Asian Transformations in Action - Api-fellowships.org

22CIRCLES OF POWER AND COUNTERBALANCEStries to open the gate of ijtihâd among Muslims in thecontemporary era through combining classical Islamicscholarship and Islamic civilization with modern, orWestern ideas, and analytical methods (Barton 1995,7).I have discussed this issue elsewhere where I arguedthat Islam Hadhari can be divided into three issues. Thefirst issue is that Islam Hadhari is one mode of Islamicthought in Southeast Asia. However, when I tracedback the mode of Islamic thought in Southeast Asia,I found that Islam Hadhari is similar to the conceptof Islam Peradaban (Islamic Civilization) that waspromoted by Nurcholish Madjid or the idea of IslamRasional (Rational Islam), one of the ideas from HarunNasution, an Islamic thinker in Indonesia. The secondissue with Islam Hadhari is that this mode of thoughtforms a political agenda in Malaysia, where the BarisanNasional intends to challenge the mode of Islamicthought promoted by the PAS. It is interesting to notethat Islam Hadhari became a political formula in 2003-2004 to fight with opposition parties. The third issueis the fact that Islam Hadhari is an idea to counter theissue of the Islamic state that was promoted by thePAS. However, most of the Islamic institutions arepromoting Islam Hadhari as a new way of interpretingIslam. It seems that Islam Hadhari has become a tool todevelop Malaysia in the image of true Islam.Non-MuslimsThis group is made up of those who are against theconcept of an Islamic state and the need to expandIslamic law. This group is composed of non-Muslimswho see that an Islamic state will be a threat to them,especially the implementation of Islamic criminal law(hudud). They also fear that freedom of religion willbe undermined in Malaysia. Non-Muslim communityleaders actively oppose the idea that Malaysia is anIslamic state. They worry that this is not an appropriateidea, as Malaysia is a pluralistic and multiethnic state,especially the idea as promoted by the PAS in the media.The DAP (Democratic Action Party), as a member ofthe Barisan Alternative, published a Media Statementon 28 June 2001 to challenge the intentions of the PASto promote an Islamic state in Malaysia, stating:As DAP leaders had stressed at the BarisanAlternative Leadership Dialogue on June 16, 2001,the Barisan Alternative must address and respectlegitimate opposition to the establishment of anIslamic State in Malaysia, not because of anti-Islam sentiments but because an Islamic state inmulti-racial and multi-religious Malaysia is notcompatible with parliamentary democracy, powersharing in a plural society, human rights andindividual freedoms, women’s rights and socialtolerance (Siang 2001, 85).Lim Kit Siang (2001, 85) proposes that “…not asingle Barisan Alternative leader made mention of theIslamic state issue because the coming-together of thefour opposition parties had nothing to with Islamicstate but represented an unprecedented oppositioneffort to break the Barisan Nasional political hegemonyto restore justice, freedom, democracy and goodgovernance in Malaysia.” As result, the DAP escapedtheir commitment with the BA in September 2001due to the Islamic state issue. It is interesting to notethat the DAP is also against the concept of an Islamicstate as promoted by Mahathir Mohammad on 29September 2002 and has launched the slogan, “Say Noto 929” (Liow 2005, 922). This party has also criticizedthe MCA, a Chinese party in BN collaboration withUMNO, because this party promotes an Islamic state. Iwould argue that the fear of an Islamic state within theDAP leads their ethnic-oriented political movement.To comment on this debate, Farish Noor (2001, 11)writes “…till today non-Muslims react with fear andapprehension whenever they hear the term “IslamicState” mentioned…In practically every contemporarycase where the project of an Islamic State has beenattempted, it has led to the strengthening of religiousand cultural boundaries.”Islamic Missionaries: Jamâ‘ah TablighIn Malaysia, there is an Islamic movement that attemptsto promote Islamic communities based on Islamicteachings (al-Qur’an and Hadits). During my fieldwork, I involved myself with this Islamic group, whichis called the Jamâ‘ah Tabligh. However, group membersdo not declare that they want to establish an Islamic statein Malaysia. In addition, Jomo and Shabery (1992), forexample, maintain that Jamâ‘ah Tablîgh is an informal,unregistered missionary movement. Many argue thatJamâ‘ah Tablîgh is not a political organization anddoes not support the government programs. However,some maintain that this movement plays a major rolein the political arena, even if it is unregistered. I visitedtheir mosque at Sri Petaling and attended some of theirmeetings with them in Bandar Baru Bangi. I also wentout with them (Ar. Khurûj) to do the da’wa, one of theiractivities of going to the mosque to pray together.In Malaysia, Jamâ‘ah Tabligh was introduced byMaulana Abdul Malik Madani, who came to Singaporeand Selangor in 1952 as a representative of his markâzAsian Transformations in ActionThe Work of the 2006/2007 API Fellows