3 comments about Malay Muslims: The History and Challenge of Resurgent Islam in Southeast Asia.

1. I had looked forward to reading this book. Alas, there is something that is not quite right with it. First of all, McAmis' definition of Malay is quite misleading. His definition is a bit too liberal and too broad. Malay first and foremost in today's terminological use refers to Malays in Malaysia. While some Malays in Malaysia are likely to see Southern Filipinos, Indonesians, etc as their distant kinsmen, they're not very likely to call them Malays. 'Malay' is very strictly defined in legal terms in Malaysia. To broaden this definition as McAmis does is akin to saying that Vietnamese, Thais, Cambodians, Laotians are all 'essentially' Chinese. Apart from that, McAmis' research into Islamism in SEA isn't too illuminating. Judith Nagata has, in her essays, done a much better job. She has written about the dakwah movement and given such details that I am, as a Malaysian, completely amazed by how much she managed to ferret out of these communities.



2. The above review by Mr Lim is fundamentally wrong. Historically, Malays are one coherent group sharing the same origins, same culture and largely the same history. Any serious research cannot ignore large groups of Malays just because they happen to end up on one side or the other of colonial boundaries.

   Malaysia was named Malaya, later Malaysia, by the British and the name has stuck. That does not make large groups of Sumatra Indonesians less Malays. In fact, most of them proudly speak about themselves as Malays and acknowledge that Bahasa Indonesia derives from Bahasa Melayu.

   Likewise, 16-18th century kingdoms like that of Johor-Riau can, according to Mr Lim, not be studied, since its territory is now split between three states, Johor (Malaysia), Singapore and Riau (Indonesia). The influential religious capital of this kingdom was on the Riau island itself, and the regicide of 1699 is one of the most important events in Malay history ever.

   The very name 'Malay' comes from Sungai Melayu, which was a river system between Jambi and Siak. Namewise, the Orang Laut of this river system were the original 'Malays'.




3. After a good short history of the coming of Islam to Malay peoples in what is now Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, and the Philippines there are a few brief bright spots, otherwise the book is disappointing.
   
   The title is misleading when the author's special interest is Christian relations in, especially, the Philippines. "Resurgence" here is pre "terrorism" but is covered superficially after the first useful step of identifying its several strains. The discussion of "Fundamentalism" and roles of modern and traditional intellectuals is curtailed.
   
   Much is superficial: no analysis of the ways in which made converts were made should now omit processes of discourse and adaptation, the central role of places like Acheh and Malacca, the myth and facts behind the Wali Songo of Indonesia. Nor can discussion of resurgence and modern thought miss so much of the very active Islamic debate in Indonesia where the author denies the importance of Islamic parties (Indonesia has the two largest in the entire Islamic world and elected as President the head of one just after this book was published).
   
   Complaining about policies restricting Christian conversion efforts in Malaysia the author condemns policy with no understanding of how British "hands off" policy regarding Islam led to a very great impact from importing Chinese and Indians in considerable numbers effectively handicapping Malays in their own country. Whether or not continuation is legitimate the Malaysian policies have been "affirmative action" to offset this dire aspect of British colonial rule.
   
   Even talking about his forte, religion, McAmis leaves much to be desired. His attempts at good will (welcome and all too rare of late) still leave him terribly judgmental about Islam and he imports older sources calling it "Mohammedanism" (both insulting and misleading) without comment. The importance of practice over belief - orthopraxy over orthodoxy - is neglected. Differences in ideas of original sin, redemption, and the institutional differences as well as the importance of these is missed. This is part of a pattern of being somewhat out of date despite an appended biography that attempts to list more recent sources. There is no "Southeast Asia centric" causation here (a focus since the 60's); one might mistake Dutch conquest as completed nearly two hundred years before this was so; local trade and its continuing important roles are ignored. Much of the more recent work on Indonesia by the likes of Bowen, Hefner, Woodward, Siegel, and others is ignored. The picture of Malaysian Islam is simplistic. Despite some historical notes of Islam's former strength, the discussion of the Philippines is almost as much about Christians and ecumenical attempts without appreciating the Muslim case for autonomy after a long and bitter history of Christian forces.

No comments about Malays (Peoples of South-East Asia & the Pacific).

No comments about Hindu and Muslim Inter-Religious Relations in Malaysia (Studies in Religion and Society).

No comments about Islam in the Malay-Indonesian World.

No comments about Is reflective practice compatible with Malay-Islamic values? Some thoughts on teacher education in Brunei Darussalam.: An article from: Australian Journal of Education.

No comments about Malays/Muslims in Singapore: Selected Readings in History 1819-1965.

No comments about Islam and the Malay-Indonesian world: Transmission and responses.

No comments about Muslim Women And Sports in the Malay World: The Crossroads of Modernity And Faith (Islam in Southeast Asia: Views from Within Series).

1 comments about Islam and the Malay-Indonesian World: Transmission and Responses (Topics in Contemporary Buddhism).

1. This book is detailed, but not hard to read. I enjoyed it.

1 comments about The Origins of Islamic Reformism in Southeast Asia: NETWORKS OF MALAY-INDONESIAN & MIDDLE EASTERN 'ULAMA' IN THE SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH CENTURIES (ASAA Southeast Asia Publications).

1. This is the sort of work that would be engrossing if you are extremely interested in the subject.
   It is a solid source information about the connections of islamic scholarship between the Malay World and the Haramayn (Mecca and Medina) and how these conduced to spreading a more orthodox form of islam to southeast Asia. The main concern of this text is the ideas transmitted (the need for harmony between sharia and sufism, the issues around Ibn arabi), and the networks of connection between scholars on both sides of the Indian Ocean (a lot of names). This book was definitely a good corrective for those who believe that there is no Malay intellectual tradition, or that Sufism encourages passivity (one of the scholars analyzed here, Shaykh Yusuf, was a major figure of anti-Dutch resistance) as well as the claim that Indonesians were only into the mystical aspect of islam- the scholars here were famous primarily for being masters of both the inward and outward sciences. Azra' research Indonesian scholars traveling back and forth from Mecca and Medina, a resident Indonesian scholarly community in Mecca, Arab scholars specifically concerned with issues pertaining to Indonesian Muslims... This was personally my first in-depth reading of the subject- this however is only meant to cover one aspect of the Indonesian Islamic experience- most notably the issue of syncretism with local cultures. In any case, I certainly benefited from this book; it added to my overall knowledge of Islam in the Malay world.