Southeast Asia is a multicultural and ethnic region consisting of islands including the Philippines, Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Singapore. This analysis aims to explain the practices of Malaysian and Indonesian societies based on both their historical contexts and their works. First and foremost, an answer will be sought to how NGOs and Islamic Movements in Southeast Asia shaped their identities in the political and social arena. In this context, three events that enable the societies living in the Southeast Asian region to undergo both political and social transformation will be focused. First of all, as Indonesia and Malaysia experienced colonialism, identity conflicts emerged in the succeeding processes. Secondly, the Asian financial crisis in 1997 and the economic crisis in Southeast Asia augmented its ideological transformation and identity conflicts. Finally, environmental problems have affected society both economically and socially.
The state with the highest religious diversity in Southeast Asia is Singapore, followed by Malaysia. Although Malaysia has a more extensive spectrum of religious diversity, it only adopts Islam as the official religion, while Indonesia accepts six religions as official religions, including Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, and Buddhism. While an Islam that identifies with the Malay identity is seen in Malaysia, Indonesia is getting closer to Islamic doctrines with its preventive approach to radical attitudes. But having said that, Islamic movements in Indonesia also exhibit this attitude. Identity conflicts and political regimes have been beneficial in the formation of these approaches.
Religion has shaped the identity of societies living in Southeast Asia. Indonesia and Malaysia are both societies with high Muslim population however, Islam emerged differently in their social and political arena. While Islamic identity was structured by the concept of “religious pluralism” in Indonesian society, it was shaped by the notion of “civilization” in the Malaysian community.
“Religious Pluralism” in Indonesia
Indonesia occupied by the Netherlands gained its independence in 1945. Sukarno adopted “Pancasila” which means five principles as the official ideology of the country and these five principles are “Nationalism, Humanitarianism, Democracy, Social Justice, and Belief in One Supreme Allah” (Turan, 2018). Since the acceptance of Pancasila is seen as equal to the symbol of independence, the idea of Pancasila is still maintained today. Indonesian president Suharto constructed a system called “New Order” in 1968 (Ismail, 2017, p. 3) and conserved the authoritarian regime he had instituted until 1998. In this new regimen established with Suharto, although Islamist movements supported the administration of Suharto, they could not find room for themselves in the new political plane (Imga, 2003, p. 120).
Suharto particularly concentrated on economic growth and development and started to disregard identity conflicts. During the Cold War period, Sukarno started to support the USA and profit from foreign aid, contrary to his communist policies, and with the increase in oil revenues in the 1970s, the country developed to a great extent (Suner, 1998). With the East Asian crisis in 1997 and environmental pollution due to forest fires (Suner, 1998), Indonesia has become economically and socially fragile. This fragility has led to identity conflicts. After the Suharto era ended, identity conflicts deepened even more. Between 1999 and 2002, tensions between Muslims and Christians increased in the city of Ambon, and 9000 people lost their lives. It can be said that the identity fragilities of Indonesian society affect Sukarto’s adoption of the “Pancasila” ideology and Suharto’s tendency toward an authoritarian regime. There are more than 145 ethnic groups in Indonesia, and even though the majority of people are Muslims, Muslims have had problems with the Indonesian government. The unfair distribution can be counted among the reasons for this situation. For instance, the Darul Islam Movement in the 1953-1962 period and then the “Free Aceh Movement” in the 1976-2005 period claimed that natural and economic resources were not shared fairly, and subsequently, they experienced many human rights violations (Köksoy, 2020, p. 2011).
After the identity-based tensions in Indonesia, Islamic movements turned to the idea of “moderate Islam”. Nashir, the leader of the Muhammadiyah movement, advocates the idea of “cosmopolitan Islam”. Nahdlatul Ulama, another important movement in the region, adopted the concept of “religious pluralism” with Indonesian Prime Minister Abdurrahman Wahid. According to Wahid’s understanding of religious pluralism, instead of considering Islam as a “dominant” element in multicultural societies, it is necessary to consider it as a “complementary element” (Ismail, 2017, p. 86). However, the people living in Indonesia accepted the Pancasila ideology and gained equality before the law (p. 87). With this approach, Wahid aims to build a “universality” from the principles of Pancasila ideology and Islam.
Conceptualization of Islamic Civilization in Malaysia
The religious conflict of 13 May 1969 was influential in forming the identity of Malaysia, which gained its independence in 1969. Although the demands of the Chinese and Indian people brought in the colonial period before the local elections, were tried to be fulfilled, the failure to meet demands is one of the reasons why this event took place (Sözalmaz, 2014, p. 32). The Chinese victory in the Kuala Lumpur election angered the Malays, and 196 people were killed and 409 injured in the conflict (pp. 32-34).
The religious conflict of 13 May 1969 was influential in forming the identity of Malaysia, which gained its independence in 1969. Although the demands of the Chinese and Indian people brought in the colonial period before the local elections, were tried to be fulfilled, the failure to meet demands is one of the reasons why this event took place (Sözalmaz, 2014, p. 32). The Chinese victory in the Kuala Lumpur election angered the Malays, and 196 people were killed and 409 injured in the conflict (pp. 32-34). After the incidents, the government adopted the “New Economic Policy” program to develop the Malay society educationally and economically. Due to this program, the Malay student group, who obtained the right to study abroad, toughened their international connections with Islamic movements (Sözalmaz, 2014, p. 37). The effects of these movements began to seen in Malaysia. The Malaysian Muslim Youth Movement, founded in 1971, has been instrumental in unifying Malay and Islamic identities. Anwar Ibrahim, who played a vital role in the development of the movement, joined UMNO at the suggestion of Mahathir, the leader of the United Malay National Organization (UMNO) (Azak, 2019, p. 8). Mahathir Muhammad, who was in power between 1983-2003, implemented policies to Islamize institutions both economically and socially. Examples of these policies are the inclusion of religious and moral values in the education system, the granting of interest-free loans, the establishment of the International Islamic University in 1983, and the institution of the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization in 1987 (Azak, 2019, p. 11). Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who was in power during the 2003-2009 period, implemented the “Islam Hadhari” project. Badawi introduces the doctrine of Islam Hadari as the realization of many principles on taqwa, justice, development, cultural harmony, a free community, and protection of natural resources and the environment (Cited by Sözalmaz, 2014, p. 84). After these policies for a long time, Islam and Malay identity were identified.
Southeast Asian NGOs and Social and Political Studies of Islamic Movements
NGOs and Islamic movements in Southeast Asia affected by the Asian financial crisis, identity problems, and environmental diseases, drew a perspective on sustainable development and “moderate Islam” in the social and political field in 2021. In connection with sustainable development, food security, agricultural policies, poverty, and digitalization policies of Islamic movements were included in Indonesia, while studies were conducted on the circular economy, recycling, and poverty in Malaysia.
Malaysia and Indonesia, affected by climate change, addressed their problems at the COP 26 conference. In particular, through this conference, Malaysia voiced the drawbacks of climate finance and the global South. In addition, the International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies (IAIS) Malaysia organized the “International Conference on Islam, Sustainability, and Resilience” in November 2021. Climate change, development, and sustainable resilience were consulted based on Islam and ethical principles at this conference.
Due to the natural disasters and floods endured in the region, which are also a reflection of climate change, NGOs, in particular, deliver relief assistance, in other words, humanitarian aid. For example, in Malaysia, the ABIM movement provides humanitarian aid domestically and internationally. On the other hand, poverty has escalated due to climate change and the epidemic in the region. For the first time since the Asian Asian Financial crisis, Malaysia experienced a slump in GDP rate with the epidemic (Cheng, 2021). The Center for Strategic and International Studies in Indonesia carried out evaluation research reckoning the economic fragility of the poor and middle class during the epidemic. According to this investigation, the number of destitute people in Indonesia has increased by approximately 2.8 million in September 2020 data.
Setbacks related to food security and agricultural policies perpetuate to be encountered in Indonesia. In this context, challenges in agriculture were discussed at the 34th NU Conference organized by Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), one of the significant conferences this year. The reasons for agricultural problems in Indonesia are the unfair distribution of agricultural lands, the disagreement of the people with the institutions and companies affiliated with NU in the fields of agriculture and forestry, and the liberalization policy implemented by the state (NU Online, 2021).
After what happened in Indonesia after 1998, religious communities and thinkers turned to a “dialogue”-centered understanding (Ismail, 2017, p.3). The Indonesian Institute of Islamic Dawah held a workshop on “religious moderation” titled the Workshop on National Insights and Religious Control. Syamsuri Anang, who attended the Workshop, pointed out that the mediating role of religious leaders is important (LDII, 2021). Nahdlatul Ulama participates in joint projects with Islamic movements that support “moderate Islam”. As a point in case, they cooperated with the Indonesian Islamic Invitation Institute Nahdlatul Ulama to reduce radicalization in 2016 (Purnama and Sulistiyono, 2020, p. 81).
Studies and reports on “cultural discrimination” by Indonesian and Malaysian NGOs and Islamic movements are really limited. SETARA, an Indonesia-based organization, published a report on freedom of religion. In this report, it is mentioned that non-state actors committed four human rights violations: not tolerating beliefs, blasphemy, refusing to establish places of worship, and banning worship activities (Sigit & Hasan, 2020, p. 31).
While NGOs and Islamic movements in Indonesia and Malaysia have an almost limited focus on international migration studies and workers bear human rights violations due to their irregular migrant status in Southeast Asia (IOM, 2020, p. 73). In addition, there is migration in the region due to human rights violations. Malaysia hosted over 120,000 Rohingya in 2018 (Cited by IOM, 2020, p. 73). Though Malaysia has taken action on human rights violations, especially in Myanmar in 2021, no study or research has been found on the Rohingyas in Malaysia.
Conclusion
After Indonesia and Malaysia gained their independence, the connection between the state and religion took different forms. In other words, Indonesia adopted the “Pancasila” ideology and made “being faithful” a principle. Malaysia, on the contrary, has shaped social structures by making “Islam” an ideology. As a result, the perspective of Malay identity that cannot be considered independent of Islam has been created. While trying to create an understanding of a state where every individual is equal with the idea of “Pancasila” in Indonesia, a hierarchical structure was built among citizens in Malaysia. These identity construction methods are not sufficient to straighten out the problems of Indonesia and Malaysia.
Since the cultural context and social structure of the society cannot be considered independently of the problems experienced, the NGOs and Islamic movements of both countries focus on the concept of “dialogue”, but ignore the main obstacles of multicultural societies. Furthermore, Islamic movements and NGOs cannot discuss “identity issues”. Therefore, a dialogue process cannot take place. What lies at the bottom of these social problems is the economic inequalities that have existed for a long time and the increasing impoverishment with the Covid-19 epidemic. After the Asian Financial Crisis, Indonesia and Malaysia bear economic contraction with the epidemic. The inability of the region to solve the problems related to agricultural policies is a grave concern. Although humanitarian aid has been delivered in places affected by natural disasters, there has been no study on state policies on this issue. Moreover, poverty and the rise of environmental problems are among the drawbacks that need to be relieved in Southeast Asia. Failure to untangle these unfavorables may also lead to new identity conflicts.
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