About Arabisation of the Malays
So much has been said recently on the alleged trend of Arabisation among the Malays. This fear of Malays becoming Arabized has become so chronic (ironically even among Arabs here who want Malays to still respect them as Sayyids) that there are calls for Malays to become less “Arab” . What these people are actually calling for is quite superficial.
1. Don’t dress like Arabs. (Most of my Arab friends actually prefer wearing Tshirts and track pants).
2. Avoid using Arabic words. (Eid Mubarak must not be replaced by Selamat Hari Raya. Funny because my Morroccan friend said Hari Raya is preferable because he can celebrate for a month when Arabs do it for only a day).
3. Keep away from Arab versions of Islam, aka strict, rigid and literalist sort. (Try asking an Arab friend out with a Malay dude to tag along. You will realize the Arab one won’t look for Halal signs and check ingredients for E227).
So what is actually the issue here? At the heart of this Arabisation scare is actually two things. First, it works to the advantage of close-minded secularized folks who cannot accept that Muslims are becoming more cosmopolitan in their adoption of other cultures, blending Arab, Western, Indian and Malay motifs in the things they wear, eat and in their speeches. They just want Malays to be Western. Full stop. They don’t fancy Malay culture of respect for the elderly and are in utter disdain of age-old Malay customs which the Arabs who brought Islam here didn’t actually change.
More crucially, these people actually look down at the Malays. They feel that Malays are easily swayed by the many influences that bring them away from their pure and authentic culture, which in reality, is a product of interactions with so many civilizations. For them, Malays cannot think for themselves. They will do the thinking and the way forward is to remove Arabic traces in Malay thought, language and traditions, and finally Islam.
So the next time you read stuff about Malays getting more Arabized and meet people who advocate such shallow thinking, sit back and have a good laugh. These people know very little about what they are talking about. It makes it worse when their names are Ahmad, Ismail and Faridah. And yet, before you head off (which you should) to leave them to their devices, spare a thought to say the Arabic word, Salam. Because that’s what the Arabic-language Quran teaches us when dealing with the ignorant.
Peace.
Source: Khairudin Aljunied
