Islam in Southeast Asia

3. Malaysia

25 Islam has had a long history in Malaysia, ever since the faith “arrived” in its shores in what are now the states of Kedah, Perak, Kelantan and Trengganu, from around the twelfth century BC. Admittedly, this period has been a hotly debated one but the excavation of the “Trengganu stone” bearing the age of this period was a major argument used by some scholars to support the twelfth century origins of the Islamization process in Malaysia. The simplicity of the message of the faith, the role of Muslim Sufis and traders, and the conversion of the Malay Sultans, all helped to spread the religion in the Malay peninsular. From time immemorial, Islam in Malaysia — previously Tanah Melayu (Malay Land) — has been closely aligned with the Malay ethnic community, the majority, indigenous “sons of the soil” (bumiputra). The role of Malacca (Melaka) in the eventual spread of Islam throughout the Malay world cannot be underestimated. After all, at the height of its power in the fifteenth century, Malacca was the centre of Islam in the entire region of Southeast Asia. When Malacca fell to the Portuguese in 1511, and later, British (1824), its role was taken over by the Johor-Riau kingdom. During British rule (1824–1957), Islam could be said to have been “bureaucratized”. British officials introduced and regulated Islamic institutions such as the Religious Council (Majlis Agama) Chapter฀3 Malaysia ISLAM฀in฀SEA฀p1-94.indd฀฀฀25 2/1/08฀฀฀11:55:07฀AM 26฀ Islam฀in฀Southeast฀Asia and the Islamic courts, as well as exercised tremendous influence over the policy implementation of Islamic law (shar’iah) in the country. Although British officials (via Governor Generals, Commissioners and Residents) did not curtail Islam — for instance, Christianity was spread only to non-Malays in the main, and the Sultans’ symbolic power over Malays and Islam were left intact — for the most part, however, the advice of British officials, had to be acted upon (Hussin Mutalib 1990; Pangkor Treaty). When Malaya was approaching Independence in 1957, much debate and controversy occurred among the Sultans, the leading Malay nationalist party, United Malays National Organization (UMNO), the British-initiated Reid Constitutional Commission, and other ethnic communities, as to the position and role that Islam should play in multiracial and multireligious Malaya. Significantly, that the Rulers, as symbols of the “protectors” of Islam, actually did not support the proposal by Justice Hamid from India (who was one of the framers of the Constitution) to make Islam the official religion during the multi-party constitutional deliberations. In the end, the pressure by Islamic activists and some UMNO leaders saw such a role being spelt out in the Constitution (Article 3 (1): “Islam is the religion of the Federation; but other religions may be practiced in peace and harmony in any part of the Federation”.) This constitutional clause was retained when the country was enlarged into a bigger federation in 1963 with the incorporation of Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore into the Malaysian federation. Hence, other than Islam (mostly of the Sunni variant), Buddhism, Christianity, Hindhuism and “Chinese religions” continue to be practised within the federation’s multi-religious landscape. The nature and extent of Islamic practice post-Independence are shaped by a number of factors, such as the colonial legacy, ISLAM฀in฀SEA฀p1-94.indd฀฀฀26 2/1/08฀฀฀11:55:07฀AM Malaysia฀ 27 and the pressures and political manouvering by Malay elites, both nationalist and Islamic. The tensions among these ‘political actors’, and other imperatives, help to mould the role of Islam and the attendant Malay identity quest in plural, multiracial Malaysia. Ever since the late 1970s, however, and against the backdrop of the Iranian Islamic revolution of 1979, the country has witnessed what came to be known as the “revival” of Islam. This reaffirmation of the Islamic ethos was buttressed further during the reign of Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed (1981–2003), starting with his official declaration to “Islamise the government machinery” in 1984 (Hussin Mutalib 1990, 1993). What ensued was the flourishment of Islam and a general burgeoning of civil society in many parts of Peninsular Malaysia (Nakamura, Siddique, Bajunid 2001). Mahathir’s initiatives led to the manifest mushrooming of Islamic institutions locally and a pro-Islam foreign policy orientation internationally. Under his administration, and supported by the then influential ABIM (Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement) leader...