Articles of Sheikh Abdullah Al-Ghadamisi al-Maghribi in the Sahabat and Saudara Newspapers on the Malaysian Island of Penang (An Analytical study)

Abstract

The current study deals with one of the Libyan reform scholars in the Malay Archipelago. It analyzes the articles of al-Ghadamisi published in the Sahabat and Saudara Newspaoers which immensely contributed to the Malay history and society during the British colonialization that sought the elimination of the Malay identity, religion and social composition of the people and their ethical and customary constituents. This research aims at investigating the articles of Sheikh Abdullah al-Ghadamisi known also as AL- Maghribi, in the Sahabat and Saudara Newspapers issued on the Malaysian island of Penang through which he tried to advocate the Islamic religion and political awareness among the people on the island. His objectives were battling all deviant and innovated practices that were alien to Islam and establishing schools and religious institutions for both genders in order to encounter the British strategy of supporting modern schools where religious subjects and Islamic studies were prohibited. Therefore, Sheikh al-Ghadamisi found in the local Newspapers an open space to publish his reformist and advocate his ideas. This study analyzes al-Ghadamisi’s works accordingly using an analytical method to uncover his scholastic approaches in his articles published in the Sahabat and Saudara Newspapers.