An Encounter with... Islam

Name    : Anas Zubedy

Age        :  46

Where Are You From?  :  Penang, Malaysia

Currently Residing In… :  Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

What Do You Do For A Living?   : Businessman

AEW      : I edited your book – “The Quran and I”. Thank you first of all, for allowing me to do so. It was an eye-opening journey for myself too. What inspired you to compile your writings for The Quran and I?  

AZ        : I wanted to give an easy-to-read, universal viewpoint of the Quran practiced by a contemporary Muslim. The idea is to share with people how a person who loves the Quran, grew up in multiracial Malaysia, using the Quran as his Hidayah (guidance in life) in his day-to-day living. The Quran forms the basis of my love towards people regardless of race, religion and background.

AEW      : Do you think you are a religiously “rich”? And how important is religion to you?

AZ        : I do not think I’m religious but I have a strong spiritual connection with God and His creation. When you are spiritually connected with God, you accept all of life’s challenges and see them as God giving you a chance to discover your own strength and deal with your weaknesses.  Life becomes a journey towards a meaningful end. As such, religious oe ad-deen (way of life) is very important to me.

AEW      : What is the basic foundation of Islam which you would hope for the world to know?  

AZ       :  The basic foundation of Islam is peace, righteousness and making things happen.  This you can find, for example, in the Quran - Chapter 2 verse 177, Chapter 3 verse 159 and Chapter 9 verse 94.

AEW       : From where I stand (or sit), I see Islam is easily misunderstood. Why do you think that is?  

AZ        :  Islam is misunderstood due to many reasons.

For one, it may be the concerted effort by certain elements in the West, since The Crusades, who till today see it fit to continue spreading misinformation about Islam. 

But the real issue is the Muslims themselves; they have not placed God and the Quran above everything else. Take for example how Muslims hold on to certain traditional beliefs that suggest Prophet Muhammad was harsh with the Arabs, when according to Chapter 3 verse 159, it is the contrary. The Muslims themselves wrongly believe that militancy and going to war is the main platform to achieve the goal of Islam. Many Muslims will be surprised to find out that in Muhammad’s 23 years of spreading Islam, the total number of days of actual fighting was not more then 3 days. Muhammad was gentle and he valued human lives. He changed the rule of war so that only a minimal number of lives were sacrificed. 

AEW      : So do you think it is your responsibility to correct the misunderstanding?    

AZ       :  I think it is the responsibility of all to correct any misunderstandings… be it with regards to Islam or with any other spiritual tradition. 

AEW      : You do know that one man alone cannot change the world. Right? Are you hopeful?     

AZ        :  All of us are just a drop in the ocean and I am confident that God has billions and billions of agents ready to take center stage. The role of religion and the logic of having a God is that there will always be hope. 

AEW      : While spreading the correct views on Islam, what are your thoughts about other religions?

AZ            :  My view on Islam is only one; God in His Mercifulness will allow many ways and channels to reach Him. As for religions other than Islam, the Quran clearly states that those who pray in churches, temples and synagogues are all praying to the same God - Allah. This you can find in Chapter 22 verse 40.

AEW      : Do you think sometimes people do not wish to have religion preached to their faces? And yet, there are those who feel they have a need to ‘spread the word’ globally. How do we approach this with as much sensitivity as we possibly can?    

AZ        :  There are those who are fine with religious preaching and those who are not. Those who want to spread their religion must understand … while the goals for spreading the message remains, the platform can be changed. I’m of the opinion that the best way to spread the word is by finding core shared values that are acceptable to all, regardless of race or religious background. In that way we do not spread the brand of the religion, but we achieve our goal in sharing the values of the religion.  To give an extreme example: A man who is born blind, deaf and mute can also experience God as long as we focus on the core values, although that person may never know the name of his religion.

AEW    : Well said, Anas. And really, thank you for taking the time off for this despite your busy schedule. I see you are rescuing Malaysia one person at a time ;) 

For most Malaysians - you may already be familiar with Anas and the creative 'unity' ads his company Zubedy places in mainstream media. For those who would like to read excerpts of his book : The Quran and I, you can click here. Enjoy!