Malaysia/Brunei: At Home and at Peace in Muslim Lands

The Call to Prayer (adhan, or azad) wakes us up in Malaysia (where we stay directly across from the country’s largest mosque) and in Brunei (where we recently stayed with an exceptionally kind and generous Muslim family).

What remarkable and moving words: “Allah Akbar.” God is great. Now THERE’S a thought to keep in mind—at least five times a day—especially when the muzzein who intones the Call is so powerfully present, and beautifully precise with his pitch and phrasing! Morning prayer includes the notion that it is “better to pray than to sleep.” Most days, at least, I’m aligned with that sentiment.

But I need to pause here. God and “Allah” do not denote the same Reality, at least not according to a recent ruling of the Malaysian Supreme court. And in Brunei yesterday (the day we left), that country’s Supreme Court decided to phase in implementation of Shariah law, which includes in its arsenal of penalties to its Muslim citizens (only): amputation of hands (for stealing), stoning (for adultery), and caning (for abortion).

People in the USA (a nation founded through an anti-monarchial, democratic revolution) may believe that it’s a civic right—duty, even—to stand up, speak out, and organize when they feel their government has taken a wrong turn. I hear that’s what’s happening in North Carolina right now. But protest, however peaceful, has never been a path to change in Brunei. Decisions of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah (one of the world’s wealthiest men, whose family has been in power for 600 years) are final.

Jan and I have talked a good deal about emerging political realities, both in America and abroad. We’ve concluded that HUG Your Baby's focus is, and ought to be, personal and educational rather than political or religious on this year of international teaching. After all, we travel in the wake of both Hillary Clinton (2012) and John Kerry (2013) as we bring what we can offer to this remarkable part in the world. 

However you approach it, the pan-Malaysian world is wonderfully multicultural. Over here it’s not the African and European people who are most conspicuous (as in North Carolina’s history); the Malay and Chinese cultures figure most prominently. Indians, Europeans and indigenous groups are in the mix as well, just as Latinos, Asians and Native Americans play active roles in North Carolina life today.

Malaysians describe their country as a “melting pot” of Malay, Chinese, and Indian cultures. While each of these groups has its distinctive holidays and customs, individuals from all three backgrounds work, learn and live together harmoniously. Public buses play the “One Malaysia” multicultural music video, to build national pride. We, as Americans, felt nothing but a warm welcome everywhere we went in Malaysia. Indeed, the Malaysian flag looks like an Islamic version of the Stars and Stripes!


Through HUG Your Baby, which has been exceptionally well received in both Malaysia and Brunei, Jan and I have been blessed to meet so many kind and generous, caring and devoted people of both Malay and Chinese ancestry. (When these two cultures merge through marriage, the product is called Baba Nonya—literally, “men / women”—or Peranakan). A marvelously varied, truly world-class cuisine has been one outcome of such cultural intermingling.

Both countries are majority Muslim, and Jan and I have witnessed a religion of peace and love at work in the lives, families and communities we’ve gotten to know. People appear VERY calm and happy—and regular prayer is a big part of what keeps them centered. Before Bakar would pull out of his driveway to take us to Ripas Hospital, he always whispered a prayer. Every kid in Brunei learns this practice in Driver’s Ed class, he told us. Very reassuring for passengers, parents of new drivers, and other drivers too!

People here are also uncommonly generous—upholding another of Islam’s Five Pillars. A religion of peace and love lives in the hearts of the nurses and doctors we have met, clearly visible in both the care they give their patients and the welcome they have given us. With an excellent, modern system of universal health care, Bruneians pay a dollar for a doctor visit. The USA has much to learn!

It’s a complicated world we ALL inhabit—or it should be. How dull life would be if everybody thought the same, acted alike, and lived in exactly the same manner! How much LESS GREAT God would be (I, for one, currently believe) if each human being reflected only the same, simple Truth. A world of differences is a more wonderful world, don’t you think?