Granada and Cordoba

I just arrived back from a short break in Granada and Cordoba. The first thing I have to say is, unless you are absolutely confident how to drive on the other side of the road, DON’T drive in Spain! It is very confusing and extremely awkward. ***** It is very interesting to see the differences between Muslim and Christian architecture in Granada. Muslim architecture seems to place more emphasis on the internal design while Christian architecture emphasizes the external. Alhambra, the showcase of Muslim architecture in Granada, is extremely beautiful in the inside. The external walls of Alhambra are pretty plain. It was obvious that the walls around the Alhambra were built mainly for defence purposes. Even the walls of buildings inside Alhambra are pretty plain too. But as you step inside any of the Muslim-built buildings inside Alhambra, you will realise how detailed and intricate the architecture is. Everything seems to have a meaning. The ceiling design in some rooms in Palacio Nazari depicts the layers of the heaven. Water is used in Generalife and throughout Alhambra to produce a sense of calm and added space. Things are arranged in a way to illustrate the oneness of the Creator. The walls have detailed engravings of poems or verses of the Quran. Windows are placed strategically to ensure rooms are well-lit. And many more. But buildings built by Christians after the reconquista are very different. The Palacios de Carlos V was magnificent externally but the inside was not even completed fully by Carlos V. There was a building in Jardines de Partal (I can’t remember the name of the building) which was also empty apart from the ceilings that has PLVS OVLTRE engraved on the wood panellings. Outside Alhambra, the Catedral is impressive from the outside - the statues, etc were magnificient. But inside it was just a bare collection of chapels. The chapels are well-decorated but the Catedral itself was disappointing and dark. The central area of the Catedral was literally empty if not for the massive organ. I noticed similar differences in Cordoba too. The Mezquita’s external is very simple. Just plain wall with some engravings. But the inside was exquisite. The arches, the pillars, the mihrab and many more were simply beautiful. But walk next door to Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos and you will notice the difference again. The inside of the whole of Alcazar was nowhere near the beauty of the Mezquita. Were it not for the Moorish decorations and Muslim inspired garden, I think it would be a boring building. ***** When the Muslim ruler first built Mezquita in Cordoba, they did so for a very good purpose. They needed a proper centre for their civilization. Once the Mezquita (and Cordoba) was relatively complete, successive rulers felt the need to build new cities. Hence the birth of Madinah Al-Zahraa to the west of Cordoba and Madinah Al-Zahiraa (exact location still unknown). These latter two townships were built mainly because successive rulers felt the need to leave a legacy by building a new township. In real sense, there was no need for either one because Cordoba was doing just fine. Interestingly, only Cordoba (and Mezquita) survived until today. Madinah Al-Zahiraa was completely ruined such that any remnants are yet to be found. Only ruins of Madinah Al-Zahraa can be found now. But Mezquita, despite now having become a church, still stands in its majesty. Concrete evidence (literally) that things built or done for superficial purposes will not stand the test of time, but those that were done for a purpose will last. ***** Flamenco is not that interesting. I went to see a show in what was apparently the second best place to see Flamenco in Granada (it was in Sacromonte). It started at 9.00 pm and finished at around 11.00 pm. Two women took turns to dance, a fat man played the guitar, and an even fatter man yowled in Spanish. For 20 euros, it was a waste of money. ***** Whoever it was that planted so many orange trees around Granada, I would suggest they get the sweeter variety. What they have now are very sour. Believe me. I tried one. ***** All in all, I think the trip was very good. Both Granada and Cordoba are beautiful cities and well-worth a visit. The public transport was excellent. Food was good too and Albaicin was littered with halal restaurants. People are generally very helpful, despite me not knowing Spanish. I would recommend both cities to anyone.

Race and Religion II

Apologies for the long silence. Been very busy lately and was away for a week. I want to reply to Failasuf's comments on my last post. 1) Chinese dominance of trade and business - and their racist selectivity in conducting business Response: I have no problems with people of any particular race being economically successful. Good businessmen deserve to prosper regardless of their race or religion. By ensuring their businesses are successful, they contribute to the economic wellbeing of the country by creating jobs and economic growth. But with regards to the "racist selectivity", I think it is unfair to label just the Chinese as racist. Why do people of other ethnicity refuse to go to shops run by those of a different race? Here in the UK, it never occured to me to not go to any particular shop because the owner is of this or that race. If anything, both the shopkeepers and the consumers in Malaysia are selective and both have to change. Blaming anyone is not the way forward. 2) The outflow of wealth from Muslim hands to non-muslim hands (due to meritocracy and equal distribution of opportunity and wealth to all citizens) Response: Again, I do not see any problems with this statement. If the sellers are all non-Muslims, then obviously the Muslims will have to spend money there. If this were to be avoided, then the Muslims must become successful economically. But then again, are we not all Malaysians? If so, what's the fuss? When wealth move from one person to another, we should start thinking that it is still flowing between Malaysians (if you want to ignore globalization). We have to one day stop thinking in "Muslim vs non-Muslim" or "Malay vs others" dichotomy. 3) Influx of secular materialistic influences from chinese/non-muslim controlled businesses such as ASTRO. Response: Well, once again, if anyone disagrees or dislikes what is happening, they should offer an alternative for free individuals to choose from. Unfortunately some of us are well-known for our ability to complain but have always failed to organise our efforts. We must learn to put up, or shut up. *** With regards to the morality issue, I hope every one of us can openly and honestly debate how Muslims and non-Muslims can live together without having to resort to the ethnicity divide. Malaysia belongs to all Malaysians, not for those of any particular race. And most importantly, Muslims cannot continue to refer to the texts written hundreds of years ago for the nitty gritty issues in our daily life. On the major principles of religion, yes. But not on the technical issues that may not exist in the past. The scholars of the past lived in a different environment and no one is free from environmental influence. We need new thinking in our fiqh mu'amalah.

Race and religion

A group of friends came over yesterday and we had a good two hour discussion on race and religion in Malaysia. Issues covered were numerous. We reflected on how ethnicity heavily influenced Malaysian politics, how the ethnocentric pull dominates policies proposed by almost any Malaysian political parties, and the influence of ethnicity in PAS. A signifincant amount of time was spent on debating whether the rise of ulama' in PAS did actually transformed PAS into a religious-based party. History tells us that Dato Asri was dethroned by the ulama' camp because the ulama' disagreed with Dato Asri's nationalistic stance. But did the ulama' actually remove narrow-minded racism (ie: the struggle to represent just the Malays at the expense of the non-Malays) from PAS? We did not reach a solid conclusion but we agreed that, many times, ethnicity played a bigger role than religion even within PAS. I took the opportunity to ask if we can ever imagine PAS proposing to abolish bumiputera policy. As expected, nobody thinks PAS will ever make such a move. But on the other hand, everybody agreed that policies in favour of one race is unfair. The solution is meritocracy. Nobody doubted the need for meritocracy, but the question was how to get to that aim? We suggested that perhaps we do not need to abolish bumiputera-ism just yet. That would be political suicide. Meritocracy is the ideal, but we need to get there in stages. What we really need first is to ensure all Malaysians receive the help they need regardless of race. Thus, we need to develop a policy to help the non-Malays to complement the bumiputera policy. This additonal policy will enable everybody who needs help be helped regardless of the colour of their skin. Once both policies work in full swing, society will move towards equality, and at that stage, the bumiputera policy and its counterpart will naturally become obsolete.