Day leads to immoral activities?”
“Is
it true that PAS thinks that Valentine’s Day will lead to ... ermm...,”
I said, and because I couldn’t find the right word for “sex” in Malay, I
fluffed my question.
I decided on
zina (illicit sex).
“We are taking pre-emptive measures,” explained Nasrudin.
“Usually when Valentine’s Day is celebrated a couple will go for a date and we don’t want that date to lead to
zina and etc.”
“We have three conditions for a Muslim couple who wants to go on a date. First, they can’t be
berdua-duaan (going out as a couple), they must be chaperoned by a
mahram (a close relative).
“Second, the woman can’t wear clothes that show her
aurat (parts of the body that should not be exposed according to
Islamic belief) and that is
menjolok mata (in Defence Ministry lingo: poke eye).
“Third, the couple cannot do activities prohibited by their religion. (i.e.
khalwat and
zina).
“But
when I say that couple can date with these three conditions I don’t
mean they can celebrate Valentine’s Day. They can’t celebrate
Valentine’s Day.”
The PAS Youth chief explained that it was not only
zina which was
salah (wrong) but also
berdua-duaan.
“
Berdua-duaan is the
mukadimah (prelude) to
zina,” he said. “That is why a couple can’t be
berdua-duaan. They must be accompanied by a
mahram.”
“What is the percentage of
berdua-duan couple ending up having sex?” I asked.
“It is not impossible (that they would end up having sex). But I don’t have the statistics. But when a couple
berdua-duaan in a room, there is a third party,” he said.
“Interesting,” I thought, “threesome with the
mahram.”
“Who?” I asked.
“
Syaitan (devil),” he said. “We have to worry about syaitan.”
Syaitan, according to the
Ustaz, will seduce the couple into doing the nasty.
“In
most rape cases, the perpetrator is known to the victim. And this is
because when the couple is in a place where they are alone, the
perpetrator will succumb to his desire,” the politician known as Tantawi
explained.
“That is the danger of
berdua-duaan. It will lead to other social problems such as rape and baby dumping.”
But it is not only Valentine’s Day that PAS thinks encourages free sex.
“We know
pergaulan bebas (free association) happens on public holidays even on
Hari Merdeka,” Nasrudin said.
“How?”
I asked, surprised to learn that celebrating Hari Merdeka can lead to
sex. Must be something to do with the word “independence” I thought.
On
the eve of Hari Merdeka, according to the ustaz, there were couples who
waited for the clock to strike midnight in a dark and secluded place.
And they would be drinking alcohol and eventually (to use a visual metaphor in Malay movies) the champagne cork would pop.
I can’t wait for PAS to ban romantic celebrations of Hari Merdeka.
PAS Valentine’s Day equation!