Islam’s Southeast Shift

At the dawn of the 21st century, that is changing dramatically. Globalization of the economy, the emergence of Asia as a powerful market and mass communications have triggered a “rediscovery” of Southeast Asian Islam, both economic and cultural. Long overshadowed by strategic interests in Arab oil and the explosive politics of West Asia, Malaysia and Indonesia are emerging to play a leadership role in the Muslim world. Malaysia’s economic growth, Muslim politics and pluralism challenge stereotypes generated by events ranging from the Iranian revolution to the Algerian civil war. In a world where the conventional wisdom has portrayed Islam as incompatible with modernization and democracy and where it has been equated with religious radicalism, Southeast Asia offers an alternative perspective.

In contrast to West Asia, Islam in Southeast Asia is far more multireligious and multicultural and projects a more moderate and pluralistic profile. Islam in most areas of the world has experienced a resurgence. The “Islamic” profile is multifaceted: used and at times manipulated by governments and opposition; spawning Islamic schools, banks, social welfare agencies and publications; and inspiring a new alternative elite, modern and educated but self-consciously Islamically oriented. In Southeast Asia, however, there is a dynamism, prosperity and growth that seems dormant in much of West Asia.

A region where Islam once spread peacefully and rapidly through the efforts of traders and mystics is again a major center of business and religious revitalization. Muslim intellectuals, religious leaders and institutions play greater roles now in Indonesian and Malaysian development. Muslim minorities in Thailand and the Philippines have achieved greater autonomy and representation, and the Muslims of Singapore have produced a dynamic younger generation of professionals and intellectuals committed to reinforcing a sense of community, identity and advancement.

In Indonesia, Islam has become more visible in the political and institutional landscape, from the government to NGOs. Scholars and professionals there are producing some of the most creative thinking on religious and social reform, democratization, pluralism and women’s rights in the Muslim world. Malaysia’s economic growth combined with the international profiles of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim have attracted increased attention in the Muslim and non-Muslim worlds. If some have questioned whether Islam and modernization are compatible and warned of a clash of civilizations between Islam and the West, Malaysia deflates such facile stereotypes. It has simultaneously emphasized its Muslim identity and promoted pluralism.

Malaysia faces social and cultural problems that attend meteoric economic growth, rapid urbanization and globalization of the media: uneven distribution of wealth and stress on family and societal values in a more competitive and acquisitive environment. In response, concerned leaders and educators are debating issues of human-resource development, science, technology and values. Government policies reflect a sensitivity to the need for a vision of development and educational reform. A major challenge is to produce a generation that does not view a university degree as simply a job ticket. Schools must attract and retain teachers, the best and brightest, despite the lure of business and government. They need to prepare a generation with the knowledge and skills required to build a nation that integrates rapid development with its authentic identity and values, Asian and Muslim.

In the 1990s, the Muslim world, like many other areas, has witnessed calls for greater democratization. The Southeast Asian Muslim experience, particularly in Malaysia and Indonesia, is especially relevant to concerns about the prospects for pluralism in more religiously oriented governments. Malaysia’s simultaneous emphasis on development informed by Asian and Malay Muslim values, and the protection of the rights of other religious and ethnic groups, is closely watched by many.

After its early consolidation and expansion, Islam’s renewal politically and civilizationally came from the periphery: Iran, Ottoman Turkey, South and Southeast Asia which spawned great empires and sultanates. At the dawn of the 21st century, history may well repeat itself as the Southeast Asian periphery moves to the center as a dynamic force in the renewal of Islam and Muslim societies.