14 July 2023
WP340 | How Doctrinal Differences Among Distinct Islamist Strands of Thought Influence Malay-Muslim Political Actors and Political Outcomes in Malaysia
Abstract
Different strands of Islamic thought and practice have long existed among the diverse populations that make up Muslim civilisation. Such cosmopolitanism has been examined by historians and social scientists who study Islam and Muslim societies. Yet, little attention has been given to how such societal variations influence the political behaviour of Muslim political actors, including the voting public. This paper is a modest attempt to look into how different Islamist streams–referring to the ideological expression of Islam as politics rather than theology–impact voting decisions among modern Malaysians. Since attaining independence as the Federation of Malaya in 1957, Malaysia has experienced several Islamist waves, the most significant of which has been the Salafi-Wahhabi ideology that fuelled the Islamic resurgence in the 1970s and 1980s. Of late, since the 2010s, a traditionalist comeback has been evident within Malaysia’s Malay-Muslim communities. Focusing on Malaysia’s 15th General Election (GE15) and its immediate aftermath, this paper explores how different streams of Islamism play out in the various political parties that Malay-Muslims become members of and vote for.
About the Authors
Dr Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid is Professor of Political Science, School of Distance Education, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Penang, Malaysia. Trained as a political scientist at the universities of Oxford, Leeds and Newcastle, United Kingdom, his research interests lie within the field of political Islam in Southeast Asia. He has published widely and has served as editor-in-chief of Kajian Malaysia: Journal of Malaysian Studies (Penang: USM Press) since 2019. He has held visiting appointments with the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore (2008-2009); the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore (2015-2016); the Southeast Asia Regional Centre for Counter-Terrorism (SEARCCT), Ministry of Foreign Affairs Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur (October-December 2020), the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, Oxford, United Kingdom (January-June 2021), the Faculty of Social Science and Humanities, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) (February 2021-January 2022) and the Penang Institute (July 2021-June 2022).
Dr Che Hamdan Che Mohd Razali is a Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Administrative Science and Policy Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Raub, Pahang, Malaysia. He graduated from the International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). His primary research interests are civil society, Islamist movements, and elections.
Abstract
Different strands of Islamic thought and practice have long existed among the diverse populations that make up Muslim civilisation. Such cosmopolitanism has been examined by historians and social scientists who study Islam and Muslim societies. Yet, little attention has been given to how such societal variations influence the political behaviour of Muslim political actors, including the voting public. This paper is a modest attempt to look into how different Islamist streams–referring to the ideological expression of Islam as politics rather than theology–impact voting decisions among modern Malaysians. Since attaining independence as the Federation of Malaya in 1957, Malaysia has experienced several Islamist waves, the most significant of which has been the Salafi-Wahhabi ideology that fuelled the Islamic resurgence in the 1970s and 1980s. Of late, since the 2010s, a traditionalist comeback has been evident within Malaysia’s Malay-Muslim communities. Focusing on Malaysia’s 15th General Election (GE15) and its immediate aftermath, this paper explores how different streams of Islamism play out in the various political parties that Malay-Muslims become members of and vote for.
About the Authors
Dr Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid is Professor of Political Science, School of Distance Education, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Penang, Malaysia. Trained as a political scientist at the universities of Oxford, Leeds and Newcastle, United Kingdom, his research interests lie within the field of political Islam in Southeast Asia. He has published widely and has served as editor-in-chief of Kajian Malaysia: Journal of Malaysian Studies (Penang: USM Press) since 2019. He has held visiting appointments with the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore (2008-2009); the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore (2015-2016); the Southeast Asia Regional Centre for Counter-Terrorism (SEARCCT), Ministry of Foreign Affairs Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur (October-December 2020), the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, Oxford, United Kingdom (January-June 2021), the Faculty of Social Science and Humanities, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) (February 2021-January 2022) and the Penang Institute (July 2021-June 2022).
Dr Che Hamdan Che Mohd Razali is a Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Administrative Science and Policy Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Raub, Pahang, Malaysia. He graduated from the International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). His primary research interests are civil society, Islamist movements, and elections.
