Steven Hill: Moderate Muslims world’s swing voters
SOME POLITICAL OBSERVERS see the world as divided into two hostile camps, a “clash of civilizations” between Islam and the West. Americans tend to view Muslims as a monolith, our views having been burned into our perceptions by 9/11, the Iraq war and tensions in the Middle East. Yet in such countries as Malaysia — one of the largest Muslim countries — a more hopeful future is discernible.
Malaysia is officially Muslim, and a stroll through its capital of Kuala Lumpur shows it to be a fascinating blend of the modern, the ancient, the post-colonial and the multi-multi-religious. The silver gleaming high-rises of the twin Petronas Towers are just the tallest in a modern skyline that juts above a religious and ethnic stew.
In the shadows of the high-rises are traditional Asian wet markets, a veritable maze of vendors selling everything from live poultry and eels for slaughter to the latest electronic gadgets (many of them black market).
Around the corner, an itinerant dentist is yanking teeth on the sidewalk, his patients spitting blood and saliva into a bucket. The tension between the traditional and modern development is worn on Malaysia’s sleeve.
Religion is apparent just about everywhere, from the public square to the private domicile. Malaysia’s population is 60 percent Muslim, and it shows.
Walking along many streets in Kuala Lumpur, one can see a river of bobbing female headscarves, draped in luxurious, flowing robes of exquisite pattern and design. The overall effect is like watching swarms of colorful butterflies from the nearby jungles.
But contrary to the stereotype about Muslim countries, Malaysia is for the most part a tolerantly religious nation. Indeed, religious toleration is enshrined in the nation’s constitution. Other religions thrive here — Hindu, Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, Confucianism, Taoism and other traditional Chinese religions. The indigenous people, known as Orang Asli, have their own animist religion, believing in the presence of spirits in inanimate objects. From block to block, one can see colorful temples, monks and priests of different religious stripes in flowing robes and costumes.
Around each corner is the smell of burnt offerings wafting from homes.
Hindus comprise about 6 percent of the population, most of them of Indian origin whose descendants were brought to Malaysia from India as indentured laborers by the British to work in oil palm and rubber plantations during the 19th and 20th centuries. A century or so later, they have carved out a important niche.
Hindus have an immense shrine just outside of Kuala Lumpur called the Batu Caves, an intricate network of geological caverns that have been converted into a holy site. The spectacular cave is one of the most popular Hindu shrines outside India, and the focal point of the Hindu festival of Thaipusam, which attracts over 1.5 million pilgrims yearly and is one of the largest annual gatherings anywhere.
Not everyone is religious in Malaysia, however. Among younger Muslims and others with a more secular or Westernized background, many have become less-than-practicing. Nearly a quarter of Malaysians are of Chinese ethnicity, a tenth are indigenous, the entire nation woven from its various strands into an ethnic and religious tapestry.
There are occasional tensions between the many religious and ethnic groups, but on the whole Malaysia shows what moderate Islam can look like — a nation where there is a dominant religion but also a place for other religions. Much like in the United States, which is dominantly Christian yet where other religions thrive, here in Malaysia “traditional” doesn’t necessarily mean “intolerant.”
Indeed, many traditionally minded Americans would have much in common with traditionally minded Malaysians. That’s because most people everywhere want the same things — life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, including the freedom to practice their religion.
Sociologist Amitai Etzioni has argued that moderate Muslims, whether in Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan or elsewhere, should be seen as the world’s swing voters. Unfortunately, the U.S. has been losing its appeal to these moderate swing voters, and in the process losing the battle for hearts and minds.
The Obama administration should think carefully about the lessons of the past eight years, indeed the past 80 years. There are hundreds of millions of moderate Muslims in the world, and they are waiting for an American partner that is cognizant of its role in a long, difficult history of colonialism and imperialist interventions. They, too, are looking for a “new deal.” A president with the name of Barack Hussein Obama presents an opportunity, but the opening may not last long.
Steven Hill, an occasional contributor, directs the Political Reform Program of the New America Foundation.
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