Political Islam and Democracy in Malaysia

Abstract

The third chapter discusses the current discourse of political Islam in Malaysia. It analyses the complex relations between religion, ethnic identity, and politics. It also seeks to understand how domestic and regional dynamisms affect the religious and ethnic understandings in the country. After decades of economic growth coupled with the expansion of middle-class Malaysia has also given rise to a new generation of politically conscious society. But this economic growth, fuelled by both domestic and external dynamics, has had some contradictory impacts on the evolution of Malaysian democracy. Society appears to have been further divided along sectarian and religious lines. While hopes were for a more tolerant and open society, the majority of conservative Malay-Muslims appear to have rejected the notion. The debates over the exclusive use of the word ‘Allah’ between the minority Christians and the majority Muslims illustrate the renewed religious tensions in Malaysia.