Malay culture not under threat, say youths

PETALING JAYA: What do Muslim youths think about a recent public spat over the Arabisation and westernisation of Malay culture? They believe it’s a waste of time and words, if a quick and random survey is anything to go by.

FMT interviewed a handful of young Muslims for their comment on a string of reports that began with an Asia Times interview with Sisters in Islam founding member Marina Mahathir.

“There’s this idea that the more like Arabs you are, the better Muslim you are,” Marina said. “That’s the very real obliteration of our cultural heritage. Arab culture is spreading, and I would lay the blame completely on Saudi Arabia.”

In response, Fathul Bari Mat Jahaya, an advisory officer in the Prime Minister’s Department, questioned Marina for neglecting to criticise westernised Malaysians.

Marina reacted with this tweet: “Actually, I wrongly criticised the Arab culture. Aren’t the Saudis following American culture in bombing the people of another nation relentlessly? #YemenFamine.”

The youths FMT interviewed seem to believe that neither Arabisation nor westernisation should necessarily be marked off as a bad thing and that Malay culture is not threatened by either.

Sakinah Abdul Malik, a fresh graduate of International Islamic University, pointed out that the Malay language itself has always been heavily influenced by Arabic.

Commenting on the popularity of Arab-style clothing among Malays, she said women preferred the abaya to the baju kurung because it was the more convenient option.

“You can’t run around in a baju kurung and you can’t press the clutch pedal like a man in pants can,” she said. “As working women, we need something convenient and abayas are extremely convenient.

“Times are hard and we can’t be bothered about culture or being cultured. We’ll take what’s easy, use shorter words like ‘iftar’ instead of a four-syllable word like ‘buka puasa’. We’ll eat out instead of cooking at home and we will wear a one-piece.”

Sakinah also spoke about Malay hospitality, saying Malays who seemed to be becoming more Arab-like could be demonstrating this attribute.

“If you’re going to bring Arabs into this country, we would have to cater to them in terms of food, clothing and other things. And then the inevitable happens. We blend into an outside culture because we bring them in.

“That’s what we are as a Malay people: we are accommodating and tolerant. We are not hard-headed like the Arabs are and will not say, ‘Either wear my baju kurung or get out of my country.’

Syazna Hashim, who is in her mid-20s, said adopting the good in any culture was part and parcel of being a good Muslim.

“Being a good Muslim means taking what is good and leaving out what is bad,” she said. “For example, it is good for us Muslims to adopt the western attribute of being proactive.

“There’s only a problem in following any practice that promotes bad values, such as the western culture of extreme free mixing and the Arab culture of being aggressive and too direct.

“But it’s also in the Arab culture to have a sense of togetherness and sharing. How is that bad? Islam teaches us to always be looking out of for each other. So if this makes me a better Muslim, then what is the problem?”

She said she saw no reason to worry about the erosion of Malay culture, but she advised those who were concerned to work hard to promote it at home, at work, at school and in the media.

Mohd Farid Abdul Ghafar, 30, said he could not understand the “big deal” over the adoption of a multitude of cultures or the fear of losing one’s cultural heritage.

“I listen to the blues, which is traditional American music with African roots, I wear a t-shirt and jeans and watch Hollywood movies, I read the Quran and pray in Arabic, and yet I still ride my kapcai to work and speak to my parents in Malay,” he said.

“I don’t think I’m any less of a Malay just because I indulge in and even adopt some foreign cultural habits. So, I don’t get what the big deal is.”

Twenty four-year-old Nurul Iman Ezrin Ahmad also said there was nothing wrong with adopting good elements from either Arab or western culture.

She said learning about and adopting the good from different cultures would make one a better human being.

“God gave us brains,” she said. “I’m sure He wants us to think outside of the box, to explore the world around us and to gain knowledge.

“There is nothing wrong with learning from other cultures. Just because something comes from the west, it doesn’t mean it’s bad. And just because it comes from the East, it doesn’t mean it’s good either.

“What is important for Muslims is that we hold fast to our beliefs.” -FMT