Asian Transformations in Action - Api-fellowships.org

INTERMINGLING OF CONTINUITY AND DISCONTINUITY91City and operating a madrasah (a place where learning/teaching is done) in the Golden Mosque. Informaldiscussions with this group reveal their preference forcultural struggle over armed struggle. As a consequence,they do not see as necessary the separation of FilipinoMuslims from the Philippine Republic.Of all the schools of thought represented in Quiapo,the puritan group is closest to the ideal type of Islamicfundamentalism as portrayed in the literature. IslamicPuritanism was introduced to the Philippines by theFilipino alumni of universities in the Middle East,particularly those in Saudi Arabia. It is apparent thatWahabism, the official Islamic school of thought in SaudiArabia, has influenced this group. The Islamic Puritans inQuiapo seem to be successful in making fundamentalistritualism (e.g., prohibition of maulid nabi 4 celebration)replace traditional Islam. In the first place, they holdgood positions in the religious sphere (i.e., as ustadz,imam). Secondly, traditionalist Islam is generally weakin the Philippines as seen from a comparison of the caseof Quiapo and the Philippines with the Indonesian case.In the Philippines, traditionalist Islamic institutionsappear to lack power and influence and there seems tobe a dearth of Muslim scholars in the country.Although there are educated Filipino Muslimprofessionals, this group does not seem to be particularlyknowledgeable about Islam. Some key informants whoare professionals say they are unable to spend muchtime studying their religion although they do pray agreat deal. Although selected Quiapo Muslims showedtheir fundamentalist tendencies at the rhetorical level,in practice they have tended to be more pragmatic, asreflected in their moderate position on an Islamic state.The social and political realities in the Philippines seemto have a greater influence on the formation of politicalIslam among Quiapo Muslims than theology.Absence of Islamic liberalismWhile Gellner (1992) is right in saying that the clashbetween High Islam (legal-esoteric type) and LowIslam (mystical-esoteric type) generally creates religiousfundamentalism, it has also produced a moderate oreven liberal Islam. Indonesia provides an example ofthe birth of moderate and liberal Islam. The multicentricauthority structure in the Philippines, whichtends to weaken centralized religious and administrativeleadership, allows for various and, therefore, potentiallyliberal interpretations of a fundamentalist Islamic futureand the strategies towards it. However, the absence ofa centralized religious organization with a high level ofIslamic scholarship in the country has prevented thedevelopment of a countermovement that would havetempered conservatism among Filipino Muslims. Bothtraditionalist Muslims and puritan fundamentalistMuslims tend to be theologically conservative. Themore liberal elements of Islamic theology that are foundin Indonesia and Malaysia do not seem to be significantin Quiapo and in the Philippines.As mentioned previously, there is no group thatserves to balance Islamic thought in Quiapo or in thePhilippines towards a more liberal ideological position.The traditionalist Muslims, who like their Malayneighbors are Sufi-oriented and tend to be politicallymoderate, are weak both in power and knowledge, sothat they cannot resist the fundamentalist influencesthat make the theology of Islam in the Philippinespuritan, conservative, and literalist. Key informantsassert that educated Muslim professionals tend to havea weak foundation in Islamic theology and do not haveenough knowledge to balance the conservative type ofIslam.This situation is very different from Indonesia where theconservative and puritan type of Islam is counterbalancedby the Nahdatul Ulama’ (NU), a strong traditionalistand pluralist political and religious force.Ethic over esotericIdeologically, the emphasis on Shari’ah in the religiouslife of Muslim Filipinos shows the ethical characterof Islam in Quiapo and the Philippines. As an ethicalreligion, Islam is the guardian of law and order in society,in contrast to a salvation religion which emphasizesindividual salvation. Key informants, and probablyFilipino Muslims in general, put more emphasis onthe norms or ethics of religion, while in many Malayinhabitedregions, the esoteric aspects are emphasized.It is observed, for instance, that the mystical element ispredominant in Java so that a reformist movement suchas the Muhammadiyah is influenced by Sufi teachings.The lack of esoteric, contemplative, and mysticaldimensions in the Philippine Muslim community maybe due to the long history of wars, most significantlythe wars against Spanish colonial expansion. Because ofthis, Islam has taken a more utilitarian character and hasbecome a normative guide for groups that are directlyor indirectly at war with external forces.The predominantly normative elements of Islam inthe absence of opportunities to develop individualorientedsalvation strategies could explain why there isa lack of integration between fundamentalist goals, onthe one hand, and the more pragmatic and moderateAsian Transformations in ActionThe Work of the 2006/2007 API Fellows