رقابت استدلالی بین اسلام واقعی و لیبرال در آسیای جنوب شرقی

The paper focuses on the impact of global Islamic revivalism and state Islamisation initiatives on the cultural practices, institutions and laws in Southeast Asia's Muslim majority states of Malaysia and Indonesia. In particular, the assault on adat and the reconfiguration of legal and political structures with the intrusion of Wahabi-inspired literal Islam from West Asia are considered. As the discursive contest between literal and liberal or progressive Islam1 will have a major impact on the direction and outcome of the protracted War on Terror, it is imperative that the discursive advances of the former are countered by reinforcing democratic structures and institutions and addressing localised sociopolitical and economic grievances. In the long term, liberal Islam's inclusive and flexible worldview based on ijtihad and universal humanism are likely to prove more effective than the reliance on draconian security-orientated measures in the protracted War on Terror.

Southeast Asia’s tradition of inclusive, flexible and moderate Islam has served as a buffer against radical and militant Islamic movements achieving a stronger foothold and mass following. However, the theological intrusion of literal and Wahabi-oriented Islam and politicisation of Islam by governments in Malaysia and Indonesia, particularly since the 1980s, have eroded traditional cultural and religious practices. On the other hand, the reluctance and/or inability of many governments to effectively address the long-standing socio-economic and political grievances of the Muslim masses have rendered Wahabi Islam an attractive vehicle for change. By addressing the localised sources of Muslim grievance, sympathy and support for radical and militant Islamists can be effectively eroded. As the experience in West Asia demonstrates, radical Islamists are likely to become more reactionary and prone to violence when democratic space is restricted, social justice denied and dissenting political views suppressed. In other words the ostensible promotion of social justice and democracy through undemocratic means is not only contradictory but also counterproductive. Washington’s management of the War on Terror and strong reliance on security means to resolve deep-seated socio-economic and political problems, paradoxically mirrors the domino theory logic of the Cold War. Much like the strong nationalist support for the communists in the Vietnam War, the invasion and occupation of Iraq has enhanced the flow of recruits into radical and militant Islamist organisations. As with Afghanistan in the 1980s, foreign militant Islamists have used Iraq as a combat training ground to build a global Islamist network. The perceived partiality of the United States and the West in Iraq and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has become more of an effective clarion call for militant Islamists than their jihadist drumbeat ever was in Southeast Asia and the larger Muslim world. A major challenge confronting most Muslim societies in the twenty-first century is the construction of institutions and values based on democracy, social justice and universal humanism. They also need to engage more seriously in the jihad akbar (greater struggle) of self-critique and self-questioning particularly on sensitive issues such as gender inequality within the Muslim world. Such initiatives would arguably serve to improve the image of Muslims and thereby help them to effectively communicate the progressive values of Islam. Towards these ends, Muslim-based societies, political parties and non-government organisations need to seriously incorporate principles of universal humanism and promote an Islam that is qualitatively different from the narrow and inflexible version advocated by literal and Wahabi-oriented political parties and organisations. Enjoining Muslims to cherish the universal humanism of Islam, Farish Noor (2003, 325-332) frankly surmised that No amount of sincerity and conviction on our part will help us communicate the message and values of Islam to the world as long as we view the rest of the world as alien and antithetical to us…Universalism which rests at the heart of Islam and the Islamic message, needs to be reactivated and made an article of faith among Muslims living in the world today. Importantly, progressive reforms within Muslim societies are best initiated by Muslims rather than imposed by policy-makers from foreign capitals who are dictated by their own geo-strategic calculations. As the struggle in representing the ummah began long before the War on Terror, this struggle is expected to continue well beyond the current theological cross-road. More than any other group of Muslim countries, Indonesia and Malaysia possess many of the prerequisites for establishing politically plural and progressive Muslim based states and are arguably well ahead in this trajectory compared to their counterparts in West Asia. Paradoxically, the potential beacons of the Muslim World are found in the Islamic periphery.