Abstract
Since the arrival of Islam in Tanah Melayu or Malaya, traditionalist scholars have dominated the Islamic discourse through their close relations with the rulers (Sultans). Their domination over the religious authorities and the Islamic educational institutions has shaped the state version of Islam in Malaysia. However, in Perlis, the northernmost state in Malaysia, Middle Eastern graduate reformists, also known as Kaum Muda, were already preaching the earliest version of Salafism in the early 20th century. They found political patronage from the rulers of the state, hence imposing their version of Islamic teachings as the prevailing Islamic discourse of the state, which is also known until today as the “Sunnah Perlis” teachings. The widely presumptuous masses and researchers point that the dominating influence of the reform agenda or “Sunnah” in the state of Perlis is due to the state authority’s patronage based on historical facts that the “Sunnah” itself first emerged in Perlis in the early 20th century with the blessings of the ruler. This article attempts to look at the historical development of the “Sunnah Perlis” and to scrutinize the state authority’s patronage and influence in the state of Perlis. To achieve this, it employs a historical method of study to look at important milestones in the historical account of the Sunnah reform agenda in Perlis and its development at different periods hitherto through literatures, reports, interviews, and focus group discussions.
Highlights
Islamic discourse in preindependent Malaysia or what was known as Tanah Melayu or Malaya was dominated by the traditionalist scholars through their influence on the religious authority and both formal and informal Islamic education institutions such as the mosques, surau, madrasahs, and pondok (Gordon, 1999; Roff, 1962, 1967), which were established resulting from their close relations with the rulers (Shellabear, 1978; Thomaz, 1993)
Unlike the perception about the term Salafism that was generally associated with conservatism, rigidity, and extremism, Sunnah Perlis, as a legacy of the early 20th-century reformed Salafism, has a different face
Unlike the conventional representation of the current Gulf-style Salafism, “Sunnah Perlis” emphasizes the freedom from madhhab rigidity calling upon Muslims to return directly to the two major sources of Islam in dealing with religious issues, namely, al-Quran and Sunnah (Prophet Muhammad’s tradition)
Summary
Islamic discourse in preindependent Malaysia or what was known as Tanah Melayu or Malaya was dominated by the traditionalist scholars through their influence on the religious authority and both formal and informal Islamic education institutions such as the mosques, surau, madrasahs, and pondok (Gordon, 1999; Roff, 1962, 1967), which were established resulting from their close relations with the rulers (Shellabear, 1978; Thomaz, 1993). An additional period has been inserted into this article, the “Golden Period” of the “Sunnah,” which occurred during the term of Shahidan Kassim as the Menteri Besar together with his “Sunnah” acquaintance and reference, Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin as the Mufti of the State of Perlis.
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