INCULCATING ISLAMIC KNOWLEDGE TRADITION AMONG THE MALAYS: MALAYSIAN EXPERIENCE

Mashitah Sulaiman¹*, Mohd Nazir Ahmad², Marina Munira Abdul Mutalib³, Roslizawati Mohd Ramly^4
1(Dr.) Center for Core Studies & Faculty of Leadership and Management, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Bandar Baru Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, MALAYSIA, mashitah@usim.edu.my/ +60 13-3911694
²(Mr.) Faculty of Information Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40150 Shah Alam, Selangor, MALAYSIA, mnazir794@salam.uitm.edu.my/ +60 13-3614665
³(Mrs.) Faculty of Leadership and Management, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Bandar Baru Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, MALAYSIA, marina.m@usim.edu.my/ +60 17-6461544
⁴(Mrs.) Faculty of Leadership and Management, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Bandar Baru Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, MALAYSIA, roslizawati@usim.edu.my/ +60 19-3379857
*Corresponding author

Abstract
Islamic education in Malaysia is continually progressing as informal institution in its initial period of Islamization. Islamic knowledge tradition has been developed gradually from traditional approach to a modern approach. However, the traditional approach to Islamic knowledge tradition is still preserved until today along with the formal educational system and approaches after the Islamic Resurgence in 1970. The emergence of Islamic Resurgence in 1970s has revitalized the Malay Muslims outlooks and awareness on the objective of religion in their life, particularly instilling in the Malays to restudy Islam as the comprehensive way of life. This paper aims to analyze the development of Islamic knowledge tradition amongst the Malay Muslim in Malaysia. This paper also discusses the transformation process in the study of Islam in the urban settings of Kuala Lumpur and Selangor as centers of the Islamic Resurgence. The mixed methods approach was applied to explore and analyze the development of Islamic knowledge tradition which has been practiced in the Malay society. The official records, interviews and literatures were used to study the dynamic development of Islamic educational tradition in Malaysia, particularly in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur from the period of 1970 to 2016. A total of 734 respondents involved in the study which represented the ratio of 2: 4: 4 respectively for the upper-middle, the middle-middle and the low-income classes of the Malay. Questionnaires were distributed using combination of stratified, random and cluster sampling at Kuala Lumpur and nine districts of Selangor. The findings showed the Malay Muslims experiences in inculcating Islamic knowledge tradition and values from informal to formal educational system with a dynamic approach to understand the content of Islamic teaching.

Keywords: Islam, knowledge tradition, the Malays, education.