Abstract
This chapter traces the origins of Islam’s bureaucratisation in contemporary Malaysia to the legacy and intentions of British colonial rule. In the first decade after decolonisation, the administration of Islamic law and affairs maintained a secularising framework, and power was limited to the confines of traditional authority consisting of decentralised negeri-based rulings and that of religious elites. Two decades after independence, a Muslim public sphere—often associated with the Muslim resurgent movement—was considerably enlarged, enabling contestations over Islam by agents outside the circle of traditional authority. Fearing fragmentation of the Malay vote bloc due to emergent Muslim contestations, Malay ruling elites of the day redressed Muslim grievances and competition through policies of accommodation, neutralisation and co optation. This included the ironic adoption of the very goals propounded by the mobilisers who themselves had initially been impeded by the state. Such a structural reconstitution of Islam could only be effected through a Divine bureaucratic pathway over Islamic matters as its distinctive character.
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Notes
- 1.
The Malay word adat means customs or traditions. The word used in the legal sense is also a noun, as there are bodies of traditional laws referred to by colonial scholars as Adat Temenggong or Adat Pepateh.
- 2.
In Arabic, the word dakwah or da’wah literally means the call or invitation. Although it is also meant to denote the act of proselytisation and conversion of non-Muslims into Islam, it has been largely used in the Malay-Indonesian world to mean the reinforcement and expansion of Islamic faith and practice among Muslims themselves (Meuleman 2011, 236). In Malaysia, it is about the ‘return’ to Islam and adoption of Islam as a complete way of life (Ungku Maimunah 1989, 288).
- 3.
This book has been popularly reprinted in Malay. See, for example, the blog, “Karya Ulama: Beberapa catatan untuk diri dan berkongsi bersama”, http://abusyahmin.blogspot.com, accessed: 21 January 2019. This blog has an extensive compilation and explanation of many Arabic texts used by ulama (religious scholars) in the Malay World.
- 4.
British Malaya consisted of three administrative governance units: the Straits Settlements (Penang , Melaka and Singapore, territorial entities without traditional Malay rulers), the Federated Malay States (Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang) and the Unfederated Malay States (Kelantan, Terengganu , Kedah, Perlis and Johor). One of the key differences between British rule in the Federated and Unfederated Malay States was that the former had a more active presence of the British Resident in the governance of these States (negeri ), as opposed to the British Adviser in the latter.
- 5.
Following from this colonial nomenclature, statutory provisions passed by State Legislative Assemblies (subnational Parliaments) in postcolonial Malaysia are known as ‘Enactments’ while Federal laws are termed ‘Acts’.
- 6.
Contents of these treaties noted that Islam and Malay customs were to be the only purview of the Malay rulers (Braddell 1931). In the Memorandum between Raffles and the Sultan of Johore, in 1823, it is stated:
In all cases regarding the ceremonies of religion, and marriages, and the rules of inheritance, the laws and customs of the Malays will be respected, where they shall not be contrary to reason, justice or humanity. In all other cases the laws of the British authority will be enforced with due consideration to the usages and habits of the people.
In the Pangkor Treaty of 1874, the following was noted:
That the Sultan [shall] receive and provide a suitable residence for a British Officer to be called a Resident, who shall be accredited to this Court, and whose advice must be asked and acted upon on all questions other than those touching Malay Religion and Custom.
- 7.
See details and commentaries of such cases in Taylor (1937, 15–69).
- 8.
Malaya was the name used to refer to territorial entities under British colonial administration, which included the negeri of the Malay Peninsula as well as the Straits Settlements of Penang, Malacca and Singapore. The term ‘Malaysia’ was only adopted after the formation of the post-independence federation in 1963. Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak became part of the Federation of Malaysia. In 1965, Singapore left this federation.
- 9.
In precolonial Malay society, faith and practice were syncretic in nature; neither Islam nor magic was a “state religion”, as noted by Gullick (1965, 141).
- 10.
The Administration Enactment, No. 4 of 196, and The Rules for Members of the Council of the Islamic Religion and Malay Custom, Kelantan, Enactment No. 14 of 1916 (Abdullah Alwi 1996, xxxv).
- 11.
For example, the Muhammadan Marriage and Divorce Enactment 1911, Administration of Muslim Law Enactment 1952, Islamic Family Law Act 1984 and Syariah Criminal Offences Enactment 2001.
- 12.
See endnote 2 in Chap. 1.
- 13.
Habermas was referring to the European society of the early twentieth century, “The bourgeois public sphere may be conceived above all as the sphere of private people [coming] together as a public; they soon claimed the public sphere regulated from above against the public authorities themselves” (quoted in Bernstein 2012, 767).
- 14.
“[I]n the Sixties, I continued my studies at the University of Iskandariah, also in Egypt… During that time, most of the local radio stations used to play (propaganda) songs in praise of the leadership of Jamal Abdul Nasir. Majority of the Malaysian students who returned from Egypt were influenced by Nasir’s Arab socialism. Only a few remained loyal to Islam. It was here where I met some brothers from Ikhwan al-Muslimin (Muslim Brotherhood) such as Sa’id Ramadhan (son-in-law of Imam Hasan al-Banna), al-Tilmisani, Zainul Abidin, Dr. Shara Basi and a few others whose name I could not remember” (Mohd Dahlan 1996, 20).
- 15.
The original reads, “Kita Yakin Mujaddid itu/Adalah Imamul Mahdi/Pembela yang benar/Pembenteras yang salah/Di waktu itu yang benar pasti menang/Yang salah pasti kalah” (Ashaari 1988b).
- 16.
The group had a special magazine on women and for women, Almukminah: Penyuluh peranan wanita Islam sebenar. In one issue titled “Syurga – Tempat orang yang sanggup berkorban”, Ashaari Muhammad answers hypothetical questions coming from a woman unhappy with her polygamous husband. It goes, “The question is, Ustaz, since getting married, my husband has not given me enough attention. His love and inclination towards his new wife is overwhelming till I feel disgraced and useless altogether”. To which Ustaz Ashaari replies, “A good Muslim wife must be willing to sacrifice herself and her own rights to her husband. She is able to smile to her husband as much as it is bitter”. The question and answer format goes on for two pages, with no fault attributed to the husband (Khadijah 1988, 8–9).
- 17.
The other contending Malay-Muslim party is the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party or Pas. Although Pas is a visible and forceful competitor to Umno, its base is predominantly in the Malay-majority state of Kelantan. In terms of electoral seats it commands, this is also of no match to that of Umno’s. See Saravanamuttu (2016, 280–285)
- 18.
In Malay: “Meletakkan plaster di tapak tangan sambal menadahnya dan membaca Fatihah sebanyak sepuluh kali; Diikuti dengan ucapan selawat ke atas Nabi sebanyak sepuluh kali; Kedua-dua tapak tangan, seperti dalam keadaan berdoa, di mana disapukan dari muka ke atas rambut dan turun menyaluti seluruh badan dan berakhir di tengah pusat; Seterusnya plaster berlidi pun ditampal di pusat serentak dengan melafazkan “Nawaitul Jiha Fi Sabillillah”…“Sebuah kolah air juga telah dijampi untuk diminum. Menurut Ustaz Ibrahim tangkal dan air jampi itu akan mengelakkan dari bahaya, jadi kebal” (Malaysia 1986, 16–17).
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Mohamad, M. (2020). Origins of the Divine Bureaucracy. In: The Divine Bureaucracy and Disenchantment of Social Life. Contestations in Contemporary Southeast Asia. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-2093-8_2
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