Traditionalism and Reformism Polemic in Malay–Muslim Religious Literature RAHIMIN AFFANDI ABD. RAHIM Department of Fiqh and Usul, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia ABSTRACT At the end of the twentieth century, the Muslim academic world has been faced with a polemic between traditionalism and reformism, to the extent that it has come to preoccupy most present-day scholars. Most modern studies on contemporary Islamic law have mainly concentrated on Muslim countries in the Middle East and the Indian sub-continent, but this study will look at Malaysia, which is a relatively new field of Islamic legal inquiry. The article will concentrate on historical events in Malaysia from 1900 until the 1940s and, on the basis of what these events revealed, will highlight the legal polemic initiated by Malayan Islamic reformism and traditionalism. The discussion will focus on three issues: first, the capacity of human reason to understanding Islamic teaching; second, the concepts of ijtiha¯d and taqlı¯d; and third, attitudes towards classical Muslim fiqh. Islamic Reformism and Traditionalism in Malaya: Historical Background Historically, since the early stages of their intervention in Malaya, the British faced extensive resistance from the Malay chiefs as well as the Malay religious leaders (Abu Bakar, 1994, pp. 10–13). However, during the nineteenth century it seems that no armed rebellions occurred. Instead, most of the Malay religious leaders responded to the British authorities using different strategies and it is possible to divide the Malay religious leaders into two groups on the basis of their attitude towards British colonialism, which arose from their different approaches to religious thought, i.e. the traditionalist and the reformist. The Malay–Muslim Traditional Elite and the Religious Establishment The traditional elite, known as kaum tua, 1 comprised religious leaders and ulema who strongly supported the Malay rulers and chiefs, and did not use Islamic teachings to criticize their behaviour and actions. They were dependent on the Malay rulers for their religious appointment and seem, moreover, to have worked hand in hand with them to establish, administer and control religious institutions such as mosques, pondok, state religious councils and religious courts (Mustajab, 1979, p. 155), all of which continued Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations, Vol. 17, No. 1, 93–104, January 2006 Correspondence Address: Professor Rahimin Affandi Abd. Rahim, Department of Fiqh and Usul, Division of the Syariah Studies, Academy of Islamic Studies, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Email: rahimin_afandi@hotmail.com 0959-6410 Print=1469-9311 Online=06=010093–12 # 2006 CSIC and CMCU DOI: 10.1080=09596410500400090 Downloaded By: [University of Malaya] At: 03:22 3 June 2010to exist since the British residential system granted the Malay rulers formal authority over Malay religion and customs (Maxwell

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