Saturday, April 17, 2010

Three Noble Sons of Abraham in KKB

Anwar Ibrahim, Khalid Ibrahim and Zaid Ibrahim in KKB on Nomination Day (Malaysiakini)

Admittedly, I have a big chip on my shoulder about Abraham who ushered in the age of Book Religions and patriarchy.
Yet there is no disputing that Abraham was truly a monumental figure and a very great man whose impact on human destiny continues to be felt.

In Arabic, the name Abraham is rendered Ibrahim. I've long thought it fascinating that so many people I admire in this country carry the name "Ibrahim. " Indeed, it seems like much more than mere coincidence that we are seeing three illustrious Sons of Abraham gathered this morning in the sweet township of Kuala Kubu Bharu to launch the by-election campaign for Ulu Selangor (P94).

Other illustrious children of Abraham I admire and love include dancer-choreographer Ramli Ibrahim; Aljazeera anchorwoman Fauziah Ibrahim; Haris Ibrahim, human rights activist-blogger and founder of the Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia movement; Ismail Ibrahim aka Admiral Tojo (among the most enlightened humans I know and a good friend of RPK to boot); Singapore's first Attorney-General Ahmad Ibrahim; and something I just stumbled upon a minute ago, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation of Africa which hands out an award called The Ibrahim Prize for excellence in governance.


May the three illustrious Sons of Abraham gathered in Kuala Kubu Bharu today - especially the one named Zaid - overcome all obstacles and be victorious beyond all expectations. Interestingly, Wikipedia informs us that "Zaid, Zeid, Zeyd, Seid, Jayed, Zayed, Zaeed or Seyd is an Arabic name, meaning "abundance", "growth" or one who progresses and makes other people progress." That's really quite meaningful, isn't it?