Why many ISIS supporter in Malaysia 
May 2 2015, 05:12 PM, updated 11y ago
QUOTE
Rise of religious exclusivism fuels Isis appeal among Malaysians, says academic
The appeal that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or Isis, has on some Malaysians probably germinated within the country, and one reason is the increased politicisation of Islam, said an academic.
Writing in Singapore's The Straits Times, Joseph Chinyong Liow, a senior fellow at the Washington-based think tank Brookings Institution's Centre of East Asia Policy Studies, said Islam casts a "pale shadow" over Malaysia because its proponents and defenders were articulating a "particularly exclusive brand of Islam that is divorced" from the religion's historically enlightened traditions, and which has no intention to encourage pluralism or compromise.
This, he said, resulted in the marginalisation of non-Muslims, while Islamist parties try to "out-Islam" one another.
In singling out Umno, Liow said the party had portrayed that Malay supremacy is under siege from various culture and religious quarters and as a result, it has to be staunchly defended.
At the same time, he said Umno's supporters were also Muslim groups who wielded religious credentials as a source of legitimacy.
"As Umno struggles to cling to power by focusing on its religious credentials above all else, religion has become heavily politicised and is viewed as a zero-sum game," he said in his article which was also published on Brooking's website on April 27.
Liow, who is also the inaugural holder of the Lee Kuan Yew Chair in South-east Asia Studies, pointed out that the politicisation of Islam is taking place against a backdrop of an "exceedingly strong state which has taken it upon itself to police Islam and curtail any expression of faith that departs from the mainstream Shafi'i tradition".
"Yes, the ummah may be universal and Islamic confessional traditions may be diverse but, in Malaysia, there is very little room for compromise beyond the 'Islam' sanctioned by the state.
"The Shi'ite tradition is legally proscribed, and several smaller Islamic sects are deemed deviant and, hence, banned. All this happens despite the existence of constitutional provisions for freedom of worship," he wrote.
He said rather than extol the virtues of Islam, many Muslim political leaders have opted to use religion to highlight differences, reinforce extreme interpretations of Muslims denizen rights and condemn "others" non-Muslims as a threat to the rights.
"In extreme cases, they have even flippantly referred to fellow Malaysians who are adherents of other religious faiths as "enemies of Islam".
"Even state-sanctioned Friday sermons have occasionally taken to referring to non-Muslim Malaysians as 'enemies of Islam'," he noted.
While he acknowledged that not all Muslim leaders engage in narrow religious-political discourse, Liow said their refusal to publicly speak out had created an impression they supported the exclusion of non-Muslims.
He cited the 2013 Pew Global Attitudes Survey, which noted that 27% of Muslims in Malaysia felt that attacks on civilians are sometimes or often justified.
In the same survey, 12% felt violence is "rarely justified" in defence of Islam. Liow noted that this means, 39% of Malaysian Muslims surveyed believed that violence can be justified against the enemies of Islam.
He also cited another 2013 poll by Pew Research Centre entitled "The world's Muslims: religion, politics and society", which found that only 8% of Malaysians expressed concern about Muslim extremism while 31% were concerned about Christian extremism.
"My point is this - is it any surprise, given the four observations enumerated above, that the climate of religio-political discourse in Malaysia today would lend itself to the pull of extremist ideas of a group such as Isis?" he asked.
Liow said Malaysia has a very capable internal security measures, but they are not enough to deal with the threat currently facing the country.
The academic said without changing the way Malaysian society viewed and articulated Islam to allow for critical engagement of extremist ideas, the utility of security measures is limited at best.
"While critical engagement will not eradicate the problem, I believe it will go some distance in reducing it.
"But in order to set a new tone for public discourse on Islam, pluralism and critical engagement of extremist ideas, it will require political will and leadership at the very top," he added.
To date, more than 90 people have been detained by Malaysian police for alleged ties to Isis.
Last week, the police said it foiled an attempt to attack government buildings in the Klang Valley following the arrest of 12 people linked to Isis. – April 30, 2015.
The appeal that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or Isis, has on some Malaysians probably germinated within the country, and one reason is the increased politicisation of Islam, said an academic.
Writing in Singapore's The Straits Times, Joseph Chinyong Liow, a senior fellow at the Washington-based think tank Brookings Institution's Centre of East Asia Policy Studies, said Islam casts a "pale shadow" over Malaysia because its proponents and defenders were articulating a "particularly exclusive brand of Islam that is divorced" from the religion's historically enlightened traditions, and which has no intention to encourage pluralism or compromise.
This, he said, resulted in the marginalisation of non-Muslims, while Islamist parties try to "out-Islam" one another.
In singling out Umno, Liow said the party had portrayed that Malay supremacy is under siege from various culture and religious quarters and as a result, it has to be staunchly defended.
At the same time, he said Umno's supporters were also Muslim groups who wielded religious credentials as a source of legitimacy.
"As Umno struggles to cling to power by focusing on its religious credentials above all else, religion has become heavily politicised and is viewed as a zero-sum game," he said in his article which was also published on Brooking's website on April 27.
Liow, who is also the inaugural holder of the Lee Kuan Yew Chair in South-east Asia Studies, pointed out that the politicisation of Islam is taking place against a backdrop of an "exceedingly strong state which has taken it upon itself to police Islam and curtail any expression of faith that departs from the mainstream Shafi'i tradition".
"Yes, the ummah may be universal and Islamic confessional traditions may be diverse but, in Malaysia, there is very little room for compromise beyond the 'Islam' sanctioned by the state.
"The Shi'ite tradition is legally proscribed, and several smaller Islamic sects are deemed deviant and, hence, banned. All this happens despite the existence of constitutional provisions for freedom of worship," he wrote.
He said rather than extol the virtues of Islam, many Muslim political leaders have opted to use religion to highlight differences, reinforce extreme interpretations of Muslims denizen rights and condemn "others" non-Muslims as a threat to the rights.
"In extreme cases, they have even flippantly referred to fellow Malaysians who are adherents of other religious faiths as "enemies of Islam".
"Even state-sanctioned Friday sermons have occasionally taken to referring to non-Muslim Malaysians as 'enemies of Islam'," he noted.
While he acknowledged that not all Muslim leaders engage in narrow religious-political discourse, Liow said their refusal to publicly speak out had created an impression they supported the exclusion of non-Muslims.
He cited the 2013 Pew Global Attitudes Survey, which noted that 27% of Muslims in Malaysia felt that attacks on civilians are sometimes or often justified.
In the same survey, 12% felt violence is "rarely justified" in defence of Islam. Liow noted that this means, 39% of Malaysian Muslims surveyed believed that violence can be justified against the enemies of Islam.
He also cited another 2013 poll by Pew Research Centre entitled "The world's Muslims: religion, politics and society", which found that only 8% of Malaysians expressed concern about Muslim extremism while 31% were concerned about Christian extremism.
"My point is this - is it any surprise, given the four observations enumerated above, that the climate of religio-political discourse in Malaysia today would lend itself to the pull of extremist ideas of a group such as Isis?" he asked.
Liow said Malaysia has a very capable internal security measures, but they are not enough to deal with the threat currently facing the country.
The academic said without changing the way Malaysian society viewed and articulated Islam to allow for critical engagement of extremist ideas, the utility of security measures is limited at best.
"While critical engagement will not eradicate the problem, I believe it will go some distance in reducing it.
"But in order to set a new tone for public discourse on Islam, pluralism and critical engagement of extremist ideas, it will require political will and leadership at the very top," he added.
To date, more than 90 people have been detained by Malaysian police for alleged ties to Isis.
Last week, the police said it foiled an attempt to attack government buildings in the Klang Valley following the arrest of 12 people linked to Isis. – April 30, 2015.
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