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Valentine in South East Asia (ASEAN) is an undeniable boon to local flower business
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By
Kazi Mahmood, IOL Southeast Asia Correspondent
KUALA
LUMPUR, February 14 (IslamOnline) - Flower shops boosted their stocks
with orders pouring in for a special day in the calendar of lovers for
this Friday, February 14, while Muslim clerics and some concerned
Muslim citizens showed great pain in the fate of Iraq with the
impending U.S. attacks on the Muslim country.
A
survey in Kuala Lumpur and reports from Jakarta and Singapore
suggested that Valentine day in South East Asia (ASEAN) is an
undeniable boon to local flower business, with price hike and huge
orders for one of nature’s most beautiful objects, bouquets of
flowers.
The
western custom of sending flowers to lovers on the 14th
February has rooted itself in the Muslim societies and cultures in
this region and it was obvious that the day was warmly celebrated.
Short
Messages, picture messages and other operator logos service providers
altogether rubbed their hands with a sudden increase in orders for
such items on their web sites.
However,
the Muslim clerics in the region condemned the practice, with some
mosques in Malaysia and Indonesia giving the signal of the
‘anti-Islamic’ nature of the gesture of sending flowers on that
particular day.
“Rather
than concern ourselves with prayers for the poor people of Iraq, which
is facing the bombs of America soon, we Muslims are busy boosting a
non-Muslim custom,’ said an Imam in a speech on Friday.
The
Imam, officiating in a mosque in a suburban area of Kuala Lumpur said
celebrating the Valentine could be considered to be un-Islamic since
it regarded a non-Muslim celebration.
In
Jakarta, members of a mujahideen group that has some links with the
Parti Keadilan (PK) voiced their disapproval of celebrating the
Valentine urging the people to concentrate more on Islamic moral
values rather than allow themselves to be dragged in ‘western
follies’.
While
the battle for Baghdad is looking set to begin after the UN’s vote
on support to the U.S. or a veto to America’s war against Iraq, the
Muslims are allowing themselves to be imbued in the valentine.
“To
us Muslims, everyday is a “Valentine”, it is even better than the
western culture. We should always treat our wives with love, not a one
time a year love resolution,” Abdul Majeed, a member of the group
said.
The
group, based originally in Riau Islands has been set up to teach
Muslims on how to dress-up and why not to celebrate non-Islamic
festivals.
“Our
aim is to bring Muslims to understand Islam better since Islam is a
pure system that works for everyone, not a commercial entity that
sells everything for money or for pleasure,” said Abdul Majeed, a
young man of 25 deeply involved in da’awa (propagation) work.
On
the other hand, in Canberra the Chairman of the Nahdlatul Ulama,
Indonesia’s largest Muslim organization, Hasyim Muzadi said his
country and the people of Indonesia opposed the possible attack by the
US and its allies on Iraq.
"The
message was addressed to a number of high-ranking Australian officials
in Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne," Hasyim Muzadi, who is leading
a delegation of Indonesia's religious leaders to Australia, said
Thursday as reported by Antara news agency.
The
Indonesian religious leaders also discussed with Australia the
possibility of U.S. military aggression against Iraq.
They
told Australian officials that the entire Indonesian people did not
agree with a possible U.S. military attack on Iraq. "An attack
should be supported by the UN Security Council and should have
substantial justification," Hasyim said, adding that the Security
Council had the right to say whether or not Iraq was free of weapons
of mass destruction.
Hasyim
also warned the Australian government that the U.S. attack on Iraq
would have unfavorable implications for Indonesia's internal
development, with a reemergence of radicalism. "Radicalism in
Indonesia has gradually been eradicated following the Bali bombing
tragedy but if the U.S. attacks Iraq, it could reemerge,"
