Patterns of State Interaction with Islamic Movements in Malaysia during the Formative Years of Islamic Resurgence (original) (raw)
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Long regarded as an embodiment of tolerant Islam peacefully co-existing with modernisation within a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society, Malaysia unexpectedly aroused much attention as a potential breeding ground for Muslim radicals in the aftermath of a series of catalytic events which pitted the West against the Muslim world. Rising occurrences of Islamist-related terrorist violence have been cited as evidence of surging Southeast Asian Muslim radicalism, to which Malaysia, the rarity of its Islam-related commotions notwithstanding, is held not be immune. Both foreign analysts and the Malaysian government have been inclined to situate such an obtrusive phenomenon within the context of the rising penetration into the country of doctrinal rigidity espoused by the Wahhabi-Salafi school of thought predominant in contemporary Middle East. Traditionally acting as recipients rather than generators of intellectual developments within the ummah, Malaysian Muslims, as part of the non-Arab Muslim periphery, are said to be susceptible to Middle Eastern-originated radicalism, as exemplified in interlocking transnational contacts and agendas sowed between increasingly globalised Islamist networks adept in exploiting latest trappings of modernity. This paper, however, urges readers to look beyond such conventional analyses, and engage in deeper reflection of local dynamics of Malaysia’s Islamisation process, in order to arrive at a more nuanced understanding of challenges posed by political Islamists in Malaysia. It is argued that, belying the regime’s profession of a form of progressive Islam known as Islam Hadhari, Malaysia under Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s Premiership has witnessed an abrupt escalation of inter-religious tension which not only threatens to disrupt communal harmony and nation-building, but also poses a security risk. The origins of such instability could arguably be located to political Islamism within the regime, in particular to its home-nurtured Islamic bureaucracy, which has become Islamist.
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While there is no dearth of literature on Islamic resurgence in Malaysia as a general phenomenon, and there further exists a fair amount of studies, both comparative and specialist, on Islamic movements in Malaysia, hardly any of the writings touch significantly on issues involving inter-movement interaction and rivalry. The issue is often glossed over, and if at all touched upon, the discussion would be fairly shallow and even perfunctory. Muslim scholars, in particular, prefer to shy away from the disturbing fact that Islamic movements have shown less cooperation with and sympathy for their compatriots who find themselves in a turbulent relationship with the authorities, as might have been expected. Doctrinal differences and a fierce rivalry for influence often prevail. This paper diverges from the conventional depiction of Islamic resurgence in Malaysia as more or less a monolithic phenomenon, whereby the inter-relationship among Islamic movements are seen as less than troublesome, if not harmonious altogether. The object of investigation is the state-orchestrated clampdown on Darul Arqam in 1994, when other main Islamic movements joined in the campaign to outlaw and exterminate Darul Arqam. Facts from the episode show that these other movements were as culpable as the state in effecting the demise of Darul Arqam. Doctrinal and technical differences, rather than an acceptance of plurality of Islamic views, got the better of them. 'Unity in diversity': a popular codeword used by Malaysian Islamists to portray the apparent understanding struck among the Islamic movements, proved to be more rhetoric than reality. This grim fact is reinforced by later events.
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Interaction between Muslims in Malaysia and their Middle Eastern brethren has consistently been a source of apprehension to the powers-that-be from colonial times till today. Islamist activism in Malaysia has indeed undergone changes, and these did indeed arise from contemporary Middle Eastern influences. The Malaysian version of Islamist puritanism has always been pragmatic rather than dogmatic, moderated by its multi-cultural and multi-religious setting. But newer strands of Islamism influenced by developments in the Middle East have alarmed authorities. Newly formed Muslim organisations such as Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (ISMA: Muslim Solidarity Front), the Islamic Renaissance Front (IRF) and Hizb at-Tahrir Malaysia (HTM) are all found to have maintained strong Middle Eastern links, both at the discursive or organisational levels. • All three movements in question have so far not displayed violent tendencies although their versions of Islamism exhibit varying degrees of ideological absolutism, distinguishing them markedly from the wave of Islamism that engulfed Malaysia in the 1980s.
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Asian Journal of Political Science, 2010
Long regarded as an embodiment of tolerant Islam peacefully co-existing with modernisation within a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society, Malaysia unexpectedly aroused much attention as a potential breeding ground for Muslim radicals in the aftermath of catalytic events which pitted the West against the Muslim world. Malaysian Muslims are said to be susceptible to Middle Eastern-originated radicalism, as exemplified in interlocking transnational contacts and agendas sowed between increasingly globalised Muslim networks adept in exploiting latest trappings of modernity. This article urges readers to engage in deeper reflection of local dynamics of Malaysia’s Islamisation process, in order to arrive at a more nuanced understanding of challenges posed by politically engaged Muslims in Malaysia. It is argued that, belying the regime’s profession of a progressive Islam known as Islam Hadhari, Malaysia under Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s Premiership witnessed an abrupt escalation of inter-religious tension which not only threatened to disrupt communal harmony and nation-building, but also posed a security risk. The origins of such instability could arguably be located to the peculiar manner in which politically-laden Islam is applied by the regime, in particular by its home-nurtured Islamic bureaucracy.