Islamist Civil Society in Malaysia Under Abdullah Badawi: The Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (ABIM) and the Darul Arqam (original) (raw)
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This paper traces changing patterns of Islamism that have transpired in Malaysia, focusing on developments that took place during Dr. Mahathir Mohamad’s final administration (1999-2003), and which have unfolded since Abdullah Ahmad Badawi assumed the Premiership of the country on 31st October 2003. This period witnessed the making of a nascent Islamist civil society whose alliances have capriciously undergone realignments and reconfigurations in its endeavour to reach a stable equilibrium with non-Islamist forces. The emergence of a vibrant and burgeoning civil society in Malaysia has been characterised by lively vicissitudes in the relationship between its Islamist and non-Islamist elements. Having experienced a colourful and chequered relationship with the state and other Islamic movements since its official founding in 1971, the Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (ABIM: Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia) has, since its leadership rejuvenation in 2005, attempted to reassert its dominant place as an influential and legitimate voice of the Malay-Muslim masses, but with mixed ramifications.
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As a case study, this thesis investigates the political challenge posed by Darul Arqam, an Islamic movement, to the Malaysian state from 1968 until 1996. As a general manifestation of Islamic resurgence, the challenge sheds light on three important issues: the tactics, methods and strategies pursued by Islamic movements; the secular authorities' pattern of response to Islamic movements; the impact of repression on Islamists. The Darul Arqam challenge was unique in dispensing with conventional Islamist ideas and practices, in generating an atypical reaction from the state and in producing an unconventional counter-response to state-initiated suppression. Darul Arqam's roots are traced to Malaysian Islam's largely sufi inclinations, which have been neglected by most contemporary Islamists for their perceived disadvantages, but which Darul Arqam successfully harnessed to its benefit.Given Darul Arqam's disavowal of political violence and the state's strategy of emphasising cooptation and accommodation of Islamists, its full blown repression of Darul Arqam in 1994 deserves scrutiny in its myriad aspects and implications. The paradox of Darul Arqam's challenge is underlined by its innate capacity to weather external pressure, showing that wholesale repression would not necessarily amount ot liquidation of a grassroots movement.
Politically Engaged Muslims in Malaysia in the Era of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (2003-2009)
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.
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.
Southeast Asian Studies (Kyoto), 2018
This article seeks to analyze the evolving development and contestations regarding the interplay of Islam and politics in Malaysia’s public space for a period of 60 years (1957–2017) since its independence as a nation-state. A crucial element in this discourse is the official position of Islam as the “religion of the federation” in the Malaysian Constitution, which simultaneously guarantees the freedom of other religions embraced by almost half of the country’s population. The population became even more diverse ethnically and religiously upon the formation of the Federation of Malaysia, which replaced Malaya, on September 16, 1963. Closely related to the discourse of political Islam in Malaysia, the evolving concepts of “religion” and “secularism” in Malaysia’s Islamic context have undergone considerable shifts as a result of constant public engagement by an assortment of politicians, commentators, scholars, bureaucrats, and civil society activists. As the argument develops, Malaysia’s interaction with Islam has been essentialized by political interests such that boundaries are hardened between what is considered Islamic and un-Islamic. The increasingly rigid positions adopted by Islamic stakeholders have arguably worsened both interreligious and intra-Muslim relations, with progressive Muslim voices increasingly finding themselves marginalized in the state-controlled political environment.
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Unlike many Middle Eastern states which have unequivocally resorted to repression to outflank Islamist opposition, Malaysia's response to Islamic resurgence since the formative decade of 1980s has typically combined cautious encouragement of official dakwah (missionary effort) and checks on activities of independent Islamist groups so as to minimise possibilities of violence. Coercion was employed only as a temporary measure. Enjoying a relatively buoyant economy, problems such as mass demonstrations, riots, 'terror' campaigns and assassination attempts, have largely eluded Malaysia. The state's strategy of coopting major Islamists and committing itself to an Islamisation programme has added to the regime's legitimacy. Previously strident Islamists have decided to discard their anti-establishment image and pursue their Islamic state ambitions through channels acceptable to the dominant political elite. Islamists' verbal and tacit espousal of Islamisation signal the fruition of the state's accommodationist strategy which, in turn, has obviated the need for Islamists to indulge in fifth-column activities. In turn, the mellowing of mainstream Islamist trends have convinced the state that the continuance of piecemeal Islamisation features, coupled with ambiguous assurances as to its long-term intentions of guiding the nation towards a modern Islamic polity, are sufficient to contain the socio-political influence of Islamic movements.
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ISEAS Perspective No. 58, 2013
Under Prime Minister Najib Razak, Malaysia has witnessed vigorous drives towards multiple visions of political Islam. This is not surprising. In truth, Islam has always been a pivotal factor in Malaysian politics, and different interpretations in both doctrine and practice have often arisen among successive generations of Malaysian Muslims. In addition, the rich cultural diversity of Southeast Asia enriched Malaysian Islam with accommodating mores from a variety of civilisational traditions, a recent manifestation being Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s Islam Hadhari. After Abdullah lost power to Najib Razak in 2009, however, the defining of the Islamic framework of the nation has been effectively delegated to the official Islamic bureaucracy, whose horizons are coloured by Islamist uniformity rather than religiously acceptable Muslim plurality. This article discusses the impact of this delegation of power, which has exhibited ghastly consequences in the aftermath of Malaysia’s 13th General Elections.
Political Islam and Islamist Politics in Malaysia
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Najib Razak’s tenure as Malaysia’s sixth Prime Minister has witnessed vigorous drives towards multiple visions of political Islam, separately orchestrated by different sets of Islamists of both overtly political groups and non-state activist clusters. While Islam has always been a pivotal factor in Malaysian politics, interpretations of Islam have not unusually arisen among successive generations of Malaysian Muslims in both doctrine and practice. In addition, the rich cultural diversity of Southeast Asia helped sway Malaysian Islam into accommodating mores from a variety of civilisational traditions, the latest manifestation being Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s Islam Hadhari. Since the assumption of power by Najib Razak, however, the initiative of defining the Islamic framework of the nation has been effectively delegated to the official Islamic bureaucracy, whose horizons are coloured by visions of Islamist uniformity rather than a religiously acceptable Muslim plurality. This article discusses the impact of such power delegation, which has exhibited ghastly consequences in the aftermath of Malaysia’s Thirteenth General Elections.
Asian Studies Review, 2003
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.