A DOCTRINAL ASPECT OF ORIENTALISM AND ITS INFLUENCES ON MALAY CULTURE

Mohd Farhan Abd Rahman; Nurul Hidayah Aziz; Amin Che Ahmat; Muhammad Yusri Yusof@Salleh; Rahimin Affandi Abdul Rahim

Mohd Farhan Abd Rahman Academy of Contemporary Islamic Studies (ACIS) Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Perak 35400 Tapah Road, Perak, Malaysia
Nurul Hidayah Aziz Academy of Contemporary Islamic Studies (ACIS) Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Perak 35400 Tapah Road, Perak, Malaysia
Amin Che Ahmat Academy of Contemporary Islamic Studies (ACIS) Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Perak 35400 Tapah Road, Perak, Malaysia
Muhammad Yusri Yusof@Salleh Academy of Contemporary Islamic Studies (ACIS) Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Perak 35400 Tapah Road, Perak, Malaysia
Rahimin Affandi Abdul Rahim Department of Fiqh and Usul Academy of Islamic Studies University of Malaya (UM) 50603 Lembah Pantai, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Abstract

History has stated on how British imperialized Malays by executing intervention policy in religion. The understandings of orientalist scholars are based on fundamental ideology of classical orientalist researches whom against Islam. This article focuses on analysis upon orientalists thought regarding Islamic influences unto Malay cultural life. The author explains approaches that have been applied by orientalists in evaluating Malays in Malaya, also secularism paradigm implementation on Malays’ thought as an explanation of how orientalist’s thought were designed. The author applies historical method, comparative and contents analysis to study those thoughts. The author also exercises natural approaches in order to create a research without any prejudices. The result of the study shows Islam is very influential in modeling Malays’ socio-cultural. Orientalist groups believe Malays has been influenced by cultural and living of Hinduism in every single lifestyle which includes local genius in building a civilization. This reason is the weakness of orientalist in understanding Malays due to conceptual background upon Euro-centrism. Thoughts were assumed upon European as a great and civilized nation compared to others and proudly present as an ambassador of civilization; who are the savior to the nation that supposed to be civilized.

Keywords: orientalist; Islam; Malaya; malays; culture