Kapitan Keling Mosque

I went to the Kapitan Keling Mosque yesterday and spent quite a long time there. After getting a nice tour of the mosque I sat with my guide in his air conditioned office along with two of his friends, one visiting from Egypt and the other from Mexico. The three of them explained many aspects of Islam to me. It was interesting to hear about Islam from the perspective of Muslims in Asia (in this case, Tamil) but also to know that, at least within the Sunni Muslim Community, as represented by these particular men, there seemed to be complete agreement and unity regarding the religion and how to practice it.

I’ve studied about Islam in the past and it was nice to see that some of the things they talked about were familiar to me, for example, the five pillars of Islam. In discussing these I was particularly moved when they talked about the need to give to charity. They said that they have no need for personal wealth and that their primary concern is having no want for “food and drink for themselves, their families and their neighbor”. Instead of throwing out food or an older piece of clothing it is the duty of a Muslim to give it to a poor person to “help them and to lift them up to your level of living.”

Prayer inside the Kapitan Keling Mosque

They talked about going on the Haj, the pilgrimage to Mecca, which is a duty of all able-bodied Muslims at least once in his lifetime. They said that this certainly requires financial means but mostly for the plane ticket as it’s very possible that people will help you there once you get to Saudi Arabia. Being perhaps younger than myself, they said that they have so far not had a chance to make the Haj and that if they ever did come into money they would use it to make the pilgrimage but not for personal riches or material items. They also said that a Muslim shouldn’t go on the Haj three or four times even if he has the means because what he should do instead is help his friend financially so that he may go at least once.

However, not all of their explanations were as easy for me to understand or to identify with. I found myself sitting very patiently through lengthy justifications, defensive in tone, that were aimed at countering Western media assertions that women’s rights are violated within Muslim communities. They explained that women and men are by nature (more importantly, by Allah and established in the Qur’an) not equal although they went on to say that this is not because of any lack of love for women. On the contrary, they described women as being “sweet like candy and therefore desirable and loved” and completed the analogy by saying that you must bottle up sweet things very tightly so as to keep out the ants that would otherwise enter the bottle, i.e. other men. Keeping women from working and having their own careers outside of the home is important to them because, “It is a man’s duty to work to provide food for the whole family and he should not need his wife to earn income in order for the family to survive.” They also pointed out that it is a man’s duty to help his wife in the home for she is not merely his maid, “If your wife is cooking then you should be doing the dishes.” The whole male role vs. female role conversation went on a little too long for my taste but I didn’t see the need to rush it since I was enjoying the air conditioning at the hottest time of the day.

Whether these men advocated specific gender roles within the family or giving alms to the poor, they were driven by one single goal and that was to follow the Qur’an and the word of Allah in everything they do in life. They explained that if you go to war Allah says that you should kill only the commanders of your enemy and never their women, children or innocent people you may pass on the way to battle. They said that that some Muslims violate these rules in the name of Allah but that these people are misguided and are not living according to what they believe to be the true path of righteousness.

I’m glad that I not only went to see such a beautiful structure as the Kapitan Keling Mosque but that I also got to chat at length with members of the local and extended community there. As I was leaving they offered me some free literature about Islam from their library. Out of curiosity, I chose to take a copy of the “Israel and the Arabs: Conflict or Conciliation” and I received a “The True Religion of God” booklet as a bonus. They asked me if I would like to leave my email to keep in contact should I have any more questions about Islam. When I politely declined and thanked them for their time they immediately said, “We apologize if we have offended you in any way by what we have said.” I responded by telling them that they should never apologize for being open and honest with a stranger and a guest.

Malaysia is home to many cultures and religions and you can read about the all-nighter I pulled for the Hindu Thaipusam Festival as well as my visit to Penang’s Jewish Cemetery where one can view the remains of this dwindling community that has all but vanished.

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