I came across a funny video today. It's an interview of a Ustazah Siti Nor Bahyah about why the celebration of Valentines Day is considered as "haram" or forbidden according to the laws of Islam.
According to her, a devout Muslim should not celebrate Valentines Day because of the origins of the day itself. She gave loads of claims of how Valentines Day originated, most of it overly exaggerated, like how in ancient Rome a guy would pick up a bottle containing a girl's name and the girl would then be "used" to satisfy all his needs for a duration of one year, to give the feel that Valentines is all evil because it's filled with lust etc.
The claim wasn't entirely true, by the way. The pairing of the guy and girl would only last for the night of the festival itself and only in certain cases where the duration would extend to a year and which after that, would often be accompanied by marriage. Consider this as modern day courtship because youths during that day were heavily segregated and the festival was the only chance to meet someone from the opposite sex.
Another more hilarious claim was how Valentines Day is supposedly to honor the day where one of the Muslim civilization in Cordoba (or Cordova as she said in the video), Spain was overthrew by this guy called Valentine.
She goes on to say that if young Muslims celebrate Valentines, is as if that they are supporting the Christians and the English (I wondered how English got tied up with Christianity) against Islam and that they are being a part of Christianity.
I have no idea where she got her historical facts from but from my Google searches, the Islamic (Muslim) civilization in Cordoba did not fall in a single day thanks to some war hero called St Valentine. But rather it was the bickering among the Muslim leaders at that time, combined with the pressure of Christian states, that brought Cordoba down. And mind you, there's no history detailing a day that was set aside to remember the day. Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/history/spain_1.shtml
She's smart. Mixing a little bit of history with fiction and playing on religious feelings to stoke the fire.
And she did not just stop on creating false historical facts. She goes on to say that the actions done on Valentines day are immoral ones such as going to disco, making out and having sex. Not satisfied with that, she showed her level of prejudice by further claiming that the immoral actions mentioned above can only be done by Christians and not Muslims.
Isn't it funny to see how a simple message got turned into one full of hate? Rather than educating the young about the dangers of uncontrolled lust and the wrong message about Valentines Day itself, she's blaming the Christians for the social ill that is happening among the youths.
Why can't she lecture about the true meaning of Valentines itself? That it is a day to shower the person you love, be it your wife or husband, with affection, like telling them how much they mean to you rather than painting it as a completely evil day, coupled with a we-vs-them mentality inside? Why can't she teach others how to be accepting and treasure the diversity among us?
Seems to me like she's using the same old mechanism that politicians love to use to garner support or to solidify their base of power. First, paint something or in this case, some day as evil. Then, attribute it to an out-group, preferably an age old enemy like the Christians (or Chinese, as done usually in Malaysia) and incite fear among the populace of how if this goes unchecked, your own culture would be lost. Make them feel as that they are threatened. And then, offer them a solution to a problem that does not exist in the first place, a solution that involves people looking at you as some sort of savior.
Perhaps the reason why she hate Valentines so much is due to the fact that no guy dares ask her out on a date. Which is why she would not want others to celebrate Valentines too. And for those of you who can understand Malay and would want to see the video, I've included it below:-
28 comments:
VALENTINE DAY(HARI BERKASIH SAYANG)Menurut pandangan Islam
Valentine's Day Islam View
Sigh I super hate people like her, giving false statements yet not knowing that she is actually humiliating herself. Shame on her, like srsly. Call herself an ustazah somemore -.-
What?! It's perfectly fine to not want to celebrate if those reasons stated were true. However, it is not fine to try and stoke flames against another religion. I think she's just narrow-minded and probably was raised to believe that her religion is right and the rest are wrong. Oh well!
That's what I've said too.. she's just bitter.. and it's just wrong. Anything that has unsur unsur barat is christianity and maksiat. Ignorance is bliss. So untrue and out of context.
It aint haram..I is just a Pagan celebration
Hmm... Good day Handsome Luckey
1st of all Are you angry or anything?
its ok..anyway..
Coz ur article is like the Ustazah have just said sumting bad about u..
Well i'm reffering to:
"Perhaps the reason why she hate Valentines so much is due to the fact that no guy dares ask her out on a date."
Well anyway i think what the Ustazah is trying to do is to send a msg..
To 'muslim' youngsters to avoid any social wrong doings during this Valentines day, thats all..
and not to you Luckey..
You are free to celebrate it..since i beleive that u r not a muslim..
So dont get mad at the Ustazah ok?
Anyway i'm not angry if u happen to wondering.
YES. i'm a Muslim and also a law abiding Malaysian citizen.
Yes u can say n write whatevr u want but have some respect towards each other race n religions young boy..
i'm sorry if any of my thaughts hurts ur sensitive feeling but im not trying to provoke or anything. Just giving u another side of perspective in seeing things..
Well Happy Belated Chineese New Year anyway
(^^,)
You are totally right. But, let us just ignore them
Khisarah,
anyone of the right mind can tell what she said is wrong.
"Maksiat, Disco, Couple Couple bersunyi sunyian, inilah tradisi masyarakat yang beragama Kristian".
The fact that you said, i quote you "have some respect towards each other race n religions young boy" to the writer of this blog. Now thats just ridiculous. What the ustaz said was basically generalising Christian tradition as involving maksiat, bersunyi-sunyian and disco. (Im not a chritian, so you cant accuse me of favouritism) She basically insulted all Christians by saying they all fit that profile. So why didnt you tell her to "have some respect towards each other race n religions". Why is it okay that she insult Christians? If it was the other way round, whereby a Christian said the same thing about Islam, he/she would already be in jail bec of ISA or sedition act.
Besides, ppl from all religions including Muslims do it too. Thats why you guys have "moral police" & khalwat laws right? It doesnt matter the religion, be it christian or muslim. Dont be racist.
2ndly, all the supposing "historical facts" that she claims are unsupported by evidence. But it doesnt matter because many ppl nowadays dont celebrate the day because of the whatever origins it maybe. Modern society celebrate it as a day of spending time with loved ones. Thats all.
Instead of spending time talking about Valentines Day, why dont you guys be productive. Like working hard in your job or talking about REAL ISSUES like snatch theft, abuse of power and corruption.
@khisarah: Firstly, yes I am angry, but not for the reason that you might be thinking. I am just annoyed that in her process of asking people to not do bad stuff on Valentines (which is perfectly normal), she is promoting hate at the same time.
What's with maksiat and disco being a completely Christian thing? Isn't that labeling of sorts? I'm sure that Islam does not permit you to spread hatred and prejudice right?
Don't get me wrong in the post. I'm against people doing all sort of stupid things too, but please don't stoke hatred in the process.
came across someone on my FB list stated that "hari haram Valentine" is celebrated by Christian. what do they know about the day itself? making false accusations to cause hatred amongst us is just the majority's way of making those who are below them look somewhat inferior. we respect them but they give none back.. but not saying all of them but there are some who are not open to others' ideas of something. misinterpreting valentines day to make it look like it is a sinful day for those who are celebrating. well, this is the reality here while others respect others without prejudice. but hey, those who are not like them would be back-stabbed with smile of respect.
cmom guys..something bad i know about another race.NOW.so dont make it a hot issue because we are malaysian.
now I know who the real you all "Bangsa lain".REMEMBER ! we are malaysian, and do not make this a hot issue that will make us hate the other races.
now I know who the real you all "Bangsa lain".REMEMBER ! we are malaysian, and do not make this a hot issue that will make us hate the other races.
@khisarah
"have some respect towardsbut have some respect towards each other race n religions young boy.." about this, i think u should say to that USTAZAH. i know her speech have a good purpose, but too bad the wrong way. Its like robbing people to help the poor, but how bout the innocent people that had been robbed?
"Maksiat, Disco, Couple Couple bersunyi sunyian, inilah tradisi masyarakat yang beragama Kristian".
if u look at malaysia's newspaper, actualy the muslim are the one. not Christian. U retarded ustazah.
@dori_lukey
Thanks for the reply
every people have their own opinion in seeing things rite..
And also if u hated the Ustazah so much
maybe u understand also that sometime people makes mistakes..without actually realizing it
i think the best thing to do is straight go tell the Ustazah and i believe if she is wrong she will apologize rite?
Starting flames of hatred here among each other is not going to help any of us..
say NO to VD
@khisarah:
I know everyone has their own opinion in seeing things but having your own opinion does not mean you can go around spreading false messages. Your opinion must be based on hard facts, not something you created out of thin air. those are lies. and i'm not starting any flames of hatred here, did you see me saying anything about stoning her or asking her to go die?
No right? It's more a feeling of pity than hate, to be honest
to advise Muslims not to celebrate Valentine's Day, and to condemn Christianity + giving out false assumptions are two different things.
I'm Muslim, and I've never criticised Christianity itself, or Judaism for that matter. Religion, generally, preaches us to be good.
In this case, that Ustazah made a few bad decisions. Should be more tactful next time.
I think it's just really simple to conclude.
She just DOESN'T KNOW how to preach WELL.
So yeah I guess all Christians go to the discos and doing "kerja-kerja maksiat"
So I guess we'll be seeing the pope at the disco anytime soon? (*sarcasm*)
Regardless of whether the ustazah got her facts a bit skewered or not, or how she chose to spread her message, Valentine Day IS generally considered a Christian commemoration day, named after one or more Christian saints. There are at least two Saint Valentines honored on this day (Valentine of Rome and Valentine of Ternini; both buried in Via Flaminia Rome) and since 500AD was an observance day in celebration of their sainthood. There is another Saint Valentine from the Roman province in Africa also connected with Feb 14 but less famous.
It wasn't until 1969 that the feastday of Saint Valentine was removed from the "Roman Calender Of Saints" due to lack of real information on the saints (except from their names, the date Feb 14, n their burial site) but its religious observance is still permitted, especially with the older Traditionalist Catholics.
There are many versions of what constituted the sainthood of Valentine, but among the most popular is the one where during Rome's Claudius II where Valentine of Rome was executed on Feb 14 for conducting Christian marriages and aiding Christians (which was illegal in pagan Rome). Lore says that before his death, Valentine performed a miracle (healing the blind daughter of his jailer) and also fell in love with her. He would write her a letter, signing it with "From Your Valentine" which became the first ever Valentine's card.
Feb 14 also has connections with the ancient Pagan celebration "Lupercalia" (which is celebrated in ancient Rome and refers to the she-wolf Lupa, who suckled the Roman founders of Romulus and Remus).
But this date also has connections with another, more generally celebrated event, the "Juno Februata" (February comes from the word Februa which means "purification"). This particular event was what the ustazah was talking about, and basically, what she said is generally TRUE.
Just Google Juno Februata
eg.
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977577716
During this day, men would draw the names of girls randomly, and the chosen ones would become the men's sexual partners throughout the festivities, but most also throughout the year. Marriages MAY occur. Regardless how you may look at it as an acceptable form of "modern day courtship", it hardly registers to me as a day celebrating LOVE, more of a day celebrating LUST.
It was during the time of Pope Gelasius did this pagan celebration began to be usurped by a more Christian celebration. It was Gelasius who took feb 14 as a feastday for the saint valentine. And it was he who got rid of "Lupercalia" and "Juno Februata" by smartly replacing some of its traditions (in the Juno Februata, instead of drawing the names of girls, you drew the names of saints).
So even though Valentine's day became a Christian festival since 500AD, it's origins were indeed pagan.
Ironically, there are some Christian preachers who are just as much as anti Valentine's Day as the ustazah.
eg.
http://www.thercg.org/articles/ttbsvd.html#c
As time progressed, Valentine's Day has gone through various stages and influences that shaped it as it is today, from Chaucer, French romanticism and English renaissance to even American commercialisation (type Esther Howland; she's the mother of modern day valentine day cards). But if you really look at it's history, the origins of Valentine's Day is very much a religious festival, either the Christian feastday of Saint Valentine
or the Roman Pagan fertility rites.
As for the ustazah's beliefs that Feb 14 is the date of the fall of the islamic cordoba empire (actually, the terms cordova and qurtuba can also be used) could very well be true. It could very well be likely that Muslim scholars would have a more exact date of the fall of one of their greatest empires (by the 10th century, Cordoba was unrivalled in the east nor west in terms of wealth and civilisation; go look it up) than the best western estimate of "somewhere" in January 1492. And although i myself have yet to find another Saint Valentine connected with Queen Isabel, but i personally wouldn't discount it either. Just because it isn't on wikipedia doesn't mean it's not true. I often found that western versions of events often collide with muslim ones.
http://www.andalusia-web.com/history_details.htm
@Anonymous:
Thanks for your really long reply. I see that you have done quite some research and I do not deny the fact that Valentines day indeed originated from Christianity. But so what? It doesn't change the fact that the ustazah simply interpreted the event or the day itself to suit her message based on the limited facts she have.
Valentines Day today has nothing to do with Christianity, no Christians honor it, we do not have mass or services for it and thus labeling Valentines day as a Christian celebration is an act that is based on ignorance. Having it's origins from a religion as compared to being celebrated as part of the religion has two completely different meaning
And saying that Christians engages in acts like sex and disco and maksiat, isn't that an over-generalization and another act of of blatant ignorance? On what basis did she find out that all these immoral acts are basically committed by Christians? did the Bible encourage us to have sex? or did she did a statistical study?
And like you say, Christians themselves are against this day and the lust, so what makes Christians and Muslims different then?
And unless there's a concrete proof detailing the fall of the Muslim empire as caused by a guy named Valentine, I believe that what she said is nothing but her own spin up tales. In our age today where information is easily accessible, don;t you think that if the events she said was true, it would be easily searchable on the web as I believe many would write about it
And even if all your arguments hold ground, does it mean that it is okay for the ustazah to spread hate among others?
Khisarah.
For your information, as a Christian in Malaysia, never once in my whole life i cry out "LORD IS GREAT!WE WILL KILL THOSE WHO AGAINST US!JIHAD!"
Shut up and learn how to understand. we were 'forced' to learn tamadun Islam in secondary school and IPTA but it never shake our faith towards our own religion.Come on,get a life.don't be such an a** and start talking about respects. Respect is to be earn!!
firstly i would say that probably the ustzh is narrow minded. i am not taking sides dear kak khaisarah. ur probably older than me anyways.
like what kak sarah said, yeah maybe that ustzh is trying to prevent muslim youths to do "social wrong doings" which is also true. but then again, she shouldnt have been racist in the video.
i don't know where she got those facts but i was taught since primary school not to celebrate this kinda stuff but i do it anyways...
my valentine is usually my mother or my siblings. I got them heart-shaped chocolates and roses etc....i guess it all depends on the "niat". anyhoo, celebrating valentines doesn't have to be with your boyfie or girlfriend...it could be with your granparents, parents, siblings, aunties, uncles, etc...
it does no harm if muslims that celebrate valentines knows what they can do and not to do. besides, it doesnt say in the qoran that we cant celebrate valentines does it? :)
yunno, this kinda things make us malaysians fall into pieces...so spread te love and stop pointing fingers!
xxo
HAHA my teacher used to say this as well but who cares I like Valentine's Day...
I believe as with all things,
Moderation & Self-Control is Key.
PLus, our days are so mundane, a little celebration like Valentines will make it special.
Not just talking about lovers but single friends too. No guy asked me out but I ain't bitter! =)
It all depends on perception. And this Christian-Islam debate will see no end of course, they've been at it since Earth existed.
I think all religions are peaceful but people are just people and that's a different thing altogether because they've got their own agenda.
Peace! (and who knows we might go to heaven hehehehe)
and also as with all things, time indeed morphes the whole Valentine's meaning into somewhat modern day affair.
and some even choose to celebrate it everyday to cherish their special someone.
see, it has morphed into different meanings already, so no point arguing hehehhe
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