Malay Islamic identity
Encyclopedia
Approximately 99.9% of modern Malays are adherents of Sunni Islam
.
who believed that everything possessed a semangat (spirit
). Around the time of the coming of the Christian era, Hinduism
and Mahayana Buddhism were introduced to the Malay Archipelago by Indian traders, where they flourished until the 13th century and the arrival of Islam brought by Arab, Indian and Chinese Muslim traders.
In the 15th century, orthodox Sunni Islam flourished in the Malay world under the rule of the Malacca Sultanate
. In contrast with Hinduism, which had only a superficial effect on early Malay society, Islam took root in the hearts and minds of the people.
and the rise of the great port-city of Malacca
on the southwestern coast of the Malay peninsular — two major developments that altered the course of Malay history.
Islam began arriving on the shores of what are now the states of Kedah
, Perak
, Kelantan
and Terengganu
, from around the 12th century. The earliest archaeological evidence of Islam from the Malay peninsular is in the form of an inscribed stone dating from the 14th century found in Terengganu
state, Malaysia.
By the 15th century, the Malacca Sultanate
, whose hegemony reached over much of the western Malay archipelago, had become the centre of Islamization
in the east. The Malaccan tradition was handed down from generation to generation and fostered a vigorous ethos of Malay identity. During this era, the Islamic faith became closely identified with Malay society and played a significant role in defining the Malay identity.
In 1511, the city of Malacca fell to Portuguese
conquistadors. However, Malacca remained an institutional prototype as a paradigm of statecraft and a point of cultural reference for successor states such as the Johor Sultanate
(1528–present), the Perak Sultanate
(1528–present) and the Pahang Sultanate
(1470–present).
Across the South China Sea
, another Malay realm, the Brunei Sultanate (1363–present) was growing into a trading port that rivalled Malacca. Brunei reached its golden age in the mid 16th century when it controlled land as far south as present day Kuching
in Sarawak
and north towards the islands of the Philippines
.
Other significant Malay sultanates were the Kedah Sultanate
(1136–present) and the Patani Sultanate
(1516–1771), which dominated the northern part of the Malay peninsular.
Nevertheless, strongly-rooted earlier beliefs have held their ground against the anathemas of Islam. The mysticism
of Shia Islam, which properly has no place among orthodox Sunnis, has become intertwined among the Malays, with the spirits of the earlier animistic world and some elements of Hinduism also present.
Following the 1970s Islamic revival
(also referred as re-Islamization) throughout the Muslim world
, many traditions that contravene the teaching of Islam and contain elements of shirk (idolatry or polytheism), were abandoned by the Malays. Among these practices was the mandi
safar festival (Safar
bath), a bathing festival intended to achieve spiritual purity that contains some features similar to those of the Durga Puja
festival celebrated in India.
Regional religion:
General:
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
.
History
Malays were originally animistsAnimism
Animism refers to the belief that non-human entities are spiritual beings, or at least embody some kind of life-principle....
who believed that everything possessed a semangat (spirit
Ghost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
). Around the time of the coming of the Christian era, Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
and Mahayana Buddhism were introduced to the Malay Archipelago by Indian traders, where they flourished until the 13th century and the arrival of Islam brought by Arab, Indian and Chinese Muslim traders.
In the 15th century, orthodox Sunni Islam flourished in the Malay world under the rule of the Malacca Sultanate
Malacca Sultanate
Established by the Malay ruler Parameswara, the Sultanate of Malacca was first a Hindu kingdom in 1402 and later became Muslim following the marriage of the princess of Pasai in 1409. Centered in the modern town of Malacca, the sultanate bordered the Ayutthaya Kingdom of Siam in the north to...
. In contrast with Hinduism, which had only a superficial effect on early Malay society, Islam took root in the hearts and minds of the people.
Islamization of the Malays
The period of the 13th and 14th centuries saw the arrival of IslamIslam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
and the rise of the great port-city of Malacca
Malacca Sultanate
Established by the Malay ruler Parameswara, the Sultanate of Malacca was first a Hindu kingdom in 1402 and later became Muslim following the marriage of the princess of Pasai in 1409. Centered in the modern town of Malacca, the sultanate bordered the Ayutthaya Kingdom of Siam in the north to...
on the southwestern coast of the Malay peninsular — two major developments that altered the course of Malay history.
Islam began arriving on the shores of what are now the states of Kedah
Kedah
Kedah is a state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area of over 9,000 km², and it consists of the mainland and Langkawi. The mainland has a relatively flat terrain, which is used to grow rice...
, Perak
Perak
Perak , one of the 13 states of Malaysia, is the second largest state in the Peninsular Malaysia bordering Kedah and Yala Province of Thailand to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, Selangor the Strait of Malacca to the south and west.Perak means silver in Malay...
, Kelantan
Kelantan
Kelantan is a state of Malaysia. The capital and royal seat is Kota Bharu. The Arabic honorific of the state is Darul Naim, ....
and Terengganu
Terengganu
Terengganu is a sultanate and constitutive state of federal Malaysia. The state is also known by its Arabic honorific, Darul Iman...
, from around the 12th century. The earliest archaeological evidence of Islam from the Malay peninsular is in the form of an inscribed stone dating from the 14th century found in Terengganu
Terengganu
Terengganu is a sultanate and constitutive state of federal Malaysia. The state is also known by its Arabic honorific, Darul Iman...
state, Malaysia.
By the 15th century, the Malacca Sultanate
Malacca Sultanate
Established by the Malay ruler Parameswara, the Sultanate of Malacca was first a Hindu kingdom in 1402 and later became Muslim following the marriage of the princess of Pasai in 1409. Centered in the modern town of Malacca, the sultanate bordered the Ayutthaya Kingdom of Siam in the north to...
, whose hegemony reached over much of the western Malay archipelago, had become the centre of Islamization
Islamization
Islamization or Islamification has been used to describe the process of a society's conversion to the religion of Islam...
in the east. The Malaccan tradition was handed down from generation to generation and fostered a vigorous ethos of Malay identity. During this era, the Islamic faith became closely identified with Malay society and played a significant role in defining the Malay identity.
In 1511, the city of Malacca fell to Portuguese
Portuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
conquistadors. However, Malacca remained an institutional prototype as a paradigm of statecraft and a point of cultural reference for successor states such as the Johor Sultanate
Johor Sultanate
The Sultanate of Johor was founded by Malaccan Sultan Mahmud Shah's son, Sultan Alauddin Riayat Shah II in 1528. Johor was part of the Malaccan Sultanate before the Portuguese conquered Malacca's capital in 1511...
(1528–present), the Perak Sultanate
Perak
Perak , one of the 13 states of Malaysia, is the second largest state in the Peninsular Malaysia bordering Kedah and Yala Province of Thailand to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, Selangor the Strait of Malacca to the south and west.Perak means silver in Malay...
(1528–present) and the Pahang Sultanate
Pahang
Pahang is the third largest state in Malaysia, after Sarawak and Sabah, occupying the huge Pahang River river basin. It is bordered to the north by Kelantan, to the west by Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, to the south by Johor and to the east by Terengganu and the South China Sea.Its state...
(1470–present).
Across the South China Sea
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...
, another Malay realm, the Brunei Sultanate (1363–present) was growing into a trading port that rivalled Malacca. Brunei reached its golden age in the mid 16th century when it controlled land as far south as present day Kuching
Kuching
Kuching , officially the City of Kuching, and formerly the City of Sarawak, is the capital and most populous city of the East Malaysian state of Sarawak. It is the largest city on the island of Borneo, and the fourth largest city in Malaysia....
in Sarawak
Sarawak
Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...
and north towards the islands of the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
.
Other significant Malay sultanates were the Kedah Sultanate
Kedah Sultanate
The Sultanate of Kedah was the earliest sultanate on the Malay Peninsula and one of the oldest Sultanates in the world, founded in year 1136.-Kedah Kingdom:...
(1136–present) and the Patani Sultanate
Pattani kingdom
Pattani or Sultanate of Pattani was a Malay sultanate that covered approximately the area of the modern Thai provinces of Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and much of the northern part of modern Malaysia. The King of Patani is believed to have converted to Islam some time during the 11th century...
(1516–1771), which dominated the northern part of the Malay peninsular.
Islam as ethnoreligious identity
Following this era, the Malays traditionally had a close identification with Islam and it has remained their religion ever since. Such identification is so strong to the extent that to become Muslim, it was said, was to masuk Melayu (to become Malay).Nevertheless, strongly-rooted earlier beliefs have held their ground against the anathemas of Islam. The mysticism
Mysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
of Shia Islam, which properly has no place among orthodox Sunnis, has become intertwined among the Malays, with the spirits of the earlier animistic world and some elements of Hinduism also present.
Following the 1970s Islamic revival
Islamic revival
Islamic revival refers to a revival of the Islamic religion throughout the Islamic world, that began roughly sometime in 1970s and is manifested in greater religious piety, and community feeling, and in a growing adoption of Islamic culture, dress, terminology, separation of the sexes, and values...
(also referred as re-Islamization) throughout the Muslim world
Muslim world
The term Muslim world has several meanings. In a religious sense, it refers to those who adhere to the teachings of Islam, referred to as Muslims. In a cultural sense, it refers to Islamic civilization, inclusive of non-Muslims living in that civilization...
, many traditions that contravene the teaching of Islam and contain elements of shirk (idolatry or polytheism), were abandoned by the Malays. Among these practices was the mandi
Mandi (bath)
Mandi refers to a traditional Indonesian or Malaysian way of bathing involving using a small container to scoop water out of a large container and pour water over the body, in such a way that this water does not go back into the large container....
safar festival (Safar
Safar
Safar is the second month in the Islamic calendar.The root of the name, صفر ṣafr, has three basic areas of meaning: 1) whistle, hiss, chirp; 2) be yellow, pale ; 3) to be empty, devoid, vacant...
bath), a bathing festival intended to achieve spiritual purity that contains some features similar to those of the Durga Puja
Durga Puja
Durga puja ; দুর্গা পূজা,ଦୁର୍ଗା ପୂଜା,‘Worship of Durga’), also referred to as Durgotsava ; , is an annual Hindu festival in South Asia that celebrates worship of the Hindu goddess Durga. It refers to all the six days observed as Mahalaya, Shashthi, Maha Saptami, Maha Ashtami, Maha Navami and...
festival celebrated in India.
See also
- Malays (ethnic group)
- Malaysian MalayMalaysian MalayIn Malaysia, the Malay population is defined by Article 160 of the Malaysian Constitution as someone born to a Malaysian citizen who professes to be a Muslim, habitually speaks the Malay language, adheres to Malay customs and is domiciled in Malaysia or Singapore...
Regional religion:
- Religion in MalaysiaReligion in MalaysiaMalaysia is multicultural and multiconfessional. The dominant religion in Malaysia is Islam, whose followers make up 61 per cent of the population. Islam is recognised as the state religion of Malaysia, although the country has a secular constitution. Debate exists about whether Malaysia should be...
- Religion in SingaporeReligion in SingaporeSingapore is a secular multi-religious country due to its diverse ethnic mix of peoples originating from various countries. Most major religious denominations are present in Singapore....
- Religion in ThailandReligion in ThailandAccording to the last census 94.6% of Thais are Buddhists of the Theravada tradition. Muslims are the second largest religious group in Thailand at 4.6%. Thailand's southernmost provinces - Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and part of Songkhla Chumphon have dominant Muslim populations, consisting of both...
General:
- Ethnoreligious group