Islam, national identity, constitutionalism, and the making of the Malaysian nation

Abstract

Relations between Islam, the state, law, politics and society in Malaysia are complex and in recent times have become increasingly contentious. They are currently a source of fundamental and growing concern in multi-religious Malaysia. The post-colonial experience of Malaysia as a multi-ethnic and religiously plural society highlights a fundamental challenge: how to ensure the institutional separation of the Shari'a and the state while at the same time recognizing the powerful way that Islam shapes the personal identities and socio-political understanding of so many Muslims, including their views of the connection between Islam, politics and law. This paper reflects on the critical political and socio-legal developments in Peninsular Malaysia within the last 50 years that have affected the status and role of Islam and shari'a in the making or crafting of the independent, multi-religious Malaysian nation. It is also a discussion of the trajectory of the politics of "Islam and the secular state" and its repercussion on citizenship, national identity, and the project of "Bangsa Malaysia" post Vision 2020.