Awkward People

                  PRC ( Pas Representative Council UK-Eire)  had a chance to meet a number of PAS leaders in Sheffield a few days ago, and to be honest, I was quite disappointed to find out that they are just human beings. There were no fireballs coming from their mouths when they speak, and when they pray, nothing magical or out of norm ever happened. Perhaps it was wrong to put high expectations before meeting someone you have never even seen before.

          

from left; Aiman Athirah, Mumtaz Nawi and her husband, Anas At-Tikriti, Suhaizan Kayat and Jupri Bade from PRC

              Suhaizan Kayat , Salahuddin Ayub, Mumtaz Nawi and Aiman Athirah Al-Jundi ate together with us , sitting on the cold floor and sharing food on the same tray as if we had been friends for decades. They spoke of normal things like any decent human would do, instead of spewing complicated ideological bullshit and clichéd words of reform. We talked about the never-ending grass fields of Sheffield and the weird British weather, fat sheeps and queer locals, and at some point we even sat in complete silence and awkwardness as a result of the failure to hold an interesting conversation.

            We had expected many things from the leadership, but it was never thought that the Youth Chief and the Vice President can be awkward at times. It is perfectly human and normal thing which happens every time we make new friends and meet new people, and it happens to the best of people. I managed to further prove that they are just regular human beings due to the fact that Senator Mumtaz  did not  freeze things with her bare hands, and Aiman Athirah became tired after speaking for two hours.

          My friend told me how disappointed he felt after meeting the leaders for the first time, due to  the fact that they too are humans, as human beings are a boring bunch. We had been expecting special people with traits of an alien being, batman-like ideals and superhuman strength. It was widely rumored that these people are excellent speakers and experts in oratory skills, but I bet some of my colleagues can speak way better than they did. They weren't extremely pretty or extravagantly beautiful either, only somewhat good looking-on the fine line of being not ugly.

           Suhaizan Kayat , the friendly Youth Chief who is the role model for all young Muslims is quite fat, despite the stereotypical expectations that a leader of Muslim youths should have been a man with taut muscles and tough expressions. They all looked tired and lethargic after long hours of flight and endless travel through the grass fields, and that made us feel guilty to have them speak all day and greet all kinds of Malaysians that came.

           It made me realize that they have nothing to offer by themselves to us in order to join their fight. Suhaizan even told us that he can't even sing ,at the end of our short meeting, and it was frankly frustrating. He was trying to sing some folk songs during his last speech, which resulted in a number of non-rhythmic lines which doesn't sound like music at all.  Senator Mumtaz is quite pretty, but she is already married and is really quite proud with her husband . What was the point of them coming thousands of miles from the homeland, and why were they celebrated with respect and admiration?

                I found that they are regular people, who became leaders and special people due to their unwavering will to bring Islam back to their nation. Suhaizan Kayat was a university lecturer who was then fired, but unlike millions of people around the world who were fired from their jobs, he was fired because he wanted to deliver Allah's words to his students. Salahuddin Ayub and Mumtaz Nawi rejected numerous offers of wealth and status in order to fight for the jemaah, despite the fact that they are barely able to sustain themselves and their families. Aiman Athirah had been a fighter since her days as a students, and she had experienced police violence and harsh criticism from the public and even from members of the party. They had prevailed various sorts of tribulation , mentally and physically, and had always risen to the occasion, whenever an issue arises.

                 What they have to offer to us was the promise to topple corruption and cronyism once Putrajaya is taken. What they have to share with us during this short but meaningful meeting is the vision of prosperity and harmony under Allah's blessings, once Islam reigns over the nation.  We believe that these honest and strong people would lead Malaysia to her better days ,and that they would prove that Islam is indeed rahmatan lil alamin.

                 The way they treat themselves like common people assures us that these people are indeed qualified representatives for the oppressed majority, the poor and the disabled . Had they bring with themselves an air of importance and arrogance, I would have felt disgruntled and doubtful of their intentions in this fight . Seriously though, it was funny to find out that they can be awkward at times.