Islam in Southeast Asia - Essay Example

Islam in Southeast Asia Islam has long been entrenched in Southeast Asia. Arab merchants first visited Southeast Asian lands as early as 700 AD and trading connections were established a few hundred years later, along with intellectual and religious exchanges. Permanent settlements weren’t established until the thirteenth century, when a Muslim town was established in the Pasai region of Sumatra (Spencer 1999). While there are a number of theories about the main motivating factors in the spread of Islam, a few underlying connections remain consistent throughout research: historians point to the economic concerns of trade, and secondly to the intense Sufi missionary efforts as the predominant factors. Since this time, Islam has flourished in Southeast Asia. With over 240 million adherents, today it represents nearly 40% of the population (Spencer 1999). While the majorities are located in Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia, significant minorities are interspersed throughout the continent. Through an analysis of the social and political situation, this essay analyzes the myriad of forms of Islam throughout the Southeast Asian region. Indonesia With an estimated 190 million followers, the largest Islamic population in Southeast Asia is located in Indonesia. For a long time, researchers had argued that Indonesia wasn’t really Islamic, but that Islam superficially represents what is actually a largely Hindu-Buddhist society. Most will now agree that although Islam had been oppressed by former President Soeharto, it is now a large part of the political situation in Indonesia (Spencer 1999). Muhammadiyah, one of the predominant Indonesia Islamic organizations, dates back to 1912 and is directly connected to religious and intellectual ideas brought to Indonesia from the Middle East. This is referred to by some historians as Islamic Modernism. The main aims of this movement were to encourage piety and a serious attitude to carrying out religious practices, the purification of Islamic belief, and finally providing social services to the country. Known as the ulama, Islamic traditionalists was generally approving, yet carried a number of divisions. Notably, they took issue with the Muhammadiyah rejection of praying at the tomb of saints and ancestors and their rejection of classical Islamic scholarship (Abu-Radia 2002). They feared that Islamic Modernism would destroy the traditional education structure that was they believed underlined the moral structure in Indonesia society. The exact contribution of Islam to contemporary Indonesian society has been greatly debated, with different government regimes displaying varying degrees of acceptance of Islam. The general consensus among Western scholars is that the likelihood of Islam making a negative contribution to society is greatly outweighed by the chances of it making a positive contribution. While this doesn’t seem particularly scientific, they name the positive contributions Islam makes to public works projects, the way that traditional Islamic education contributes to the structure of society, and how they ensure moral standards among its participants (Abu-Radia 2002). Malaysia The Western conception of Islam in Indonesia is that of a contributory and friendly sect, whereas in Malaysia the mainstream stereotype is especially different. Malaysia is portrayed as exhibiting far greater religious fundamentalism In many ways it does reflect a stricter and more scripture based understanding of Islam (Abu-Radia 2002). As far as the political spectrum, Islam in Malaysia has experienced far greater involvement since the 1970s. In recent times they have faced stark opposition from Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammed. Mahathir has launched crusades against colonialists, speculators, and Jews. In his book the Malay Dilemma he even writes: The Jews for example are not merely hook-nosed, but understand money instinctively. The Europeans are not only fair-skinned; they have an insatiable curiosity. And the Chinese are not just almond-eyed people, but they are also inherently good businessmen (Brown 43). He has now taken issue with the Partai Islam se Malaysia (PAS), as they present the opposition, and has railed against their ‘radical political stances. One of the main differences between Malaysian Islam and Indonesian is that there are a number of highly educated participants in Indonesia who have also been exposed to Western ideas. These thinkers have created a hybrid version of Islamic thought that has combined with Western ideas to produce a religion valid for contemporary society, whereas Malaysians seems entrenched in modern ways. While there have been efforts to create a more modern, “cultural Islam”, including the creation of an Islamic University in 1983, the results have fallen short of creating a new haven for intellectuals. The reason for this seems to be that unlike Indonesia, Malaysia doesn’t share a history if independent strands of Islam, and instead the main stay positions of Islamic power have been taken by government officials with no interests in advancing the intellectual Islam concerns. Southern Philippines The majority of Islamists in the Southern Philippines are located on the island of Mindanao. This is an area that remains in a shell in regard to the rest of the Philippines. Arab merchants in the 16th century began utilizing Mindanao as a large hub for commerce and trade, and as a result of the economic interests the area began to take on the Islamic creed. In the 15th century Spanish influences made a concerted attempt to impose Christianity on the population and over the ensuing centuries political conflict between the two religions has erupted into a number of conflicts. While the Spaniards had great success in converting the mainland Philippines, their attempts to convert Mindanao were met by a well-organized populace. Resistance to the Spaniards continued and resulted in a political divide between the Mindanao’s and the rest of the Philippines. Despite the divide, the island was included in the 1898 Treaty of Paris that passed control of the Philippines to the United States (Brown 1997). The Muslim’s objected to this and took arms against the United States attempts to force integration into a Christian Philippine Republic. The United States succeeded in implementing a peaceful pacification campaign to force integration among the entire island. This method of appeasement was successful for a period of time, until the United States government began promoting migration of Christian Philippinos from the more crowded mainland to arrive on the island. This angered the Muslim inhabitants and resulted in blood-shed, with a major symbolic event occurring during the 1968 Jabidah massacre (Brown 1997). Here twenty-Muslim recruits were executed for allegedly committing mutiny against the Christian Philippine army. The executions were viewed by the Mindanao as further proof of the forcible integration the American’s were perpetrating against the Islamic religion and their homeland. Since this time there has been a permanent state of political unrest in the area with an Islamic insurgency continuing to be fought. The main contributors remain the (MNLF), and two (MNLF) rejectionist organizations – the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) (Brown 1997). Thailand Islam in Thailand has been characterized as the most far-reaching of the fundamentalists in the Southeastern Asia sects. Particularly centered on the Malay-Muslim population in the provinces of Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat, these colonies operate under the concept of hijra. Hijra is an ideology that holds, “A belief in the traditional virtues and “greatness” of the Kingdom of Patani; an identification with the Malay race; and a religious orientation based on Islam (Hawkins 123).” The hijra belief system stands states that all Islamic communities have both a religious right and duty to any form or religious persecution. The concept has been the underlining insurgent philosophy since the establishment of the Thai/Siamese state by the Chakkri Dynasty in the eighteenth century. Since the establishment of Siamese rule, there has been an effort to extend control over the region. When British colonial rule took hold during the nineteenth century, Thailand became highly centralized, and many Islamic Patani chieftains were assigned positions within the central government, becoming part of Siamese rule. In 1930 there was a Thai revolution which brought about great shifts in political attitudes towards Muslim customs, as “Western cultural habits were stressed and the Muslim Friday holiday was banned (Brown 93)”. During post-World War II interim British rule, the Islamic customs were reinstated. Modern times have seen a variety of militant separatist groups operating in the provinces, with the goal of developing an independent Islamic culture. While they have experienced mixed success, the fight remains. CONCLUSION While Islam remains the major religion of Southeast Asia, to say that it retains mainstream status is clearly erroneous, as in the countries discusses there is a clear and obvious threat to marginalization and extinction. To even speak of a consistent “Islam” among these regions is also erroneous, as the Westernized Islamic culture of Indonesia rests in stark contrast to the militantly inspired fundamentalism of the Patanti Thai people. The theme of political oppression shaping and influence the form if acceptable Islam remains readily apparent, as governmental forces in all the regions have shared a precarious relationship with their Islamic populations. With the increasingly Western influence in the region, it’s easy to envision a more Indonesian/Intellectual styled version of Islam taking hold, as many of the more marginalized regions are facing extinction or the economic and political persecution. In any respect, these conflicts have been occurring for a thousand years, and no recognizable solution is in sight. Works Cited Abu-Radia, Hamid. Islam in Asia. New Jersey: Transaction Publishers, 2002. Hawkins, Bradley. An Introduction to Asian Religions. New York: Princeton University Press, 2003. Spencer, Peters. A History of Islam in Asia. London: Oxford University Press, 1999. Brown, David. The State and Ethnic Politics in Southeast Asia. New York: Routledge, 1997. Read More