A two-day program of presentations, discussions, and interactive dialogue titled “Reorienting Islam in Southeast Asia: Global Forces, Local Projections” took place at Georgetown University in Washington DC from 27-28 February 2018.
The event brought together scholars, experts, and about thirty attendees from almost six countries to review the role of Islam in Southeast Asia and examine to ways in which global forces impacted the understanding and manifestations of Islam in Southeast Asia.
Covering eight topics such as Sufism and Muslim activism among women, Islamic economics, Muslim popular cultures and Islamic reformism, the speakers explored how Muslims in Southeast Asia project their own unique concept of Islam. The workshop began with opening remarks by representatives of the Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding (ACMCU) which organized the event.
Opening the discussion, John O. Voll, a Professor Emeritus of Islamic History at Georgetown University, highlighted the importance of Southeast Asia in the Islamic global history and how Islamic ideals and movements – both mainstream and extremist — have shaped Asian Muslim societies. The Muslims of Asia constitute the largest Muslim communities in the world. Asia, especially Southeast Asia, has more than three hundred million Muslims living in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and the Philippines; Southeast Asia has more Muslims than the entire Arab world.
Out of the eight topics that were discussed during the workshop, Dr. Khairudin Aljunied a Professor at the National University of Singapore, made a presentation about an Indonesian religious scholar “Hamka” and his clarification of what moderation entails and what its antithesis is. Dr. Aljunied said that to resolve extremist tendencies and correct negative images of Islam, Hamka enjoined his readers to appreciate and live up to the notion of “moderation in all things”. He also explained that Hamka was influenced by the idea of his contemporary, Sayyid Qutb.
I asked Dr. Khairudin about Sayyid Qutb and to what extent Qutb’s ideas had shaped Hamka’s thoughts and if he shared the same philosophy about the concept of “Jahiliyyah” or Ignorance. Dr.Khairudin asserted that although Hamka and Sayyid Qutb agreed on many things, he rejected some of Qutb’s thoughts and opinions, especially the idea that the Islamic world had sunk into a state of “Jahiliyyah”. He also confirmed that Sayyid Qutb wrote about this concept while in prison and due to the circumstances that surrounded him, he adopted some ideas which went against the mainstream thought at that time. However, Hamka reclaimed moderate views through the notion of “moderation in all things”, a concept he drew from Classical Greece philosopher Plato but redefined through the lens of the Prophet Muhammad’s teachings (peace be upon him).
Dr. Maszlee Malik, an assistant professor at the International Islamic University Malaysia, discussed ‘Salafism’ in Malaysia. He traced the origin of the term ‘Salafism’ to the writings of Islamic scholars such as Ahmad bin Hanbal, Ibn Taimiyyah, Muhammad Abdul Wahab, and other contemporary scholars such Abdulazziz Bin Baz, Abdullah bin Uthaymin, and Nasiruldin al-Albani. He said that the term ‘Salafism’ has always been associated and used interchangeably with ‘Wahhabism’, which refers to a movement established by Muhammad bin Abdul Wahab of the Arabian Peninsula in the 18th century. It is currently the dominant ideology in some Gulf countries, mainly in Saudi Arabia. Dr. Malik noted that identifying ‘Salafists’ in Malaysia is very difficult because those categorized as ‘Salafists’ in Malaysia differ from those who adhere to ‘Salafism’ in the Gulf, and because anything against or different from the Islam espoused by governmental religious authorities is labeled as ‘Salafist’.
Answering my question about the role of Nasiruddin al-Albani and his slogan of “purification and education” among ‘salafism’ spheres in Malaysia, Dr. Malik asserted that through this notion, Al-Albani sought to purify the Islamic religion of any innovations or practices that deviated from the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his Companions. He also affirmed that the slogan is well-known among ‘Salafists’ in Malaysia where they accept the concept as the only way to reform the Islamic world.
After two days of interactive dialogue and discussion, the experts concluded that Southeast Asia as home to one of the largest Muslim populations in the world is dealing with a variety of influential ideas emanating from the Arab World, South Asia, Turkey, and other regions into their local contexts. Historically, the region has been closely linked to the larger Muslim world. It is functioning as a strategic hub where peoples, ideas, and cultures impact local Muslims resulting in new modes of thinking in the region. Various factors have influenced institutions, ideas, and identities in Southeast Asia, where local Muslims are projecting their own expressions of ‘Muslim-ness’ through new practices, movements, and thoughts.