Islam and its Universal Project: Malayness and Cosmopolitanism Reconsidered
Gerhard Hoffstaedter, Anthropology & Sociology, School of Social Sciences, La Trobe University
In this paper I trace the constructions of the Malay world and the role of Islam in it and look at its present guise. The early spread of Islam in the region entailed the delimited universalism inherent in Islam and the search for an ummah or watan. This translocal Malay identity has had its resurrections; however, it remains buried by fractured national boundaries under which Islam is subjugated to a role of national ethos, religion and interests. The resurgent cosmopolitan projects are elitist and geographical rather than cosmopolitan in a Kantian way. Malayness, and its intrinsic Islamness, itself have been formally tied to the nation state in Malaysia and thus offer little room to develop cosmopolitan credentials. I look at alternative narratives of the Malay world, in particular Joel Kahn's recent work, who aims to uncover a space for a cosmopolitan Malay hybrid identity. Indeed, the arts in Malaysia have opened spaces across South East Asia to communicate, as have Muslim missionary groups; however, the state keeps its firm grip on Islam as its last vestige on Malay identity
