By Shamsul Akmar

                  SITI NURHALIZA could have ended up being ordinary if not for her beautiful
                  voice.

                  Her success story can indeed cause envy to some and inspire others and so
                  far, the popularity does not seem to have gone to her head.

                  She seems to have held herself well, have good control over her finances and
                  has not got herself entangled with stuff like drug-abuse or other self-destructive
                  activities.

                  In short, Siti Nurhaliza can be a role model, especially for the Malays who
                  seem to be desperately looking for one of late.

                  She should be encouraged and supported.

                  As such, it was quite disheartening to read reports that Parti Keadilan Nasional
                  information chief Ruslan Kassim is calling for a boycott of her albums.

                  The reason for the call is that Ruslan took offence to Siti Nurhaliza's short
                  speech during the National Day celebrations in Bukit Jalil which he described
                  as "sounding similar to speeches given by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr
                  Mahathir Mohamad."

                  The "offensive" speech, according to Ruslan, is the part when she told the
                  crowd to stay united and to be wary of foreign elements.

                  While Ruslan and Keadilan have a right to interpret Siti Nurhaliza's speech the
                  way they deem suitable, the call for a boycott was a bit too much.

                  On one hand, Siti Nurhaliza too has a right to her opinion and she did not
                  attack Keadilan. On the other, it was not too politically smart for Ruslan to
                  criticise Siti Nurhaliza as she has a huge following.

                  But, as stated earlier, it is Ruslan's choice and if it furthers his political end by
                  that, then so be it. If not, then he pays the price.

                  More of concern is however, the fact that Ruslan's criticisms on Siti
                  Nurhalizacan be a reflection of the lack of political maturity which resulted from
                  the "great Malay political divide."

                  It had reached a level of ridiculousness in which non-political personalities are
                  dragged to the fore by politicians and lambasted for saying or doing anything
                  that is perceived to be supportive of one group or the other.

                  The Ruslan and Siti Nurhaliza issue is not isolated, other similar cases are
                  surfacing.

                  They are more worrying as they are not battles merely of political rhetoric but
                  very much influenced by religious dogmas.

                  There is a case in Taiping where an ustazah (female religious teacher) insists
                  that her young students read Harakah, PAS' official newsletter, causing parents
                  to complain.

                  The ustazah was warned and the headmaster, in an attempt to be "fair,"
                  decided to ban all newspapers including the mainstream ones, from being
                  brought to school.

                  Again, a ridiculous decision especially in this era of information but what choice
                  does the headmaster have when there is the great Malay or rather, Muslim
                  political divide in his school.

                  And sadly, her's (the teacher's) is also not an isolated case.

                  More recent is the case of a khatib (person delivering Friday sermons) in
                  Taman Melawati, Hulu Klang who is said to have used his platform to incite
                  religious hostility.

                  The khatib was alleged to have said that there were more churches in Malacca
                  than mosques.

                  The Malacca government disputed this, saying that there were some 200
                  mosques in the state compared with only 20 churches and some of them were
                  not in use.

                  Here, the issue is not merely that there are much more churches or mosques in
                  Malacca. It is a two-pronged "attack."

                  It is an attempt by the khatib to say that the present government has no love for
                  Islam and that it has not made enough efforts to build mosques.

                  In addition, the present government is not Islamic enough to "curb" Christianity
                  from spreading as justified by his accusations that there are more churches.

                  Amid the worry over potential religious conflicts arising from such sermons, the
                  bigger problem is how Islam has become a divisive factor to the Malays instead
                  of unifying them.

                  Of course, the argument will be that it is not Islam that is the cause but rather
                  the Islamists. The fact however remains that the religion is being used and that
                  has led to such divisions.

                  However, the history of Islam itself has shown how mosques and other religious
                  platforms were used to divide Muslims into numerous sects or factions.

                  A classic example are the sermons delivered during the time of the first seven
                  caliphs of the Umayyad Empire (from AD 661 to AD 717), in which the then
                  khatibs were said to have used the platform to "ruthlessly" run down The
                  Prophet's son-in-law Ali bin Abi Talib, his descendants and the Shiites.

                  The practice was only stopped by the Umayyad's eighth caliph, Umar Abdul
                  Aziz (AD 717 to AD 730).

                  But by then, the great divide was irreparable and the seeds of hatred and
                  distrust became a legacy for Muslims the world over.

                  And the division is now not only confined to political matters but spreads into
                  the way the religion is practised.

                  The divide has no more any bearing on which side is right or wrong.

                  Those who belongs to one group must believe their group is right and the other
                  must be wrong in whatever they do or believe in.

                  Back to the local Muslim divide, it is something that seems to be spreading fast
                  especially when there have been many instances in which the khatib have
                  taken upon themselves to use their platforms to take sides.

                  The contents of their sermons are said to be promoting hate and anger against
                  their political enemies.

                  As pointed out by a member of one congregation, apart from the "brimstone and
                  fire" sermons, the khatib have blatantly said that some leaders from a political
                  party could be deemed to be kafir and apostates.

                  It is indeed scary if the khatib believe that they have the right to deliver such
                  sermons in the name of Islam.

                  It is also frightening to see these ordinary human beings believing they have the
                  right to determine who shall or shall not be accepted by God.

                  At the same time, being partisan makes these individuals stop making fair
                  judgement or distinctions that the side they oppose are sometimes right and
                  the one they support can also be wrong.

                  Alas, these individuals have made Islam to look like a religion which lacks
                  tolerance, is filled with hatred and anger when it actually promotes love and
                  compassion.

                  The khatib should leave the political battles to the politicians and work towards
                  uniting those divided by political parties.

                  Says a friend who is fed-up with khatib delivering sermons promoting hatred:

                  "I always thought that listening to sermons are for the halwa telinga (sweets for
                  the ears). But now, some of them are pain to the ears."

                  Luckily, the friend has other choices for his halwa telinga.

                  Siti Nurhaliza's song Cindai, is one.