The Colonial Legacies on Islam in South East Asia from Contemporary Perspective.

Sepetang bersama Surin Pitsuwan, Setiausaha Agung ASEAN, Mantan Menteri Luar Thailand, seorang muslim yang mendapat didikan awal pondok di selatan Thai.
(Surin, Brian Yap, Penulis dan Yusmadi)

MOHD SAIFULLAH MOHD ZULKIFLI

The region of South East Asia has become one of the largest Muslim region in the world, where it is constitute of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei as the majority Muslim countries. Meanwhile Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Burma and Cambodia as the largest minority in the countries. With this large number of Muslim population it made Muslim as the most significant and influential religion in the region.

In 16^th Century, European Colonial power begins to arrive in this region and start to colonialised most of the territory in this region. Portugese, Dutch, Spanish, and British colonised including, Malaya, Melaka, Singapore, Indonesia, Acheh, Filippines, Moro, Sulu. The colonial power start to divide the areas by demarcating boundaries trough mutual understanding and with this Muslims was gradually marginalised.

Marginalisation is the main legacies of the colonial’s power. In the case of Malaya, Muslim who is precisely Malays were marginalise with other immigrants, Chinese and Indian. Under the policies of ‘Divide and Rule’, which later course the rise issues of Citizenship, Special Rights, religion and races. Compare to Dutch, British are less restrict the exercising the practice of Islam. Dutch in Indonesia are very much control Islam, where they imposed restriction upon Ulama and the Religious institution, and secondly is that they tried to making the culture system in making Indonesia hand over its large quantity of economy to Dutch.

In the case of Muslim in Philippines, Muslim was marginalised by Spanish, particularly the place of majority Muslim was given to Americans in Mindoro and Visyas. Muslim was pushed to subservient to foreign power, and the economy and political rights was violated. Moro province was made an American Military post. The case in Southern Philippine, was merely similar to Southern Thai, were they were actually invaded by Siam, of Thai.

These legacies of colonial power cause very much influence in contemporary Islam in South East Asia. Because of that legacy, Muslim was marginalise and violated in its own land. The struggle of Muslim in defend and demand their rights were express through various means, either through violent armed guerrilla warfare, peaceful participation of democratic political means, or acquit rectitude of encourage greater adherence to Islamic prayers and other religious rituals.

Reference

Syed Sirajul Islam. 2005. The Politics of Islamic Identity in Southeast Asia. Thomson Asia Pte. Ltd, Singapore

K.S. Nathan and Mohammad Hashim Kamali, Eds. 2005 Islam in Southeast Asia. Institute of Southeast Asia Studies. Singapore