Islam Hadhari the way forward

COMMENT by WONG SULONG
WHEN my friend, Datuk Mohamed Abid, passed me the book Abdullah Ahmad Badawi – Revivalist of an Intellectual Tradition and suggested I do a review, I accepted it with some trepidation and anxiety. After all, my knowledge and understanding of Islamic tradition and philosophy is basic.
Nevertheless I felt it was important to understand the meaning of the Prime Minister’s “Islam Hadhari” (loosely translated as “civilisational Islam”), the historical context that gave birth to this approach to Islam and finally and most importantly the implications arising from the implementation of Islam Hadhari on Malaysian society.
In my view, the authors – Dr Syed Ali Tawfik Al-Attas, who is a cousin of Mohamed Abid, and Datuk Ng Tieh Chuan, of Pelanduk Publications (M) Sdn Bhd – have proved themselves worthy of the unenviable task of explaining the meaning of Islam Hadhari, and placing this approach against its historical background and its relevance to contemporary society.
In doing so, they have done a service to the country given the fact that the term “Islam Hadhari” is still a pretty fuzzy idea to most Malaysians, when it is likely to have a significant impact on Malaysian society.
The slim volume (160 pages) is conveniently divided into six chapters.
Chapter One (written by Ng) gives a brief biography of Abdullah.
Chapter Two traces the family background and earlier influences on the Prime Minister, in particular his grandfather, the austere Abdullah Fahim who spent many years in Saudi Arabia studying the religion and running a religious school.
Chapter Three outlines the current dilemma for the Malays. Whereas once the Malays were united behind Umno; they are now deeply divided.
A large section is enthralled by the exhortations of extremist or opportunistic groups who dwell endlessly on form rather than substance; narrow-mindedness disguised as religious theocracy rather than the liberating spirit of the faith.
I observe the authors do not want to get embroiled in the political struggle between Umno and PAS for the hearts and minds of the Malays.
PAS was not mentioned in the book, only “the Muslim opposition.”
Chapter Four gives a brief summary on the rise of philosophy and the sciences in the framework of the worldview of Islam and in contrast with the Greek or Western worldviews.
Chapter Five sketches the socio-political and intellectual background leading to the emergence of al-Ghazzali al-Tusi (1058-1111), arguably the most influential scholar of Islam, and one who had a deep influence on Abdullah.
The period preceding al-Ghazzali was one of material opulence (as portrayed in stories of the One Thousand and One Nights) and intellectual ferment where Western (Greek) and Islamic ideas flourished and competed.
But by the time al-Ghazzali emerged on the scene, the Arabic world was in turmoil. “The Abbasid caliphate was in a state of abasement and in danger of losing Baghdad (the capital), Spain was in a state of chaotic revolt and the different political alliances and religious sectarianism had limited all intellectual inquiry to the narrow confines of the law and what is halal and haram.
ENLIGHTENING: The book explains Islam Hadhari and places this approach against its historical background and its relevance to contemporary society.
The Batinite peril was on the upsurge, manifested in the rise in extremist Shi’ite beliefs.
“This was an age ‘characterised by a kind of intemperateness in thought and unruliness in imagination which led to an extraordinary confusion and a curious concern with religions and sects and movements, with each tongue and pen going its own way'.”
Al-Ghazzali’s great contribution to Islam was his ability to demonstrate the logic and importance of using reason as a tool to deduce from the Quran, the “keys” to all of the sciences.
He expounded this in his great work Ihya ulum ad-din (The Revival of the Religious Sciences).
Which brings us back to present-day Malaysia and the Prime Minister's Islam Hadhari, which forms the subject of Chapter Six.
According to the authors, the Prime Minister’s Islam Hadhari draws its inspiration from the teachings of al-Ghazzali. Indeed Abdullah’s outlook on life is deeply influenced by al-Ghazzali as reflected in his poem “In search for Everlasting Peace” part of which reads:
“I seek he who is al-Ghazzali
I seek who is al-Shafi
To unravel the secrets of the Holy Book.”
To give readers a better understanding of Islam Hadhari, it’s important here to enumerate the 10 principles.
They are:
(i) Faith and piety in Allah;
(ii) A just and trustworthy government;
(iii) A free and independent people;
(iv) A mastery of knowledge;
(v) A balanced and comprehensive economic development;
(vi) A good quality of life;
(vii) Protection of the rights of minority groups and women;
(viii) Cultural and moral integrity;
(ix) Safeguarding the environment; and
(x) Strong defences.
Islam Hadhari is therefore an approach that is “complete and comprehensive, with an emphasis on the development of the economy and civilisation capable of building Malay competitiveness. The glorious heritage of Islamic civilisation in all aspects must be used as a reference, and become the source of inspiration for the Malay race to prosper,” to quote from Abdullah’s presidential speech at the Umno general assembly last September.
Islam Hadhari is not a new religion as the Muslim opposition alleges, yet it’s understandable why the Muslim opposition is so anxious to sabotage it. The success of Islam Hadhari will mean the Muslim opposition will no longer have a free run in dictating its extremist brand of the religion.
But in order for the Malays to achieve prosperity and be “towering” – be it in material wealth or spiritual happiness – they must change their attitude and rid themselves of those bestial characteristics detrimental to their own wellbeing.
In his Umno general assembly speech, the Prime Minister called on the Malays to undertake a jihad to effect this change.
Now this word jihad had caused some confusion, with some wondering whether it meant a “holy war.”
The authors are at pains to point out there are three levels of jihad; that of a holy war being the lowest; the more noble rank being characterised by the struggle in the pursuit of true knowledge (ilm); and there is the highest rank that represents the struggle against the bestial nature of man.
It is this struggle that the Prime Minister referred to.
Therefore when the Prime Minister talks about Islam Hadhari he is calling for an understanding of the present age in the framework of Islam.
Echoing al-Ghazzali, the Prime Minister told the Umno general assembly that Islam demands the mastery of science and not merely the law.
It’s important, too, that Islam Hadhari be understood not only by Muslims in Malaysia but also by non-Muslims.
It is an approach fully attuned to modern times; it recognises the aspirations and legitimate interests of every segment in our multi-racial, multi-religious country, yet remaining true to the Revelations of the Quran.
It’s an enormous task to explain and implement Islam Hadhari.
The authors of this book have done their bit to promote the cause.
For too long, our educational institutions, religious leaders, scholars and even policymakers have been influenced by teachers from the Indian sub-continent and the Middle East where the emphasis is on Islamic law and rituals to the detriment of the understanding of science and reason.
Postscript: For a long time, I have wondered how the Islamic world is going to deal with the concept of riba or usury. Judeo-Christian civilisations were also confronted with this dilemma but the ideological and religious dispute was resolved more than 500 years ago with the rise of capitalism. I am glad the authors brought up the dilemma over riba and suggest a rethink of the term.