Response of Southeast Asian Muslims to the increasingly globalized world: discourse and action

Having itself grown out of a global orientation, Islam in Southeast Asia has gone global since its inception. Southeast Asian Muslims always welcome and participate in the globalized world, even though they are vigilant to the origin and aim of global action and design. Historically Southeast Asian Muslims faced globalization and colonialism with responsible criticism. Islam has found two major support-bases for its translation in Southeast Asia: the state and the autonomous religious leaders. With the increasing sophistication and penetration of Western colonialism, modern Muslim organizations gradually have taken over the social role of the defunct indigenous states and other institutions. Southeast Asian Muslims have shown their moral vision of the globalized world and their design to achieve it. In this article, emphasis is given to major trends in spirituality centered movement among Southeast Asian Muslims as represented by mass organizations, the reformed traditional institutions, and the more pronounced social movements in the region. Despite the fact that the state's hegemony and the ever presence of the shari'a at times interfere with and color the activities of these movements, they have undeniably demonstrated the viability and potential of spirituality centered movement in reshaping the rapidly changing and more globalized world of today