‘ETHNICIZATION’ OF ISLAM IN MALAYSIA AND ITS EFFECT ON THE MALAYSIAN CHINESE MUSLIMS

ROSEY MA

ABSTRACT

Malaysia is a colorful country. The nature, the flora and fauna, the food, the clothes,
and most of all, the people exhibit a multitude of colors and diversity. The population of
25 million is composed of peoples of various ethnic groups, led by the majority Malays,
around 27% Chinese, and less than 10% Indians, followed by other small minority
ethnic groups. Islam is the official religion in Malaysia. By constitutional definition,
Malays are Muslim. Peoples of other ethnic descents share a diversity of religion. The
Constitution grants and protects the non-Malays’ individual right to religious belief and
practice. Chinese may be Buddhist, Christian, Taoist, or ancestor worshippers. Very
few are Muslim. In Malaysian politics and everyday life, identities are usually defined
according to ethnic background which, in turn, is closely related to religion, especially
where Malay and Muslim is concerned. Officially and popularly, being Muslim is
generally assumed to be synonymous with being Malay, and vice-versa. The acceptance
of this notion heavily influences political, economic, social, educational policies in the
country, and especially the inter-ethnic relationships. This paper will not attempt to give
a detailed account on the historical, political and social basis of the appropriation of
Islam by the Malay Muslims. Rather, it will present the cultural characteristics of ‘glocal’
Islam perpetuated by the local Malay Muslims. It will also highlight the corresponding
rejection from the religion of anything Chinese -- the people, names, language, culture,
without, however, intending to discuss any inference on the other minority races brought
by the ‘ethnicization’ of Islam in the Malay society. Personal observation and experience,
information obtained from interviews, grievances voiced by Malaysian Chinese Muslims,
as well as a few literary reviews constitute the main sources of information for this paper.