Islamic Revivalism in ASEAN States: Political Implications

Abstract

The Muslim World completes its 1,400 years (after Hijrah) of evolution in a manner quite revolutionary in character, with the emergence of the phenomenon of resurgence. This phenomenon can be explained and rationalized through theological, historical, and political perspectives. However, unlike the earlier post-World War II period when Muslim nationalist sentiments were fortified by Islamic reformist movements, the contemporary revitalization came about as a consequence of the cumulative political developments experienced by Muslim countries in more recent times. Variously captioned as Islamic revivalism, resurgence, and fundamentalism, this rejuvenation of the Islamic ethos has been brought about, especially since the 1970s, by events and sociopolitical changes affecting the Muslim-dominated countries in the Gulf area in particular and the worldwide Muslim umma (community) in general. Notable among these were the Islamic revolution in Iran, the Soviet invasion of a predominantly Muslim Afghanistan, the (anti-Saudi regime) shooting incident at the Masjidil Haram, the intensification of the Arab-Israel conflict, and the political and economic leverage that the Muslim nations in the Gulf exerted in international politics as a result of their newfound oil power.1 In addition to these international Islamic stirrings, the sources or causes of the phenomenon must necessarily have their local impetus. Despite it being a universal or global phenomenon, individual countries have experienced different levels of Islamic revival. Within ASEAN-the Associa-