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Abstract
While numerous studies on Islamic political movements are concerned with their engagement in party coalitions and the state, surprisingly few scholars have investigated the cultural life of Islamist groups. This article explores how the Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS) is currently undergoing dramatic cultural changes and has developed an unprecedented flexibility in the field of modern popular culture. It elucidates how PAS has shifted from a group that long held the image of conservative zealots who try to ban any form of art and entertainment towards being a pioneer of pop-cultural creativity, as popular music, celebrity persons, and even motorbikes have been passionately integrated into its ‘Islamic struggle’. PAS' cultural transformation has not only been influenced by political competition and wider social tendencies, but also by the emergence of a new generation of cultural reformists within the party. Their call for change is driven by tactical considerations and reconsiders theological positions that stipulate that modern music is strictly forbidden in Islam. Electric guitars have thereby been re-conceptualised from ‘instruments of the devil’ to tools for missionary work (dakwah). The underlying process of normative change, however, continues to be highly controversial in the community of Malaysia's Islamist opposition.
Notes
* Research for this article was generously supported by the Cluster of Excellence ‘Normative Orders’, Goethe-University Frankfurt. I am grateful to the Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS), particularly Haji Mohamad Sabu, Khairul Faizi Ahmad Kamil, Ahmad Sabki Yusof, Raja Ahmad Iskandar, Nasrudin Hassan, Kamaruzaman Mohamad, Fadli Ghani, Haris Zalkapli and Azizie Ibrahim for their exceptional openness and support during the last five years. I am also highly indebted to Susanne Schröter, Farish A. Noor, Joseph C. Liow, Donald K. Emmerson, and Janine Murphy for their critical advice and support. Finally, I would like to thank the two anonymous peer reviewers of this manuscript for their helpful comments.
1Several authors have, for example, discussed whether inclusion in party political or governmental structures would lead to a strategic and/or ideological abandonment of previously held Islamist positions. For an insightful discussion of this ‘inclusion-moderation-hypothesis’ in the context of Malaysia, see Chernov Hwang (Citation2010).
2Unlike the present author, the political philosophers referred to here are not merely concerned with ‘empirical normative orders’ (von Benda-Beckmann Citation2002: 46), but pursue a normative project towards a ‘critical theory of transnational justice’ They take a ‘double perspective’ in defining the desirable conditions of an ideal theory and describing social reality.
3Compare Hoesterey (Citation2012) on Indonesia and van Nieuwkerk (Citation2013) on Egypt.
4Malays represent between 50% and 55% of the population, depending on various, partly politicised statistics. The Malaysian Constitution (Article 160) stipulates that Malays are necessarily Muslims. According to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (Citation2011), 24.6% of the population are ethnic Chinese, comprising various religions, and ethnic Indians form the third largest group at 7.3%.
5For a unique account that avoids oversimplifying the complexity of PAS's history, see Farish A. Noor's (Citation2004) monograph (2 vols), and its updated short version (Farish Citation2014).
6In the PAS community, only those holding a degree in Islamic studies from an institute of higher learning belong to the category of ulama, as defined by the PAS constitution (Clause 43 [Citation2]).
7See for example New York Times (12 October Citation2010), BBC (20 October Citation2009), Der Spiegel (19 August Citation2008).
8Personal communication, Muhaimin Sulam (chair of PAS Bureau for Arts and Culture) and Mohamed Hanipa Maidin (PAS central committee member and Member of Parliament for Sepang), Shah Alam, 23 November Citation2013.
9Nasrudin Hassan (PAS Youth chief 2009–2013) holds Islamic Studies degrees from Syria, Egypt and Malaysia. His nickname ‘at-Tantawi’ refers to al-Azhar's Tanta campus, where he was a student leader in the mid 1990s (Müller Citation2014: 104). He describes his ‘teaching background’ as ‘both salafi and inspired by later scholars’ (Nasrudin Citation2011; my translation).
10Interview with Khairul Faizi Ahmad Kamil, 24 January 2010.
11Founded in 1987, Harakah is the official newspaper of PAS. Harakah Daily is its online version.
12Heart Attack has performed with the more well known pro-PAS rock musician, Sham Kamikaze at previous PAS events.
13The band's official name is ‘Freedom That's Gone’, but many of its fans refer to it as ‘Fuck the Government’. The latter name appears frequently online. Some FTG fans claim that record labels and radio stations would never allow the ‘real’ meaning.
14PAS has a few female ulama. Most prominently, Ustazah Wahibah Tahir is a member of the party's authoritative Syura Council (Majlis Syura Ulama).
15A rather bizarre case is that of the Malaysian-Chinese former ‘Playboy Bunny’ Felixia Yeap. Initially known for her provocative photos in (and partly without) lingerie, in 2013 she began to veil her hair and body in the style of religious but stylish Muslim women, although she emphasised that she was ‘not yet’ a Muslim. Her New Year wishes for 2014 on her Facebook profile (with her cover picture veiled, but a ‘breast firming’ advertisement in the background) read: ‘May my 2014 be a hijab-full year with lots of laughter and love’ (Yeap, Facebook Citation2013).
16Held in Shah Alam, 21–22 May 2010.
17The album produced by Sony Music consists of prayers and religious songs.
18PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu recently described Aishah as a ‘close friend’ and lauded her tireless support for PAS (personal communication with Mohamad Sabu, Frankfurt, 24 March 2014).
19He was chief minister of Kelantan (1990–2013),
20Kelantan state was considered to have exceeded its jurisdiction in relation to Malaysia's federal constitution (Kamali Citation1998).
21Nik Aziz enjoys an almost saint-like reputation as an incorruptible ‘servant of God’. He is widely praised for his ‘simple lifestyle’ (Hooker Citation2003: 30), for example he declined to stay at the official government residence when chief minister of Kelantan (until 2013) but chose to live in his own semi-wooden house.
22Interview with Nik Aziz, Kota Bharu, 22 February 2010, my translation.
23The term Tok Guru refers to highly respected ulama.
24Personal communication with Muhaimin Sulam and Mohamed Hanipa Maidin, Shah Alam, 23 November 2013.
25On the concept of usrah meetings and their role in PAS's culture, see Farish (Citation2004: 358); Müller (Citation2014: 109).
26Muhaimin Sulam holds a PhD in political science from the University of Wales, UK. He is a poet and has also written about his experiences in the UK (Muhaimin Citation2013).
27Mujahid Yusof Rawa (Citation2010) called for political reforms in PAS in his book and was sharply criticised by the more conservative members of his party.
28This expression is borrowed from Habermas (Citation2008: 258), who uses it in a different, specific theoretical context.
29Interview with Khairul Faizi Ahmad Kamil, Kuala Lumpur, 24 January 2010.
30Conversation with Mohamed Hanipa Maidin, Shah Alam, 23 November 2013.
31The term ‘Ole(y)’ (or ’Olé’) is part of the international vocabulary of soccer, being used in Malaysia and beyond to show enthusiasm.
32See for example the works on Lebanon's Hezbollah, Tunisia's Ennahda, and Indonesia's PKS in Bayat's (Citation2013) edited volume.
33For an analysis of the ‘1Malaysia’ slogan in historical perspective, see Kessler (Citation2011); for a description of how PAS has linked UMNO's ‘1Malaysia’ campaign with ‘Israel’ and ‘the Jews’, see Müller (Citation2010: 772–3).
34Weblog ‘Lim Kit Siang for Malaysia’ Citation2013.
35 Malaysiakini, 2012. Famed rocker Amy Search finds Umno, 29 May.
36 Malaysiakini, 2012. Famed rocker Amy Search finds Umno, 29 May.
37Personal communication with a PAS member, Kuala Lumpur, 20 December 2012.
38Personal communication with another PAS member, Kuala Lumpur, 21 December 2012.
39For a fascinating account of how Southeast Asian politicians are using music ‘as a political instrument to attract voters’, but also sing themselves ‘because they consider it to be fun’ and seek to ‘promote their career’, see van Dijk (Citation2014). Van Dijk's (Citation2014: 312) historically adequate description of PAS' ‘fundamentalist’ stance on music, however, does not take into account the party's more recent pop-Islamist reorientation.
40‘Mat’ is an informal term to address Malay men. ‘Rempit’ comes from the English expression ‘ramp it’, or, according to another explanation, to the verb (me)rempit (whip/cane). Female members of the sub-culture are called Minah Rempit.
41At the PAS general assembly 2013, the pro-PAS celebrity preacher, bestselling book author and former rock musician, Ustaz Azhar Idrus, similarly joined an ARC ‘Fun Ride’ show, an activity that he had often done.
42Najib Tun Razak presented the 1Malaysia Chopper during a commercial motorbike exhibition in Kuala Lumpur in March 2012 (Utusan, 24 March Citation2012).
Additional information
Dominik M. Müller is Research Fellow at the Cluster of Excellence ‘Normative Orders’, Goethe-University Frankfurt, and was recently a German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) post-doctoral fellow at Stanford University. He obtained his PhD summa cum laude in 2012 in cultural anthropology from Frankfurt University and his dissertation received the Frobenius Society's Research Award 2012. He is author of Islam, politics and youth in Malaysia: the pop-Islamist reinvention of PAS (Routledge, 2014)