Constructing Muslim Identity in a Secular State: The Strategic Role of Two Singapore Islamic Organizations

In Singapore, Islamic identity matters mainly because Muslims and Malays have special constitutional status. However, state policies seem to contradict the status while the community is still dealing with the problem of backwardness in educational and economic development. This article examines the profile and strategic role of two Islamic organizations, MUIS (Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore) and Pergas (Persatuan Ulama dan Guru-Guru Agama Islam Singapura, Singapore Islamic Scholars, and Religious Teachers Association), in accommodating the expression and reconstructing Singaporean Muslim identity. Through intensive library research and using an interdisciplinary approach from social constructivist and fiqh of minorities’ perspectives, this article found that both have played a very important role in the expression and construction of Singaporean Muslim identity. There have been dynamic contestation and cooperation between the state policies towards the Muslim community. However, the global effect of Islamist extremism and terrorism has united them in terms of religious thought, attitude, and the formulation of the ideal Singaporean Muslim identity. The changing process of their stances toward the government’s policies was effective due to the function of fiqh of minorities in contextualizing Islamic teachings in the context of Singapore as a secular state.Bagi negara sekuler dan masyarakat multikultural seperti Singapura identitas Muslim menjadi masalah terutama karena Muslim dan Melayu memiliki status khusus secara konstitusional tetapi kebijakan negara tampak berlawanan dengan posisi tersebut, selain ketertinggalan komunitas tersebut dalam bidang pendidikan dan ekonomi dibandingkan dengan komunitas-komunitas Cina dan India. Artikel ini mengulas peran strategis dua organisasi Islam paling berpengaruh di Singapura, yakni Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS) dan Persatuan Ulama dan Guru-Guru Agama Islam Singapura (Pergas) dalam mengonstruksi identitas Muslim di Singapura terutama ketika merespons kebijakan negara. Melalui studi literatur, artikel ini menemukan bahwa dua organisasi besar Islam, MUIS dan Pergas memainkan peranan sangat penting dalam konstruksi identitas Muslim Singapura dan terdapat respons yang dinamis kedua organisasi Islam tersebut terhadap kebijakan-kebijakan negara. Berbeda dengan kebanyakan ahli yang menekankan faktor dominan imaginasi dan diskursus pemerintah, konstruksi identitas Muslim tersebut sangat bergantung pada internal komunitas Muslim sendiri terutama kedua organisasi Islam tersebut termasuk dalam merespons kebijakan negara terhadap komunitas Muslim