Regaining the Islamic Centre?

Abstract

This chapter chronicles factors contributing to and implications arising from declining levels of moderation in Muslim-majority societies in the era of global Islamic resurgence by looking at the example of Malaysia, a country that has been classified as a moderate Muslim country. Moderation here is understood in terms of both the intellectual conception of Islamic doctrine and its practical application as a way of life and of relating to others, both Muslim and non-Muslim. It is argued that moderation has taken a beating with the ascendancy of the Wahhabi-Salafi school of thought by especially penetrating Islamic institutions with organic linkages to the state, a phenomenon made worse by the prevalence of authoritarian structures and paternalistic political cultures in post-colonial Muslim societies. In Malaysia, Middle Eastern-influenced Salafization synergized with ethnocentric aspects of local politics to produce a socio-political environment largely antithetical to the country’s pluralist heritage.