In recent years,
the phenomenon of politicisation of religion could be observed to be rampant
among the Malaysian politicians. In Malaysia, the politicisation of religion is
mostly done in order
to garner political
votes and support.
In this sense,
religion is used
as a manipulative tool by the
political parties in portraying themselves as the defenders of religion to the
extent of ‘devilising’ those who oppose their religious ideas. In many
respects, this is all for the benefit of a political agenda rather than for the
communities.
The usage of
religious sentiments mostly revolves around the Malay-Muslim identity, being
the majority population in the country. The politicisation of religion is
mostly observable today as being the imbued with ethnicity as the main drivers.
In Malaysia,
Islam and Malayness are strongly interconnected which thus make the
politicisation of Islam easier and easily accepted by many. Ultimately,
religion and ethnicity are bound to make a strong political tool. Islamisation
is an effective factor to promote politics in Malaysia, and Islamic language
was utilised in favouring their values such as the usage of the controversial
issue of Christianisation in the country in order to
garner political needs.
Politicisation
of religion will create an exclusive community that builds on the idea of
racism and the feelings of superiority over the others. Since 2012, the case of
the usage of the word Allah by the Christians in Malaysia has fanned the flames
of a huge conflict between the Christians and the Muslims. In this case,
religion has been heavily politicised. Reported by Utusan Online, EXCO Pemuda
UMNO (UMNO Youth Exco), Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz insisted that political parties
like UMNO, Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) and People's Justice Party (PKR) unite
in protecting Islam. According to him, if the issue of the word ‘Allah’ were
ignored, then it would diminish Islam as the official religion of the country
(Mengapa sekarang kongsi kalimah? 2010, paras. 5–6).
The idea of the
Islamic ummah was used as a representation of weaknesses by some individuals.
For Muslims in Malaysia, in championing this case, the concept of ummah was
used in
attaining a united
Muslim community regardless
of the political
differences. The banning of the word ‘Allah’ for non-Muslims reveals a
sense of exclusivism among the Malay Muslims. This is despite the fact that
there is an unequivocal indication that the word ‘Allah’ is a universal term
free to be used by the followers of faiths other than Islam. Referring to the
former Mufti of Perlis, Datuk Dr. Asri Zainul Abidin, the usage of word ‘Allah’
denotes the concept of ‘Supreme Being’ by the non-Muslims. In fact, the usage
was advocated by the Qur’an and Hadith of the Prophet (PBUH).
The banning
received several commentaries from the international society, such as by
Jakarta Post, which stated that the court proceedings will only cause religious
exclusivism and are against the basic Islamic teachings. Additionally, it also
shows that Malaysia is becoming more intolerant (Endy M. Bayuni, 2013). The
politicisation of religion in Malaysia has widened the gap between ethnicities. The extensive
politicisation of religion by
the politicians and religious leaders
will not create a tolerant society; rather, it will only exacerbate intolerance
.
Politicising
religion will create an exclusive society, with the kind of exclusivism that
promotes religiously intolerant
and radical Muslim communities.
Taking Indonesia as an JURNAL ISLAM DAN MASYARAKAT
KONTEMPORARI, 21(2):46-59 51 example,
radicalism has increased due to exclusivism and bigoted understanding of
religious tenets. Islamic philosophy, mysticism and political philosophy that
specifies religion into an ethnic feature
will form an
exclusivism in interrelationship with
the religious violence,
also, exclusivism is an act of extreme religious behaviour of takfirism.
Extremism in
this sense is the product of a parasitic ideology that influences someone’s
behaviour. The success of this tactic makes it easier for an individual to be
command in conducting extreme activities. Propaganda is an effective tool, and usually, religious propaganda is
more potent than political propaganda Today, the dissemination of
propaganda is assisted by the advancement of technology such as the internet
and social network.
This method is
proven being effective, as in the case of Muhammad Wanndy Mohamed Jedi, whose
nickname was ‘Malaysia’s jihadist celebrity’ because he used the social media
platforms as a means to spread extremism
under
the Islamised name
‘Generasi al-Ghuroba’ (Generation
of the Foreigners). The success
of this psychological effect lies not only in the content, but also the name
used to identify the account. For instance, the term ghuraba is found in the hadith
of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), who mentioned the generation of ghuraba or the
‘strangers’ as being the true Muslims living in the final days, an
eschatological term referring to the time before the Day of Judgement. From
here, it may be noted how an Islamic narrative was carefully used in justifying
an extremist agenda.
Social media
serves as the platform that proliferator of radical propaganda by relying on
the phenomenon of halo effect which makes an individual message appear
to be valid
and trustworthy The psychological ground here lies on the
extremist group’s strategy to appear more appealing and convincing to
captivate the prey with religious promises,
such as spiritual prosperity and assurance of the best place in the
hereafter. In psychologising the target to act more extremely, promises of
martyrdom and declaring an individual as a soldier of God. Once brainwashed, an
individual’s perception of what is right or wrong also changes. This is
evident, as many extremists today perceive themselves as the defenders of
religion or race and being on the right path, while others are considered the
opposite.
Propaganda can
be a powerful tool to attract an impressionable individual to join what is
thought to be the right course in defending religion and the ideals of the
ummah.
In recent years,
the phenomenon of politicisation of religion could be observed to be rampant
among the Malaysian politicians. In Malaysia, the politicisation of religion is
mostly done in order
to garner political
votes and support.
In this sense,
religion is used
as a manipulative tool by the
political parties in portraying themselves as the defenders of religion to the
extent of ‘devilising’ those who oppose their religious ideas. In many
respects, this is all for the benefit of a political agenda rather than for the
communities.
The usage of
religious sentiments mostly revolves around the Malay-Muslim identity, being
the majority population in the country. The politicisation of religion is
mostly observable today as being the imbued with ethnicity as the main drivers.
In Malaysia,
Islam and Malayness are strongly interconnected which thus make the
politicisation of Islam easier and easily accepted by many. Ultimately,
religion and ethnicity are bound to make a strong political tool. Islamisation
is an effective factor to promote politics in Malaysia, and Islamic language
was utilised in favouring their values such as the usage of the controversial
issue of Christianisation in the country in order to
garner political needs.
Politicisation
of religion will create an exclusive community that builds on the idea of
racism and the feelings of superiority over the others. Since 2012, the case of
the usage of the word Allah by the Christians in Malaysia has fanned the flames
of a huge conflict between the Christians and the Muslims. In this case,
religion has been heavily politicised. Reported by Utusan Online, EXCO Pemuda
UMNO (UMNO Youth Exco), Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz insisted that political parties
like UMNO, Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) and People's Justice Party (PKR) unite
in protecting Islam. According to him, if the issue of the word ‘Allah’ were
ignored, then it would diminish Islam as the official religion of the country
(Mengapa sekarang kongsi kalimah? 2010, paras. 5–6).
The idea of the
Islamic ummah was used as a representation of weaknesses by some individuals.
For Muslims in Malaysia, in championing this case, the concept of ummah was
used in
attaining a united
Muslim community regardless
of the political
differences. The banning of the word ‘Allah’ for non-Muslims reveals a
sense of exclusivism among the Malay Muslims. This is despite the fact that
there is an unequivocal indication that the word ‘Allah’ is a universal term
free to be used by the followers of faiths other than Islam. Referring to the
former Mufti of Perlis, Datuk Dr. Asri Zainul Abidin, the usage of word ‘Allah’
denotes the concept of ‘Supreme Being’ by the non-Muslims. In fact, the usage
was advocated by the Qur’an and Hadith of the Prophet (PBUH).
The banning
received several commentaries from the international society, such as by
Jakarta Post, which stated that the court proceedings will only cause religious
exclusivism and are against the basic Islamic teachings. Additionally, it also
shows that Malaysia is becoming more intolerant (Endy M. Bayuni, 2013). The
politicisation of religion in Malaysia has widened the gap between ethnicities. The extensive
politicisation of religion by
the politicians and religious leaders
will not create a tolerant society; rather, it will only exacerbate intolerance
.
Politicising
religion will create an exclusive society, with the kind of exclusivism that
promotes religiously intolerant
and radical Muslim communities.
Taking Indonesia as an JURNAL ISLAM DAN MASYARAKAT
KONTEMPORARI, 21(2):46-59 51 example,
radicalism has increased due to exclusivism and bigoted understanding of
religious tenets. Islamic philosophy, mysticism and political philosophy that
specifies religion into an ethnic feature
will form an
exclusivism in interrelationship with
the religious violence,
also, exclusivism is an act of extreme religious behaviour of takfirism.
Extremism in
this sense is the product of a parasitic ideology that influences someone’s
behaviour. The success of this tactic makes it easier for an individual to be
command in conducting extreme activities. Propaganda is an effective tool, and usually, religious propaganda is
more potent than political propaganda Today, the dissemination of
propaganda is assisted by the advancement of technology such as the internet
and social network.
This method is
proven being effective, as in the case of Muhammad Wanndy Mohamed Jedi, whose
nickname was ‘Malaysia’s jihadist celebrity’ because he used the social media
platforms as a means to spread
extremism under the
Islamised name ‘Generasi
al-Ghuroba’ (Generation of the
Foreigners). The success of this psychological effect lies not only in the
content, but also the name used to identify the account. For instance, the term
ghuraba is found in the hadith of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), who mentioned
the generation of ghuraba or the ‘strangers’ as being the true Muslims living
in the final days, an eschatological term referring to the time before the Day
of Judgement. From here, it may be noted how an Islamic narrative was carefully
used in justifying an extremist agenda.
Social media
serves as the platform that proliferator of radical propaganda by relying on
the phenomenon of halo effect which makes an individual message appear
to be valid
and trustworthy The psychological ground here lies on the
extremist group’s strategy to appear more appealing and convincing to
captivate the prey with religious promises,
such as spiritual prosperity and assurance of the best place in the
hereafter. In psychologising the target to act more extremely, promises of
martyrdom and declaring an individual as a soldier of God. Once brainwashed, an
individual’s perception of what is right or wrong also changes. This is
evident, as many extremists today perceive themselves as the defenders of
religion or race and being on the right path, while others are considered the
opposite.
Propaganda can
be a powerful tool to attract an impressionable individual to join what is
thought to be the right course in defending religion and the ideals of the
ummah.
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