The Identity Crisis of Srilankan Malay Muslims

by Dr Sulaiman Rifai

(August 08, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) I am writing this article in response to brother Saybhan Samat’s thought provoking piece of writing about the future of Malay Muslim community in Srilanka: I read his article in the Srilanka Guardian and my eyes are full in tears: Brother Samat’s writing opened my eyes and provoked my thought to write something about pathetic conditions of our fellow Malay Muslims in Srilanka. We all should feel shame of this social disintegration of our fellow Muslim brothers in front of our eyes in our own country: We often speak about universal brotherhood of Islam and we have forgotten to help and integrate our own Malay Muslim brothers into the fabric of our Muslim community in Srilanka: May Allah reward brother Sarmat of Rajagiriya for bringing this matter to our attention: I will share my thought with brother Sarmat on this subject little bit differently.

The primary aim of this short essay is to examine and evaluate the danger of the assimilation of Malay community into Sinhalese culture in Srilanka. It is argued that the Malay community has been greatly influenced and assimilated into Singhalese culture and way of life and the Malay communal identity has been eroded by sheer cultural influence of Sinhalese people in Srilanka: I will attempt to evaluate such claims and its implication impartially in this short essay. Moreover, I will discuss the root of causes of this cultural assimilation and extinction I will examine how and why this small community so quickly assimilates into prevailing socio-religious conditions of the majority community and what main factors contribute to this extinction. While Srilanka (Moors) Muslim community maintains its religious and cultural identity intuitively why do the Malay Muslim community in Srilanka looses its distinctive communal and religious identity so quickly and so easily. How do we save this identical Muslim community from its cultural and religious disintegration and extinction. I will deal with these issues in this short essay.

When I was in the Hajj last year I was very much surprised to see a large numbers of Malay people performing hajj rituals with high sprit and inspiration: It is reported that Malays are one of largest Muslim ethnic groups that perform Hajj every year. I saw them by my own naked eyes that they were performing hajj with dedication and devotion with high religiosity and spirituality: I really admired their Islamic feelings and Islamic attachment: I genuinely admired their determination to complete their hajj with full spiritual perfection. Generally speaking Malay Muslims are highly educated people in Islamic sciences and extremely motivated in practicing Islamic teachings and doctrines: Western countries receive a large number of students from Indonesia and Malaysia and they are very much pious and religious people: Islamic Identity, way of life and culture are deeply rooted in their hearts and minds: we see waves of Islamic revivalism and renaissance from these countries: I wonder how could descendants of these Malay people so quickly loose their Islamic cultural identity in Srilanka: How could such communal disintegration and assimilation could happen to this small identical community in Srilanka so easily?

Malay Muslims are ethically identical small community in Srilanka : Historically speaking, they came to Srilanka during the Dutch and British colonial periods to provide security service to Dutch and British empires: Since they came to Srilanka upto now Malay community has been providing good service in public sectors in Srilanka: They have made a great contribution to Srilanka: Many of them still work in Srilankan Army, Navy, Police, Fire brigade, teaching and other professions. We have seen some great personalities from this community who made wonderful contributions to the entire Muslim community in Srilanka: we still remember contributions of T.P Jaya and Judge Akbar to the development of Muslim community in Srilanka: These two Malay leaders rendered a great service to the development of Islamic Identity, culture and education in Srilanka: These two leaders are icons of Malay community in Srilanka: They tirelessly worked to uplift communal interest of Malay community and to promote and protect its cultural and religious identity in Srilanka: However, it is sad to see that Malay community failed to continue to protect its cultural and religious identity as desired by their community leaders. Why is this social disintegration so quickly happening to this tiny Muslim community in Srilanka:

Malay people live mostly in Colombo and in some villages in the down south. The communal structure of Malay community in Srilnaka is very much interacted with Sinhalese community: They have made very close communal relationship with Sinhalese people: This may be due to their professional life style and working environment: Most of Malay people made Sinhala language as their home language: Even their children go to Sinhala medium schools .This language influence makes cultural influence more penetrative in day to day life: Srilankan Moor Muslims organise their day to day social and cultural life around their mosques: The mosque is the centre of all aspects of social-cultural and religious life of Srilankan Muslims community in Srilanka: The entire life style of Srilankan Muslim community evolves around the mosques: This help them to preserve their Islamic Identity and tradition: I wonder if Malay community have many mosques in Colombo for their own community: One could argue that why should they have to have their own and why not they go to any mosque? It is true that they could go to any mosque and but they need their own mosque to organise their communal affairs between themselves that will help them preserve their cultural and religious identity. Indeed, they have done this in Malay colony in down south in Hambanthoda: Malay community have their own mosque in this village and indeed, they are greatly successful in preserving their cultural & religious identity: in the say way, they could do it in Colombo city with large Malay community living in the city: It could be one positive and pragmatic way to protect this community from social disintegration and assimilation. Moreover, Many Malay Muslim girls and boys marry Sinhalese boys and girls: This is one of another reasons for this quick social assimilation: Comparatively intermarriages between Malay Muslims and Sinhalese are more apparent than any other community in Srilanka. This change the social fabric of Malay community in Srilanka: I could say this this intermarriage has greatly damaged identical feature of Malay Muslims community in Srilanka: This has been happening for many years now and it seems that the entire new Malay generation will be completely disintegrated unless some positive steps are taken to curtail and arrest this intermarriage trend: one way to solve this social problem may be that we should make more social interaction between Malay and Moor community in Srilanka: As Muslims Umma , we have to get rid of socio-cultural barriers between Srilankan moor & Malay communities in Srilanaka: I think that failure of moor community too consider Malay community as an integral part of larger Muslim community in Srilanka is one of main reasons for this social disintegration of our Malay brothers and sisters: Moor and Malay Muslims have been living in separate compartments in Srilanka although both communities share same faith and same religion: This is indeed, the dark side of our social reality in Srilanka:

One more reason for this social assimilation of Malay community is that they adopted to the western way of life so quickly unlike their counterpart of Moor Muslims community: This has paved the way for total social assimilation of this small community in Srilanka:

One more important and positive step to protect Malay community from a total social designation would be to introduce Islamic ethos into Malay community and to start with process of communal Islamisation: This should start with small children: Malay children have to be exposed to Islamic education from childhood: They should have their own Islamic nurseries and primary and secondary schools with some qualified Islamic teachers: More importantly, Malay community has to create religious leadership in their community so that they could guide their community: They need leaders like Jaya and Akbar once again to revitalise their religious and cultural identity: They should start their own Islamic organisation and institutes to guide their next generation in Srilankan: They should also develop close communal relationship between Malay communities in Malaysia and Indonesia so that Malay community in Srilanka could seek advice and guidance from religious leadership in these countries:

Srilankan Moor community in Srilanka has produced a generations of highly qualifies Islamic scholars, Ulama. And Moulavis: Srilanka Moor community send their children to international Islamic universities and Institute to learn Islam and they have produced many Hafiz in Srilanka: This Islamic reformation and learning process has very rarely happened among Malay community in Srilanka: No more T.P Jayas and Akbars in that community: Their death left a leadership vacuum in that community: There is no one in that community to guide and advice their people: This leadership should come from their own community to educate them and guide them.

It can be said that many religious and social & cultural organisations and groups have been working among Srilankan Muslim community in Srilanka and they have failed to take Malay community on board with them and now it is high time to reconsider our position and work with Malay community before it is too late: These are some of positive steps to protect Malay community from a total social assimilations. It is our moral & religious responsibility and duty to protect this identical tiny community form social decline and we all will be accountable in the day of judgement if we fail to do so.
- Sri Lanka Guardian