What is the big deal, O’ Malay-Muslims especially?

I suppose those who don’t drink won’t drink, and those who do will. It is quite a simple matter and need not create chaos and ignite social revolutions overthrowing this and that. Beer, I was told and as I have seen around me, doesn’t necessarily lead to alcoholism.

It’s a socializing drink, I suppose. Though I could still sit in a jazz club for hours with a few cups of coffee and still enjoy Miles Davis. Sat beside a few kids who were smoking pot in a Rolling Stones concert in the last two years and I was fine, though I myself was a bit dizzy with the secondhand gangsta ganja smoke. And I could also get high at a Pink Floyd concert without smoking or drinking anything.

I once paid my last respects to a colleague who died of cancer. A Catholic. Attended the funeral in upstate New York and after that a lunch with the family. Wine served and all. I sat there without eating and the family respected that. Why? Because it was the month of Ramadan and I was fasting.

Americans are very understanding and respect deeply what you believe in. A society of pragmatists I am now part of. I stayed there till they finished lunch. Left with sadness of course. Bless Michael’s soul.

And there was a time also I attended Jeff’s funeral. A Hindu. A great neighbour who died over the weekend. From the night he died, I attended every service the pandit or priest performed and was there to be with his family and his children.

The most poignant day was the last. After three days of prayers and chants and mantras and pujas, I saw the wife and Jeff’s three little children standing outside the door of the crematorium when Jeff’s body was wheeled in to be cremated, to be made one again with the universe.

Bless be my friend Jeff. I am glad I was there. I will miss our conversations every time we mowed the lawn.

Only in America. A republic. A place of separation. Of the state and religion.

Many more beautiful experiences. Of cross-cultural understanding, a course of study I have also taught. Anthropology of peace.

What M’sians need

Essentially, what Malaysians and Malay-Muslims need are the heart and the mind to see others beyond race, colour, religion, and still keep your faith, while opening the door to other cultures and other perspectives.

This includes Oktoberfest. I too was at several festivals to enjoy the music and to observe how Americans enjoy beer.

In Malaysia, what is the study of cultures about? To make the strange familiar. And the familiar strange. And to look at differences and the enriched experiences of human selves. To also identify elements of culture that are enabling and disabling. Of the progressive and retrogressive strands. And to evolve. There is moderation in everything. Even Americans don’t drink a barrel of beer in a gulp. There is also light beer and all kinds that are non-alcoholic too.

I think anthropologists would agree on what constitutes thinking that leads to a breakdown of cultures leading to conflict, brawls, villagers attacking one another, countries attacking each other, the US attacking North Korea, Trump attacking his tweets, and King Kim-Chi planning to nuke the Yankees, and worse, genocide – the ultimate consequence of cultural breakdown.

Be safe Malaysians, But be wary of religious and racial extremists. They will destroy the beautiful fabric called “culture”. Of ethics and authenticity.

Would you agree? And most importantly– aren’t you tired of the Malaysian education system not teaching teachers how to understand cultures?

AZLY RAHMAN is an educator, academic, international columnist, and author of seven books. He grew up in Johor Baru and holds a Columbia University doctorate in International Education Development and Master’s degrees in five areas: Education, International Affairs, Peace Studies Communication, and Creative Writing. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and his blog.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.