So, for the love of Allah, I gather my courage to write an email to withdraw from ANHB 1101. If I couldn’t be the one to vanquish the lie , I do not want to be the one who teaches it to the children.

Last week while we were walking to Uni club for Tahmina’s going away breakfast, I had a chat with MJ, a fellow colleague from the Waddell circle. For weeks I had been terrified about a class that I am taking under AP Julie.H. It’s a first semester class and I was unsure if I have the energy, time and let’s face it, the capability to handle a full teaching class. From rumours, these classes require actual teaching rather than tutoring and I am not prepared to shoulder such big responsibilities. Especially at this stage when my research demands undivided attention from me.

I asked MJ about the classes and she mentioned about “evolution” being the first chapter that was thought to these students as the basic of Biology. I immediately felt uneasy by the mention of the subject and I guessed MJ could sense the awkwardness and said that if I was not comfortable with teaching it, I could easily discuss with Julie for a replacement during that time. So I told her that, we Muslims in Malaysia were not taught in detail about evolution as much as religion was not taught in detail here. It’s Malaysia, it’s a Muslim country. It is understandable that evolution will not be accepted well by the general Muslim public, therefore it was only fair to put it as a small chapter that received minimal attention by both the teachers and the students.

MJ looked at me and asked. Well, I know it’s a Malaysia and it’s a Muslim country, but isn’t it unfair to the non-Muslim then?

Well, MJ, truthfully, I never taught about it that way because Malaysians, no matter if they are Muslims or Christians or Buddhists or Hindus, We all do believe in God. Each religion taught their followers that there is a “Superior Being” that created and controls the universe. So as a country, we stand in unison when it comes to the rubbishness of the theory of evolution. It’s funny that people would think it is the Muslims who are “very sensitive” when it comes to the theory of evolution, when in fact anyone who has a religion feels that evolution is merely the atheists’ plot to discredit the work of God.

It is amazing how one person could hate something so much. And yes, I hate evolution. One of the reason is because by believing in them, people begin to think that religion (and thus, God) is not relevant anymore. And that’s the reason that makes me angrier. Sometimes I wish that people who study biology would just open one Islamic book and read it unbiasly. I wish that people who teaches this false theory to the young minds would just unbiasly attend Islamic lectures to understand why a simple person like me, insignificant is so many levels still feel that if there is nothing else that she could do, at least she wants the world (and her friends) to know that evolution is a lie.

So, for the love of Allah, I gather my courage to write an email to Julie to withdraw from ANHB 1101. If I couldn’t be the one to vanquish the lie about evolution, I do not want to be the one who teaches it to the children.