This paper was a lament against the non-functioning elites that have ruled Malaysia since independence as well as the kinds of religious discourses that continue to dominate mainstream thought.

I was envious of the strength of US universities and the relative freedom of the professors. There is still space for dissent and competing or alternative views. Issues like privacy can be discussed without any repercussions.

In Malaysia, professors have to sign to a pledge of loyalty to the government and university students are told to sign a statement that they would not be involved in politics.

We have not even settled many of our problems and now we have to deal with the changes in an Internet society?

I despair but I am somewhat encouraged by the work of Muslim NGOs in Malaysia like MEGC and Sisters in Islam who have worked to go beyond textual Islam i.e. the obsessive focus on Qur'an and hadith and worked instead on development issues like strengthening capabilities.

In this sense, I agree with Prof. Abu Odeh that giving the Qur'an and hadith an overarching status is misplaced. After all, Malaysia is also a part of the capitalist world-system with all the trappings of a Westminster parliamentary system. So, no seventh-century Arabian thought there!

I know I have not addressed your concerns at all but I thought I'd start by at least explaining why I wrote that piece.

-- AlfianKuchit - 09 Feb 2009