identities of Islam and Malay together.
There is a danger in attempting to use
religion to bolster an ethnic identity and
on this point alone, the tragic suffering
of the Rohingyas in Myanmar certainly is
a lesson to us all. Further, it is doubtful
whether Islam depends on ethnicity. The
last sermon of the Prophet (S.A.W.) certainly proves that it doesn’t.
Despite all these important issues,
we see a drive in “Islamisation” in this
country in which policies, methods, institutions are exhorted to be Islamic.
While there is certainly nothing wrong
in striving to be Islamic, there is a concern whether such a drive is genuine or
merely cosmetic.
Islam as it has been in this country, is far from being the true, pristine,
ideal form of Islam which we read about
in religious literature. Many authors of
history books proudly point out to the
fact that the Malay sultanates that existed before Western colonisation were
Islamic sultanates. But rarely do these
writers delve into the mechanics of Islam
that was practiced during those days to
assess how Islamic the community was.
Not many are willing to admit that Islam
that had been practised in this country during the old days was not a pure
form of Islam since it was mixed with
Malay customs. This was referred to by
Dr Mohd Faizal Musa (“Faisal Tehrani”)
as “Islam Parameswara”, describing
the weakness of some Muslims whose
understanding of Islam is devoid of any
philosophy and ethics. He referred to
some passages in the Sejarah Melayu
which stated that the people of Melaka
embraced Islam simply because the
King did so and that they were content with the ritual forms of Islam. This
28 | P e r d a n a M a g a z in e 2 0 1 5
we see a
drive in
“Islamisation”
in this
country in
which policies,
methods,
institutions
are exhorted
to be Islamic.
While there
is certainly
nothing
wrong in
striving to be
Islamic, there
is a concern
whether
such a drive
is genuine
or merely
cosmetic.
is true to a certain extent particularly
when there are many parts of the Sejarah Melayu which are far from being
Islamic. Scholars such as the late Prof
Syed Hussein Alattas and his disciples
have been attempting to address this
social phenomenon regarding the psyche of the Malays for decades.
The “Islamic State” discourse in
Malaysia together with the drive for
“Islamisation” are also not free of politics. This was evident from the very first
international Quran recital contest held
in Malaysia which reflected the desire of
the ruling political party to demonstrate
its credentials as the more Islamic political party compared with others.
There are some parties who refuse
to budge from the argument that Malaysia is an Islamic State by pointing out
the special status enjoyed by the religious departments, as they are placed
under the patronage of the Malay Rulers. But historical sources tell a different tale. While the agreements entered
into by the British colonial power and
the Malay Sultans reserved a certain
sphere of jurisdiction for the Malay Sultans on areas related to Islam and Malay
custom, studies have shown that such
agreements were made to bolster the
influence of the colonial power through
the prestige or monopoly of power
granted to the Malay Sultans. It has
been shown that prior to the British Colonial Malaya period, power and authority on Islam were possessed by the village locals. The centralisation of power
for administering and managing Islamic
affairs occurred during the colonial period. During the colonial era, attempts
to free the minds of Muslims from mental inertia did not find favour with the