Contemporary Islamic Developments In Asean

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Introduction The religion of Islam serves as a common source of contemporary influence on the political, economic, social as well as religious, aspects of life in all five member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The present role of Islam in ASEAN must be understood with reference to two historical processes. The first is the Muslim expansion which began in the fourteenth century and resulted in a Southeast Asian Muslim region stretching from Southern Thailand to the Southern Philippines. This Muslim region continues today to be geographically contiguous, to share a common religious history, and to be characterized by a stock of cultural, social, educational and legal institutions derived from its common religion. The second historical process began with the advent of Western colonialism in the region in the sixteenth century. It culminated with the formation of five nation-states which are superimposed, as it were, on the Muslim region of Southeast Asia,1 the product of the first historical process. Of the five nation-states, Malaysia and Indonesia fall completely within the boundaries of this Southeast Asian Muslim community, and have Muslim majorities in their populations. The national boundaries of Thailand and the Philippines overlap with this Muslim region only in the south of both countries. Singapore, where the majority of the population is composed of immigrants from China as well as diverse parts of Southeast Asia and India, also has a Muslim minority. Contemporary Islam in ASEAN must therefore be viewed through these two historical perspectives. On one level of analysis, there are five developing nation-states which count Muslims in their populations. On another level, this Muslim population spills across national borders and must be understood within the context of their par ticipation in the worldwide community of Islam (ummah).