The fate of integration in the age of religious and cultural pluralism: a critical analysis of its relevance to the Muslim cultural minorities of Southeast Asian region

The historic religious and cultural traditions of the Southeast Asian community are being reshaped in our time by the encounter of different worldviews and ideologies. It is imperative at this very outset to understand the collective efforts of the Southeast Asian governments in forging the parameters for nation building through a meaningful integration of their people. Secular approaches to integration have largely influenced government policies and practices. The economics, legal and education models adopted by successive governments were crafted in accordance with the interests of the ruling elites in the country. The approaches for integration have lost its true identity, which has resulted into the widening of socio-economic and cultural gap between non-Muslim majority and Muslim minority societies. Certainly, what we have been witnessing in our respective societies is the cumulative effects of an absence of holistic approach to integration that guarantees meaningful, responsive institutions and sustainable inclusive growth. This study seeks to understand the universal values that bind people despite of their diversified nature. In addition, this study attempts to explore how cultural relativism and the setting of dominant culture have obscured the essence of holistic human wellbeing and integration. This research is not confine to its relevance to Southeast Asian studies but definitely, it would awaken the modern mind, particularly the policy makers for the urgency of resolving the gloomy relationship between Islam and other religions in the region, by which the impact of clash of worldviews was fundamental. The study also examines civilizational framework as a tool for the discovery of values that would be seen as relational to all cultural groups. Given the scarcity of literatures written by Muslim scholars, this study relies on primary sources such as unpublished works, interviews and fieldwork in addition to library research. The study found out that due to the impact of the global trend of Islamic intellectualism and activism, a particular image of Islam has been created. It is therefore recommended that civilization approach to integration is crucial in order to re-address the socio-religious and cultural affairs of the diversified communities in the region, particularly the minority Muslim communities. Keywords: Integration, civilizational approach, policy makers, worldview, ASEAN communities