JUNE 24 — Of late, there is a feeling of bewilderment among many people as to how the word “Allah” came to be more sacred in Peninsula Malaysia than in the Middle East.
In the Middle East, both Christian and Muslim Arabs share the word “Allah” to mean God. This fact is often used as a justification for claiming the intellectual and moral high ground in the debate. And a great majority agree with this sentiment.
But to commit to the argument would entail overlooking key issues in modern Islam. It struggles with some key themes, particularly, the role and position of culture in the practice of religion.
Islam, claiming to be the religion of all mankind, has yet to answer serious questions like Should a “true Islam” be blind towards earthly culture and discourage it? Does Islam have its own culture? And Is Islam practised better in certain types of culture?
In Peninsula Malaysia, we’ve encountered a clash because we have not been able to answer some of these questions. Peninsula Malays practise a Malay Islam, where we’ve infused a tint of general Malay insecurity or Malay siege mentality into its practice.
The origin of Malay Islam can be traced to the early Malay experience of Islam. The influence of Islam then has been so intense as to become one of the central components of the identity of the Malays.
This is primarily because Islam is a religion with strong reach in the lives of its followers. Its reach extends to a legal system, social structure and ethics. So, followers tend to see their whole lives affected.
The effect has also been long lasting, even in our contemporary history, ie. a Malay is defined as a Muslim among other things. This merger of racial and religious identity is important to note, as it characterises the anxiety and zealousness of the Peninsula Muslims.
Also important is its transitivity. A perceived threat onto Islam in peninsular Malaysia directly translates into a perceived threat to Malays.
Now, we’re left asking, which gets higher priority, culture or theology?
At face value, the question tends to be dismissed, lightly even, but unwittingly perhaps, culture has always triumphed over theology. For instance, the opposition towards the Christian use of the word Allah is thoroughly cultural.
Theologically, no special edicts exist on the exclusivity of the word, which serves as justification for the word being used. Meanwhile, opponents of the use of the word by Christians often invoke special privileges for their culture, accuse Christians of proselytising Muslims and yearn for special and segregated treatment. Valid or not, it illustrates a sentiment which characterises the contemporary Malay insecurity.
Another cultural trait of Malay Islam is its strong internal pressure for conformity. Deviations of thought and theology are highly frowned upon and often receive an inordinate response. Campaigns have been held, such as the smear campaign on liberalism, to maintain the purity of mainstream Malay ideology while using religion as its primary driving force.
This apparent dominance of culture over theology might appear idiosyncratic at first but taken into consideration that this phenomenon is a norm reveals some interesting problems for Muslims.
In remote regions of Afghanistan (and even some parts of Pakistan), girls are denied an education under “Islamic” justifications. In Pakistan, the concept of “honour killings”, where the family is obliged to kill the member of the family that has brought shame, are often justified in Islamic terminology despite being nowhere in Islam. Take an example closer to home, shisha is increasingly being proven to be far more dangerous than cigarettes but there’s a lot of doubt that Fatwa councils would issue a fatwa against shish.
Understanding Malay Islam requires an understanding that the predicament of Malay Islam is part of a greater problem in the Islamic world. Islam has not identified the role of culture in the religion.
Is this blend of culture and religion legitimate? It wouldn’t matter, because there isn’t an alternative other than a mix or copy of another version. “True” Islam is currently lost in time.
The thought may be controversial as some would gladly point out that Islam is timeless. But this would only serve to highlight our minimal understanding of what constitutes Islam. A car defined as a mode of transportation would not struggle with the sentence “people drive cars to work” while a car defined as a T-Model Ford (1922) would.
Islam may be timeless, but the way we practise it may not be. Malay Muslims have a lot to think about.
* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
