Islamic resurgence and the Malay-Muslim community in Singapore : perspective from the Berita Harian in the 80s

Abstract

The Islamic Resurgence that was observed towards the end of the twentieth century was a global phenomenon that was noticeable in the Muslim and non-Muslim world. Apart from the theological upheaval, the political turmoil precipitated by the 1979 Iranian Revolution had propelled some Muslims to look eagerly to establish an Islamic Republic in their own countries. However, such stirrings in Singapore seemed to be lacking in the Malay-Muslim community. This suggests that the state government was able to affect some form of control over the various religions, including Islam, in Singapore. Apart from the outright policy of secularism and erecting a multiracial policy to manage religion, another key instrument for socializing the community to curb any political form of Islamic extremism is through the local Malay newspaper, <i>Berita Harian</i>.<br><br>In this study, newspaper articles in the <i>Berita Harian</i> pertaining to Islam and the community from the year 1979-1989 is traced and analysed to give an interpretation on how political fallouts from the global Islamic movement was managed in the community. This analysis yields two interlacing ways on how <i>Berita Harian</i> socialized the Malay-Muslim community: 1) Portraying nuance stand on overseas news pertaining to Islam that has political ideology; 2) Overtly publishing news on the government and the Muslims authorities’ initiatives in tightening administrative control.<br><br> In portraying overseas news pertaining to external Islamic movement, in particular news on political ideology behind the movement such as the exportation of the revolution from Iran, the write-ups in <i>Berita Harian</i> shows how the state government wishes to impede such exposure from the community. These news were often overshadowed by the number of articles published that were targeting the Malay- Muslim community to conform to the government’s social objective of instilling moral values to ensure tolerance and harmony in the multiracial and multi-religious society. Apart from the government policy implemented for managing religions, this work shows how the management was done through media instrument in the 1980s. This study will provide the link connecting up to the 1990s why new policies and institutions needed to be introduced as the millennium came to an end.