The Tarlqat Al- 'Alawiyyah and the Emergence of the Shi'I School in Indonesia and Malaysia

Syed Farid Alatas

doi:10.2139/ssrn.2650596

Abstract

The recent emergence and current development of the Imami Shi'i school in Indonesia and Malaysia can only be understood against the backdrop of the early history of the Si 'ah, as well as that of the history of the Islamization of the Malay-Indonesian tor that binds these three historical processes together in a remarkable case of conversion within Islam is the 'olawiyyali sufi order (al-tariqah Archipelago. The common fac-al- 'alawiyyah). The tariqah al- 'alawiyyah is the path of the Siidat Bani 'alawiyyah. The Siidah al- 'alawiyyah (sing. sayyid), of the Shafi'i madhab (school of jurisprudence), originate from the Hadramawt, Yemen and played a major role in the Islamization of East Africa, Southern India, and the Malay- Indonesian Archipelago. The Sayyids of Hadramawt share a common his- tory with the Shi'i school and to some extent it is this commonality that caused Shi' i elements and tendencies among the descendants of Hadrami Siidat emigres in the Malay-Indonesian Archipelago to surface, particu- larly after the Iranian revolution of 1978. Today, the Hadrami Sayyids of the Malay-Indonesian world continue to playa role in the religious life of the region.

Highlights

The recent emergence and current development of the Imami Shi'i school in Indonesia and Malaysia can only be understood against the backdrop of the early history of the Si 'ah, as well as that of the history of the Islamization of the Malay-Indonesian Archipelago
The Sayyids of Hadramawt share a common history with the Shi'i school and to some extent it is this commonality that caused Shi' i elements and tendencies among the descendants of Hadrami Siidat emigres in the Malay-Indonesian Archipelago to surface, after the Iranian revolution of 1978
It is important and interesting to observe that the' alawiyyah 'ulamii' in particular and community in general is becoming differentiated into a number of orientations vis a vis the Shi'i school

Summary

Introduction

The recent emergence and current development of the Imami Shi'i school in Indonesia and Malaysia can only be understood against the backdrop of the early history of the Si 'ah, as well as that of the history of the Islamization of the Malay-Indonesian Archipelago. The Hadrami Sayyids of the Malay-Indonesian world continue to playa role in the religious life of the region With this in mind, it is important and interesting to observe that the' alawiyyah 'ulamii' in particular and community in general is becoming differentiated into a number of orientations vis a vis the Shi'i school. The literature on Islam in Indonesia, Malaysia and the rest of the region has not taken note of this phenomenon, with the exception of a few journal articles and a handful of newspaper and magazine items Even these works falsely labour under the assumption that the rise of the Shi'i school in the region is symptomatic of the current wave of Islamic fundamentalism, being a result of the establishment of a Shi'i republic in Iran in 1979.

SVED FARID ALATAS

SYED FA RID MATAS