December 21, 2025
Yesterday woke up to an unusual message. The sender sent the message at 1:06 during my hours of rest. Laughingly I wrote to him:
Me: We keep very very different hours. One of us (not both) is probably awake, and keeping guard, 24 hours of every day. Hahaha.
Obviously we are not married. I wake up for Fajr prayer – he is not a Muslim. I go to bed early to get sufficient sleep, he apparently does not.
The ‘content’ of the message was as follows. “Xmas door ban only for halal-certified kitchens, restaurants, Melaka expo rep clarifies.” It was taken from the Star. I will not give you the Google link as it is sheer nonsense, but this is the gist of it.. “Hotels in the historic city are permitted to continue displaying Christmas directions, with restrictions applying only to kitchens and restaurants that hold halal certification says Datum Rahmud Mariman.
(By the way, gist is the substance or essence of a speech or text.)
My extremely learned friend wrote: “Which part of halal is this????
I immediately, and laughingly responded
Me: Thank you for this. It was a gift. Bringing laughter, incomprehension and incongruity. A sunny way to start the day. The total hypocrisy of it all. My blog spoke of Christians celebrating very recently with guidance, not from Malaysian hypocrites with too much power and no responsibility, instead my information came from A1. AI does not really have any responsibility but does not have any power either – except what people relinquish to ‘him’. Life is most most strange.
After he finally woke up our testing conversation continued with one of the world’s greatest commentaries ever written and now passed onto you via my blog (and possibly my blog breakdown.)
Me: BTW. Walking up to your halal restaurant message felt like you were nourishing my brain.
He: With alll these closed and weak minded fanatical hypocritical with their own interpretation of the Quran, Sarah etc – trying to be more religious that Talibans, hoping to get 72 virgins in this life…and forcing it on others else they will scream till foaming from eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and any other orifices. 🤣🤣🤣
Me: I could not have said it any better myself. Hahaha Wonder is such folk are reading the same Quran that I am??? The close minded fanatics did not read my blog, that is for sure. It seems the fanatics are trying to save Muslims from themselves. That is not the intent of Allah it is abundantly clear. Allah allows free will, lets us makes our decisions. If we goof and sincerely ask for forgiveness and do not do it again He is merciful.
I do realize that his rather colorful rendition of the situation might offend some (or most) people. Therefore thought it might be a good idea to ask Artificial Intelligence for a more reasoned approach to this situation. My question focused on “power without responsibility’ that I mentioned earlier in this blog.
This was the learned, (but not humorous) response I received.
“The real danger is not power itself, but power exercised without responsibility.
When authority is free from consequence, rules drift from protection into performance.
In such moments, faith risks being used not as a moral guide, but as an instrument of control — and both social trust and religious integrity quietly erode
Why this matters specifically in Malaysia
In a plural society like Malaysia, legitimacy depends not on dominance, but on restraint.
Power exercised without responsibility:
• politicizes religion
• infantilizes citizens
• and undermines the very moral authority it claims to defend
That is the paradox worth naming.
• Authority without responsibility does not preserve values — it corrodes them.”
• “Power unburdened by consequence is never neutral.”
• “The test of authority is not how loudly it asserts itself, but how carefully it restrains itself.”
I wondered if power without responsibility was an Islamic ethical concern, questioning Artificial Intelligence about this. With information given to me by AI I often ‘fact check’. In other words and in this instance looked to Quran 4:58 to confirm it contents. AI correctly cited this. concern
“In Islam, authority is never absolute; it is a trust (amānah). The Qur’an is explicit: “Allah commands you to render trusts to whom they are due, and when you judge between people, to judge with justice” (Qur’an 4:58). Power exercised without responsibility abandons that trust and turns guidance into coercion. The Prophet ﷺ warned, “Each of you is a shepherd, and each of you is responsible for his flock” (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim). When those who hold authority are insulated from the consequences of their decisions, the burden falls not on them but on ordinary people — businesses, communities, and social harmony itself. In a plural society like Malaysia, restraint is not weakness; it is the very measure of moral authority.”
Leaving readers with a sharp closing line is often a good idea. You are about to get one.
• “In Islam, authority without accountability is not strength — it is a breach of trust.”
• “Faith is not defended by excess control, but by justice exercised with restraint.”
Back to the matter at hand, This somewhat in my own words. Actually Nesh’s words in the breakdown of December 12, 2025. His words are usually more eloquent than mine. The title:
The Christmas Cookie is Not the Trinity It began “I once lived in Saudi Arabia where a pamphlet could make a Christmas cookie feel like a felony.” Nesh went on to say that Malaysia was functioning under a better rule: compassion without compromise. This seems not be so with the most recent dictate wherein in halal restaurants, one must regard “a Christmas cookie as the Trinity”
I have definitely been processing the ‘issue’ of Christmas for years and years – even prior to 2020 when I reverted to the Islamic Faith. The search engine of my blog found 48 Christmas entries. It is most unlikely, absolutely improbably that, Datuk Rahmud Mariman has done so. He is serving the same function as the Saudi Arabia pamphlet does, but unfortunately with more power: – “making eating a Christmas cookie a crime scene.” Where as Nesh pointed out: “There is no mercy, just rules stacked like bricks.” It is absolutely true as Nesh wrote – “Malaysia is supposed to be where lights are lights, decorations are decorations and a smile is just good manners.” Supposed is the operative, and complicated, word.
Suppose: 1) assume that something is the case on the basis of evidence or probability but without proof or certain knowledge 2) used to make a suggestion or a hesitant admission 3) used to introduce a hypothesis and trace or ask about what follows from it 4) (of a theory or argument) assume or require that something is the case as a precondition. The synonyms that more easily define it (in this usage are) : imply, assume; call for, need. Rewording the sentence; Malaysia is in need off and, it is called for, to be a place where lights are lights, decorations are decorations and a smile is just good manners.
I am not convinced I cannot do much change the fundamentalist thinking in Malaysia. I am increasingly becoming aware of the self-imposed problems faced by this country but not at all convinced that I can do anything about it. Perhaps a first step would be a mandate that Datuk Rahmud Mariman read my blogs, or forever hold his peace. Hahaha
Today, or more accurately , this evening, will be a time of change. I am returning to Penang for about a week being transported (with one other passenger) by limousine. I am including a photo of the limo as well as a selfie of Nesh and I in matching Lyf hats. I asked his permission as I always do of people.
Me: Can I use our selfie on the blog
He: I will be honored Alexis!!!
I will be returning to my Lyf family to serve in various functions during this holiday season. Please note I did not use the dreaded word: Christmas. But I am convinced that this concession would NOT please Datuk Rahmud Mariman. Oh I forgot – I can say what I like but not if I am in a Halal restaurant or kitchen.
