Before Islam spread throughout Malaysia, Hindu and
Buddhist has been introduced by the Indian traders to the Malay settlers
in Peninsula Malaysia.
The indigenous Malays also embraced an ancient religion with various forms of
belief with some of the population belonging to the Hindu, Buddha religion and
some with the animism. Islam like its predecessor
also brought by the Muslim traders who expand through trading and inter
marriage.
Growing demand for eastern
spices by a prosperous Renaissance Europe and the cessation from the 8th/14th
century of direct Chinese trade to India brought the Gudjarati merchants into
great prominence as intermediaries in the spice trade. Their great numbers in
Malacca, the major emporium in the Malay- Indonesian archipelago in the
9th/15th and 10th/16th centuries, facilitated the work of Muslim missionaries
in spreading the ideas of Islam in the
region. As good impression shown by the traders to the local
people many of them attracted to convert to Islam.
The spread of Islam was greatly enhanced
partly by social contact as a consequence of trade, but more important still,
by marriages. In a few decades, the Javanese, Sumatran, Malay and other
aristocracies of the coastal districts had gone over to the new faith. The
common people followed in gradual stages down the social scale. Diplomatic
marriages between aristocracies of different kingdoms spread the faith even
further. A notable example was the marriage of the first Muslim Sultan of
Pasai on the North-Western coast of Sumatra (Aceh ) who died in 1297 A.D.,
to daughter of the ruler of Perlak, also on the northern coast of
Sumatra. The powerful Sultanate of Malacca too, arranged many such diplomatic
marriages with Borneo, Pahang and Kedah and with the Sumatran river ports of
Siak, Kampar, Inderagiri and Jambi.
In the Malay Peninsula, the
first physical evidence of the arrival of Islam was found at a spot
twenty miles up the Terengganu river. There, a stone inscribed with Arabic
letters has been found, dating as far back as 1386 or probably 1326 A.D.
This evidence of the existence of Islam in Malaysia's east coast
perhaps initiated the theory that Islam came to Malaysia through
China.
Another source of information
about the beginning of the spread of Islam in the Malay
Archipelago is provided by Marco Polo. He visited the port of Perlak, which he
called "Felech", on the Northern coast of Sumatra in 1292 A.D. on his return
voyage to Europe through the Straits of Malacca Marco Polo remarked in his
later writings that many of the inhabitants of Perlak had at that time been
converted to Islam by
the foreign merchants who frequently called there. Pasai on the north-western
coast of Sumatra whose first Muslim ruler died in 1297, five years after Marco
Polo's visit to Perak, provided probably the first foothold for Islam in
Sumatra.
The coming of Islam has changed the mind
and perspective of the local people. They were no longer imprisoned within a
religious caste system and the notion of living in "classes". In Islam there was no
discrimination, or division on the basis of colour, class tribal affiliation,
race, homeland and birthplace, all of which gave rise to problems. Equal
rights seemed the right human solution, which in practice meant the acceptance
of rights and obligation as a member of the Islamic Community. The pious
person achieved sublimity and nearness to God.
The local population saw that
Islam could save them
from this bondage and provide the means for the extirpation of social evils.
The new religion gave the small man a sense of this individual worth - the
dignity of man - as a member of an Islamic community.
Malaysia also is not safe
from any colonisation by western countries who destroy the development of
Islamic teaching and social life. The first colonizer was the Portuguese
who were followed in succession by the Spanish, the Dutch and the British who
took land in these places and altered all the laws and ways of living by one
means or another, based on the 'divide and rule policy' so well known
throughout the third world. The coming of the West could normally be
considered under three categories: trade, conquest and Christianisation of the
colonial subjects.
The fall of the Malacca
sultanate to the Portuguese in 1511 was the beginning of colonisation on the
Peninsula, that is, the breakdown of Malay political authority in this part of
the world and the beginning of a setback to the spread of Islam. From Malacca the
colonisers seized all administrative functions that were typically Islamic.
The people had to endure a number of disturbing experiences, and to witness
some of their number cooperating with the colonisers for their own personal
gain.
The colonisers started to
make or establishing the Religious Councils on the pretext of preserving Malay
customs and the Islamic religion. In fact, their main function was to limit
the role of Islam to
purely personal matters. For their part the British promised they would not
intervene in matters pertaining to Islam or Malay traditional
practices. However, the separation of religion from the practical affairs of
government and law was, in itself, an interference in matters pertaining to Islam. The ulama' whose
previous function had been to advise and attend to state requirements were now
replaced by a British Advisor or British Resident and the role of the ulama'
became purely "religious" in the narrow sense.
Spread of Islam
After the initial introduction
of Islam, the religion
was spread by local Muslim scholars or ulama' from one district to another.
Their normal practice was to open a religious training centre called "pondok"
or hut from the small sleeping quarters constructed for the students. In
addition to giving lectures in houses, prayer houses, or mosques, they also
performed tasks such as working in paddy fields, gardening and craftwork and
other jobs according to each individual's capabilities. The role of these
ulama' was not merely that of a teacher but also that of advisor for the
village families and communities. The role they played was fairly broad one by
reason of their expertise and capability in more than one field of human
activity. After graduating, the pupils would go back to their homeland, often
in some remote corner of the country, forming a link in the chain between one
ulama' and another.
Islam in the Malay
Archipelago in general and Malaysia in particular
follows the Shafie Mazhab. However there are many Muslims in Malaysia who do not follow
any particular school. In Perlis, the state constitution specifies that Perlis
follows the Qur'an and Sunnah and not a particular mazhab. Many Muslims in
Perlis therefore do not follow any mazhab, as is the case with the followers
and members of the Muhammadiyah Organisation in Indonesia.
One noteworthy feature in the
religious education scene is the close relationship between the Pondok
schools, the teachers and even the pupils although the distance between them
may be quite considerable as from Kubang Pasir for example, or Kedah to Achen,
Java, Kalimantan, Kelantan and Terengganu. The unifying factor that makes
strong ties among them is the uniformity of the system of instruction, for not
only are the Holy book and the language used the same but also the
socio-political problems, even though in Indonesia the Dutch were the colonial
power and in Malaysia
(or Malaya) the British. The colonisers whether Portuguese, Dutch or British
attempted Christianisation by various means, in particular through their
educational systems.
There were, however, a
number of Muslims who felt that the pondok schools could not deal with the
challenge of colonial education institutions. In order to overcome the
problems, the Madrasatul Mashoor al-Islamiyah was established in Pulau Pinang
in the year 1916 using Arabic as the language of instruction. The madrasahs
taught Fiqh as well as secular subjects. This institute of learning was not
merely intended to enhance the position of Muslims in Penang and northern
Malaya but in Southeast Asia as well. This school chose as its inspiration the
name of Syed Ahmad Al Mashoor, alternatively known as Ayid Mashoor, a leader
of Arab descent on that Island. After Malaya
achieved independence on August 31, 1957, the growth of religious education at
government subsidised schools was a result of sustained effort on the part of
the Malay community. This can be seen at the Islamic College and the National
University of Malaysia.
The best known and reputedly
oldest pondok in Malaysia is that of Tok
Guru Haji Muhammad Yusof or Tok Kenali, who constructed it himself in Kota
Bahru, Kelantan. He received his basic education in Kelantan and then like any
other pondok teacher pursued his studies in the Masjid al-Haram (the Great
Mosque of Makkah). The Tok Kenali pondok became a famous centre of learning
which led to large numbers of people from different states coming to learn at
the pondok, and subsequently other pondok schools were opened by some of the
former pupils who in time became community leaders. This teacher-pupil-
teacher network spread to Southern Thailand and Indonesia.
Some Malaysian ulama' became
teachers at the Masjid al-Haram. At the time of this writing one ulama' from
Kedah, Muhammad bin Abdul Kadir, and two from Petani were teachers there.
Muhammad's father was also a teacher at the al-Haram Mosque.
