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Malaysia Islamic minister says Bon Odori dance not for Muslims

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Malaysia is one of the most pleasant countries to live in SE Asia (especially if you're paid a japanese salary) and you can experience 3 distinct cultures (indian-chinese-muslim) all at the same time. But there will always be people like this...

Shah Alam councilor Muhammad Shakir Ameer slammed the party for its "lack of understanding and ignorance on cultural diversity in Malaysia".

2/3 of the people in the streets are chinese-malaysians or indian-malaysians, dressed in mini skirts, exposed shoulders, arms, everything. Guess he´s taking aim at the muslims in the countries, still a joke as most malaysians seem to love Japan and its culture, Aeons, festivals, daiso everywhere, there is even a ''Tokyo street'' inside Pavilion KL and mini japanese festivals throughout the city.

27 ( +35 / -8 )

Malaysia's Islamic affairs minister Idris Ahmad has advised Muslims to avoid a festival of Japan's traditional summer Bon Odori dance as it contains elements from other religions that go against Islam, according to the official news agency Bernama.

Smacks of the anti-Halloween stance of some conservative Christians in the US.

That's monotheism for you.

21 ( +32 / -11 )

Muslims not to participate in programs like this or any program that could affect our religion and beliefs

You must be standing on unstable ground if people dancing and having fun effects your beliefs.

42 ( +44 / -2 )

Why suddenly an issue? Because it's what politicians do: hypocrisy is the default position that defines their profession so they are always looking for any excuse to gasbag a talking point to death just to get votes. In a country like Malaysia where power hitches rides on religion a "holier (more Islamic) than thou" selling point is a no brainer for ambitious politicians without scruples who profess to "love the uneducated". Fortunately, the Malay people know a good time when they see and hear one so the planned Bon Odori will be sure to attract a welcoming crowd.

26 ( +29 / -3 )

Control is the ultimate power trip for this guy.

23 ( +25 / -2 )

How does he cope with the Chinese Malays daily consumption of pork and alcohol if this trivial event keeps him awake all night?

40 ( +41 / -1 )

How does he cope with the Chinese Malays daily consumption of pork and alcohol if this trivial event keeps him awake all night?

The economic and perhaps military consequences of offending certain parties in Beijing by even mildly criticizing any aspect of Chinese culture force him to keep his thoughts on that matter to himself.

20 ( +22 / -2 )

Japan has myriad of God’s and they are not jealous Gods unlike in Western religions. You can worship as many as you like.

The West has gone on a fanatical religious trip telling the world there is only one God and if you believe you will live eternally. You’re not allowed to have other gods. This went on for hundreds of years. It is ultimate authoritarianism.

This has brought misery, killings, and some Christian schools in Japan where our children can sing songs hundreds of years old.

2 ( +16 / -14 )

Not a very friendly or cordial relations message is it.

13 ( +16 / -3 )

here's my two cents on this, despite being ethnically diverse, Malaysia has always been quite on the conservative side when it comes to Islamic values, so this is expected. Indonesia on the other hand takes one of its core values panca sila of "unity in diversity" in stride. But what I don't expect is the need to issue these things to Malaysians. As one commenter said, your faith must have been built on sand for such things to affect your beliefs. And another thing, Japanese traditions are for Japanese, their values and faith are different from Muslims, Christians, and other religions. As a Christian, I can state a list of things in Japan that can be offensive to someone of my religious affiliation, but I have to respect that another country's values does not necessarily have to align with my own.

16 ( +19 / -3 )

Nothing wrong with a little Bon Dance, especially on TikTok.

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

Shikoko's Odori dance is accompanied by singing

"The dancers are fools

the watchers are fools

Both are fools

So why not dance "

Gettin' jiggy with it homes !!!

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Sad, very sad, festivals are suppose to be a time of happiness and celebrations and has NOTHING to do with any religion.

11 ( +13 / -2 )

The event will be held on July 16 in Shah Alam, the capital of Selangor state, after a two-year absence due to the coronavirus pandemic. Its organizers include the Japanese Embassy in Malaysia and the Japan Club of Kuala Lumpur.

I'm just curious, maybe nitpicking as to why it's held now in mid July for Malaysia although the Obon homecoming holiday including Bon Odori is usually celebrated in mid August across Japan.

To tell the truth, it is right to observe Obon in mid July (precisely, on the 15th of July) in accordance with the lunar calendar. Japan shifted the event date by about a month when introducing the solar calendar.

My point is, whether modern Malaysia uses the tradition of the lunar calendar. If so, the Malaysian version should be pushed back to August. If not, one could argue that it's not relevant, not even religious.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Don't join!!! No one cares!!! You wan't be missed!!!

6 ( +9 / -3 )

@finally rich

Malaysia is one of the most pleasant countries to live in SE Asia (especially if you're paid a japanese salary) and you can experience 3 distinct cultures (indian-chinese-muslim) all at the same time. But there will always be people like this...

Shah Alam councilor Muhammad Shakir Ameer slammed the party for its "lack of understanding and ignorance on cultural diversity in Malaysia".

You can't read.

That person is the one defending the festival. The "party" is the group trying to stop it.

10 ( +12 / -2 )

I think we should make too much conclusions about this issue because Malaysia still tolerate other religions and communities which explains how moderate the country has been compared to some Muslim countries

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Definitely not a good country to invest your hard-earned yen. Close-minded people will destroy your dream retirement plan.

1 ( +5 / -4 )

Anyone who lets others, real or imagined, to dictate how they choose to live their lives and enjoy themselves, particularly in ways that are harmless and widely accepted, deserve everything they get.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

They probably read some books on the old ways of celebrating the Bon festival and became jealous

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Well, I don't know which would be worse, Muslim fundamentalism or Christian fundamentalism...

If we look closely both are very similar...

-2 ( +9 / -11 )

Well, at least they are still allowing it to be held, and the dance to go on -- they are just discouraging Muslims from participating, and that's their choice. 'Tis a shame, but better than the whole thing being shut down.

1 ( +6 / -5 )

How weak is their form of witchcraft if people dancing can affect it? This is the same old "my magic is better than your magic" nonsense.

10 ( +12 / -2 )

I have travelled to Malaysia often in past before covid stop.KLCC is modern town mixture of malay,chinese indians etc so every group have own part of town with shops,temples,culture centers or say community centers.People are wearing modern clothes in most cases and even muslims are moderate ones/at least large part of them/.You may find indian temples,mosques,chinese temples and even christian ones.No problem at all all people are equal on front of law.

Things are getting different when you are travelling out or\f town as every single state have own rules also religion related.So say east part of Malaysia you should expect more conservative truly muslim population and habits you need to obey unless you dont want jump into trouble with local police etc.

This obon thing have not much to do with spirit of KLCC at all just guy want be "important" now...

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Well, I don't know which would be worse

Muslim fundamentalism, duh.

9 ( +11 / -2 )

A bigoted statement, full of hate.

Bon Odori is one of the most fantastic festivals of Japan, and welcomes people of all colours and creeds to join in. This old fool should just butt out of what Malaysians wish to do in Japan - and their love of Japan is almost unmatched.

1 ( +6 / -5 )

Useless comments from a stupid minister with closed mindset. Just ignore his ignorance..

4 ( +6 / -2 )

First, they said don't do yoga as it belongs to a different religion. Now, they say don't participate in Bon Odori. Other than their own traditional dance, they should just ban all form of dancing since going backward is their choice of life.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

It's important to remember that Malaysia is a multi-ethnic society with a plurality of religions, a point I neglected to emphasize in my previous post. Malay Muslims must always take care to show consideration for the religious sensitivities of their fellow citizens who worship their gods under a different name.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Yet another one who claims to know the opinions of a god ( who he clearly regards as petty ) in order to control people.

We’ve had millennia of these people.

Stop listening to them.

5 ( +8 / -3 )

Yes, Malaysia is a pleasant place to live, it's not perfect. There are some politicians who are making Malaysia have a bad name. Very sad indeed.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

Malaysia Islamic minister says Bon Odori dance not for Muslims:

No surprise.

To some Muslims, notably those who are more inclined to practice Wahabism, all other religions are unacceptable, let alone activities related to other religious rituals.

Beware, their extremists are gaining ground..

3 ( +6 / -3 )

Imagine a world without religion.

7 ( +8 / -1 )

@Idris, who is from the conservative Pan Islamic Party or PAS,

I think he doesn't represent the entire country's voice. I went to Kuala Lumpur a few years ago. People are modern, educated and didn't sound that Islamic to me although some women wear hijab.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

dagonToday  07:10 am JST

Malaysia's Islamic affairs minister Idris Ahmad has advised Muslims to avoid a festival of Japan's traditional summer Bon Odori dance as it contains elements from other religions that go against Islam, according to the official news agency Bernama.

Smacks of the anti-Halloween stance of some conservative Christians in the US.

having elements/origins from another religion doesn't make it 'sinful'. Islam has roots in Judaism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism and more. This minister needs to quit his puritanical nit-picking and get a life.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

All Asian countries are filled with old dudes in high positions of power trying to kill all the fun and make people's lives miserable.

Islamic ministers in Malaysia condemning Bon Odori festivities.

Chinese party officials locking their cities down and forcing people to worship lame Communist ideals.

Korean Nationalists endlessly attacking Japanese people and boycotting goods because of early to mid-20th Century attroctities, while distracting from growing inceldom/hatred of women in their own country.

Japan killing it's own tourism industry by banning foreigners in order to please Covid-obsessed Ojis and Obaas.

There are pros and cons of extremely collectivist, conformist cultures that place a strong emphasis on group harmony and hierarchy. Recently though, I think we've been seeing more pros than cons.

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

In the long run, it will be interesting to see if Asian muslims will do better at integration than Arab muslims in Europe, despite the whole different context and time. The need to express such analysis (more than the fundamentalist analysis itself) doesn't sound good.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

I'm conflicted about this. I have visited Malaysia many times and it is a great place! Good people, fantastic food, English widely spoken, smiles everywhere. Yet they still politically need to cater to a very vocal minority. The same thing happens racially- 'native' Malays are given preference over Indian/Chinese Malays for housing loans, school admission, etc. A pity really.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Isn’t this the same ministry that tried to ban/ change the word “hot dog” at restaurants because muslims consider dogs unclean? And all the hot dogs in Malaysia are chicken based anyway. Malaysia is more ethnically diverse but Indonesia is more liberal. I was so surprised to see a large pork section at the supermarket in Jakarta right next to stacks of Bintang beer. At least Indonesia tolerates the heathens.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

He said the festival has elements of an other religion and participating in it is against their own so they advised their fellows not to participate.

That is normal and by itself does not show lack of understanding of cultural diversity, more so hate, which is plainly exhibited by many posters here

-1 ( +4 / -5 )

Not surprising from a country where 93% of girls are genitally mutilated and where the government passed a law in 2009 to make FGM mandatory.

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/2/7/malaysias-anti-fgm-advocates-leave-our-bodies-alone

4 ( +5 / -1 )

How can a politician judge religion and say what's okay and what's not?

3 ( +4 / -1 )

The Bon Odori is an inclusive festival.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

"Why does it have to become an issue in this day?" It doesn’t have to be, this is a small radical minority so don’t even report about it.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Not surprising from a country where 93% of girls are genitally mutilated and where the government passed a law in 2009 to make FGM mandatory.

That's 93% of Muslim women. Also it was a fatwa that was issued and not a government law. I guess that doesn't make things sound much better, but I think it's best to be as accurate as possible.

https://www.humanrightspulse.com/mastercontentblog/the-impasse-between-crime-and-culture-female-genital-mutilation-in-malaysia

4 ( +4 / -0 )

I don’t see what most of the posters here have issues with…

we all have principles and every day we make decisions whether or not to do something based on those principles. Myself included.

It seems kind of hypocritical to me to complain just because you may not agree with their particular principles in this case

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Oh yes, it is against your beliefs. But your Holy Book teaches and commands you to eliminate infidels. You can also commit suicide bombing to annihilate infidels. If you do that, you believe there will be 70 virgins awaiting for you in paradise. You can take lives but you cannot dance the Bon Odori.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Well, its their loss. Friends have told me this is quite a lot of fun and they are really happy it will be done this year again.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

We celebrate Christmas not because we worship Jesus but because we just want to enjoy the day for fun. That is true to Bon-odori. Even many Japanese don't know the history of Bon odori. We just enjoy the dance. If the minister links it to a religious act, They can't visit Buddism temples and Christian churches because visiting them is considered religious acts. thats why many Japan haters bash Japanese politicians visiting Yasukuni shrine. But we visit them not because we worship their god but because we just want to see them as sight seeing spots. This minister cannot distinguish between secular acts and religious acts.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

It's not the religious aspects or the right to enjoy dancing and fun-filled festivals that concern me, it's the skewed impression that certain commenters have made here about what a nice pleasant place Malaysia is...... Nothing could be further from the truth.

Every single day there is someone being viciously and sadistically caned there, (or whipping as they call it), and yet the rest of the civilised world conveniently and totally ignore the fact that this heinous and barbaric system is able to be administered with impunity. Mostly, this is the penalty for crimes committed, which can be as petty as graffiti or visa-overstaying. Even their schools carry out terrifying punishments, especially the secure-facilities for juveniles.

Take a look on the Internet, although you'll need a strong-stomach, as it is physically sickening to see the way their corporal punishments are carried out in their prisons every single day, and also in neighbouring Singapore. The unfortunate victims are invariably always the poor, the dispossessed and underprivileged sectors of their society; many are left in a crippled and incontinent state following the punishments.

These countries should be boycotted 100% until they abandon their repulsive systems, and maybe then they can rejoin the civilised world. This scenario must be stopped sooner rather than later.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

The West has gone on a fanatical religious trip telling the world there is only one God and if you believe you will live eternally. You’re not allowed to have other gods. This went on for hundreds of years. It is ultimate authoritarianism.

Islam is generally not considered a Western religion

1 ( +1 / -0 )

@albaleo:

Thank you for correcting the figures though it is still 93% of the 65% muslim so still a majority of girls and women in Malaysia that are mutilated because some old bearded guy said it's mandatory in Islam.

Also, the fatwa is binding, it becomes a law, so yes it is a government law.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

He's not going to like it when he hears about the pulled pork sandwich booth!

2 ( +3 / -1 )

It is a fun festival for all. One of the fondest memories of my years in Fukuoka.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Governments have no right enforcing or even suggesting conformity to the practices or any religion. It is indeed religious tyranny for a government to do so.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

How would he feel about a fertility festival?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Very much a case of my imaginary friend is better than your imaginary friend!

Penang Mufti has now said it’s ok to participate in Bon odori!

One old guy can’t agree with another old guy.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Someone commented that festivals are supposed to be fun, and not religious, but that is not so true in Japan. Many of the festivals contain religious activities for example carrying a mikoshi. A lot of Japanese people do not realize the religious elements in their festivals.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

There will always be an idiot saying idiot things. We SHOULD NOT view this as a statement from muslims or the faith of islam. I think its irresponsible of japantoday.com for posting this.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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