THE TUNKU, RAHMAH, AND ISLAM IN MALAYSIA: RECONSTRUCTING TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN’S “MOSQUE MODEL” FOR MALAYSIAN MUSLIMS

Abstract

Tunku’s relationship to Malaysia and Islam are frequently divorced in discussion, separating Tunku’s commitment to Islam from his commitment to Malaysia. This paper attempts to bridge the gap, looking at Tunku’s model for Malaysian Muslims and how this relates to Malaysia as a whole. The paper presents Tunku’s ‘mosque model’, using the analogy of a mosque to reconstruct Tunku’s four-part model for the Malaysian Muslim community. After an introduction and an overview of the theoretical framework, the paper examines the first dimension of the model, namely the role of rahmah (loving compassion) as the model’s spiritual core. It then examines the model’s conceptual foundation, dealing with the notion of brotherhood as discussed in Maulana Muhammad Ali’s book The Religion of Islam and in Tunku’s writings. This is followed by the model’s structural dimension, looking at how Tunku’s work at PERKIM involved creating structures that applied these conceptions of brotherhood to a Malaysian context. Finally, the paper analyses Tunku’s personal example, a dimension that ultimately determined the model’s success. The paper concludes with a synthesis of the key themes, a comment on the challenges involved in applying Tunku’s model today, and a note of hope for the possibilities the model offers.