Lecture 5

Resurgence of Islam and the

Malays
 Why study the resurgence?
• Increasing forms of religiosity (manifested
in discourse and attention to
attire,food,lifestyle and social interaction)
• Global phenomenon
• Urban, middle class phenomenon
• Conditions of mass and plural society
• Youth involvement in mass movements-
dakwah
 Cont……
• Address the concerns of Muslims/non-
Muslims pertaining to these manifestations
• Provide a socio-historical explanation of
the phenomenon
• Clarify distinction between manifestations
of religiosity with religious reform
• Understand orientations of resurgent
groups and their impact
 Socio-historical context of the
resurgence
• Islamic resurgence and decolonization
• Transition to the process of urbanization
and modernization
• Problems of economic dependency and
development lag
• Development models and implementation
• Inequality in distribution of wealth
• Deteriorating social conditions
• Communal approach and ethnic policy
 Cont….
• The influence of resurgence in Muslim
dominated countries
-ikhwanul Muslimin (Muslim Brotherhood)
of Egypt (Hassan al Banna)
-Jammatul Islami of Pakistan (Maududi)
• Graduates from Islamic universities
abraod
• Global issues (Iranian revolution, oil
wealth, mass media)
 The Singapore Context
• Impact of separation-Malays as a minority
community
• Resettlement of Malays to new housing estates
• English education and impact on the Malays
• Malays and issues of national security
• Rise of social problems (drugs, divorce, school
drop-out, delinquency etc) –maladjustment to
social change
 Cont…..
• Multiracial policy and reinforcement of ethnic
identity
• Institutionalization of self- help
• Returning graduates from Islamic colleges and
universities abroad
• Influence of “dakwah” youth movements from
abroad
• Reaction to the challenges of social change
and conditions of plural and mass society
 Major Concerns of the
Resurgence
• Ideology of dissent
• New ideological framework as basis of beliefs and way
of life
• Non-monolithic –range from moderate to radical, pro-
government to anti-government, different strategies and
activities
• Disillusionment with western models as basis for
development
• Dominant Image of the West as decadent and secular
(west as embodiment of materialism, atheism,
relativism, promiscuity, exploitation, etc.)
 Cont….
• Islam as a complete religion(Ad-din)
• Religion as integral to politics, state, law
and society
• Islam as the vehicle for the attainment of
social justice and panacea for social
problems
• Rhetoric of change to political and social
system/order based on Islam
 Cont…..
• Demands for re-establishment of God’s
law as blueprint for Muslim society
• Rejection of western values but
acceptance of science and technology
• Erosion of Islamic identity and modern
challenges
• Inventing pristine Malay culture and
tradition
 Cont……
• Dichotomy between Islamic institutions and
systems vis-à-vis the State
• Demand for more “Islamic” institutions and
systems (islamization of knowledge, law, and
system, the Islamic state)
• Intellectual development of Muslim
undergraduates to fill “leadership vacuum”
• Economic participation of Muslims in
“unIslamic institutions”
 Cont…
• Improvement of madrasah education
system
• Accommodation of national institutions
and systems on basis of “darurat”
(exigency)
• State’s response to resurgent demands
and its impact
 Characteristics of resurgence
discourse
• Articulated by emerging English educated
intelligentsia
• “intellectualization” of Islam- socio-political issues
that depart from doctrinal, devotional, ritualistic
and pietistic discourse of traditional religious elite
• Publications on Islam in English largely focusing
on revivalist personalities
• The role of “Usrah” (informal study circles) as
platform
 Cont…
• Rhetorical-embracement of imagined
“authenticity’ of the glorious past
• Strong elements of Traditionalism
• Exclusivity or monopoly of ideas
• Non-engagement with ideas/intellectual
process. Legitimising rhetotic as “Islamic
perspectives”
 Cont…..
• Dominance of pamphlet productions on
Islam
• Non-distinction between values and
historical expressions of them
• “Asociological” (alienation from cultural
contexts)
• Marked activism rather than intellectualism
 Cont….
• Utopian mode of thinking (local discourse
on treatment of non-Muslim subjects in an
Islamic state, index measuring level of
Islamic government, issues such as can
Muslims work for non-Muslim
government?, darul harb-darul Islam and
can Muslims live in a secular state?)
 Traits of utopian thinking
• Political motif
• Associated with marginalized groups
• Seeks to transform given conditions of society
• Poses radically different alternatives
• Obscures aspects of reality that contradict its
ideas
• Populist and non-intellectual
• Not an objective diagnosis of problems
 Cont….
• Cosmetic or genuine reform?
• Impact on intra and inter-religious relations
• Attention to vital issues
• Image of Islam