Almost as sure as the prices for red roses will skyrocket, the supply of boxed chocolates dwindle, and condom companies burning through two-two thirds of their advertising budget in two weeks, the arrival of St. Valentine’s Day in Malaysia brings with it strongly-worded admonitions from Islamic religious agencies warning the country’s faithful not to participate in the celebrations.
Selangor Islamic authorities have been on a tear this year, reminding Muslim students and youth about a fatwa, or Islamic religious edict, forbidding those of faith from celebrating Valentine’s.
State mufti chief assistant Mat Jais Kamos said to the New Straits Times, “The celebration emphasises the relationship between two individuals rather than the love between family members or married couples,” as state religious officials distributed leaflets outside a secondary school in Shah Alam to remind Muslim students of the fatwa issued byt the state fatwa council in 2006 prohibiting Muslims from celebrating the occasion.
Students in SMK Seksyen 9 were bombarded with pink-coloured leaflets titled “Hukum Valentine’s Day” (Valentine’s Day Guidelines).
Most students said they were already aware of the prohibition against Valentine’s among Muslims, and the reasons behind it.
The leaflets will also be distributed to students at Shah Alam’s Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) today.
Last year, the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) launched a “Mind the Valentine’s Day Trap” campaign in Kuala Lumpur. Jakim director-general Datuk Othman Mustapha said the campaign was aimed at exposing the 250 participating volunteers to the need to be people-oriented when combating social ills.
In 2005, the National Council for Islamic Religious Affairs’ Fatwa Committee decreed that celebrating Valentine’s Day was forbidden in Islam as it could lead to moral decadence.
Photo: Afif Abd Halim
Source: The Malaysian Insider
