Introduction

Islam Hadhari was a key campaign issue during the 2004 general elections in Malaysia. Its message of a “progressive” Islam was popular with the electorate, resulting in a ringing endorsement of Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi at the polls on 21 March. The idea of a “progressive” Islam, however, is not new and has been a recurring feature of the Malaysian political landscape since the early 1970s. “Progressive” Islam is part of a long history of contested interpretations of Islam between the United Malays’ National Organisation (UMNO), Pan-Malaysia Islamic Party (PAS) and Malaysian Muslim Youth Organisation (ABIM) for their respective interests. The ways in which “progressive” Islam is interpreted and contested can be analytically captured as the struggle for legitimacy within the modern nation-state.

The modern nation-state is a relatively recent project in Southeast Asia that frames the multiple religious, ethnic and linguistic fissures in the region. The way in which “progressive” interpretations of Islam are emphasised and de-emphasised by different groups at different times reflects the on-going dispute over the character of the nation-state and its accoutring principles of democracy, notions of citizenship, and constitution. The nation-state, in turn, has also issued challenges to Islamic interests and powers in the region. According to Hefner and Horvatich,

Increased religiosity and demands for an Islamic state are thus, on the one hand, a result of the rejection of the modern nation-state and on the other, invariably shaped by its existing institutes and practices.