This article highlights the history of the Hadhrami Arabs of Sayyid, descent from Hadhramaut, Yemen in the nineteenth and twentieth century Malaya. The Hadhrami Arabs appertained to the Sayyid Alawiyyah and claimed themselves as the descendants of the Prophet Muhammad SAW through his grandson Hussain. In general, Malays respectably looked upon all Arabs, particularly the Sayyids, as they were believed as the inheritors of Islamic preaching. For this article, records from archives as well as academic works were used as reference. According to the archives, the Hadhrami Arabs who were the majority of the born Arabs or Peranakan Arab of non Arab mothers managed to do well in their lives even though they were in a small number. They had played a significant role in the society and also managed to succeed in the economy and political undertaking in Malaya. Thus, being a minority group of immigrants did not hinder the Hadhrami Arabs from prospering in Malaya and many of them were involved in trade and business ventures as well as real estate. In fact, nowadays they have become a part of the Malay community and are identified as Malays.

Unlike many Middle Eastern countries which face drastic changes and upheaval from mass riots which express undesirable protest against the established status quo, the Malaysian government’s response to da‘wah movements since the early developmental stage of the Islamic resurgence in the 1970’s to 1980’s can be categorized into three responses, namely, confrontation, cooptation and accommodation. Recently, in June 2011, the government launched its official slogan of “Wasatiyyah” or moderation to revitalize its legitimacy for the purpose of gaining support from the Malay-Muslims by applying the Islamic concept of moderation in handling the challenge of religious extremism and Islamic resurgence at the national level, as well as championing this issue in the global arena. This paper discusses the concept of moderation in Islam or wasatiyyah as elucidated by al-Quran and as-Sunnah, as being the primary sources, Islam, and compares them with the slogan of Wasatiyyah as promulgated by the Malaysian government. This paper also analyzes the establishment’s or ruling party’s campaign to popularize the concept of moderation and strengthen its role to represent the Muslims’ aspiration for the country against its traditional competitor, Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), which is typically known for its so-called “extreme demand to implement the Sharī‘ah laws” , namely Hudud Laws, and establish an Islamic state. The concept of moderation introduced by the government has been described through various government official institutions, new media of mass communication or social networks and websites. As expected from the beginning of its pronouncement, PAS response to the state campaign of this religious slogan is predictable. In response to this commonly well-known concept in Islam, Wasatiyyah or the concept of moderation, has been extensively discussed and has become the main topic in seminars, colloquiums and conferences by Muslim intelligentsia and scholars. This study employs content analysis of leaders’ speeches in newspapers, official reports, government websites; and secondary sources, uses methods of observation and interview to evaluate the slogan used by the state, and examines feedback from the opposition and intellectuals. Reactions of Muslim intelligentsia and scholars may reflect psychological support of this knowledgeable group of people for the established regime which could influence the majority’s acceptance.

Peningkatan sokongan dan pengharaman Milli Nizam Partisi (MNP), Milli Selamat Partisi (MSP), Refah Partisi (RP) dan Fazilet Partisi (FP) adalah antara episod yang memperlihatkan pertembungan antara Islam dan kepimpinan sedia ada di Turki, apabila parti-parti ini dilihat mampu menggugat kedudukan sekularisme dan status quo pihak tentera yang menjadi penjaga kepada prinsip Kemalisme, peninggalan Mustapha Kemal Ataturk. Artikel ini menganalisis fenomena kenaikan dan kejatuhan parti-parti yang berlandaskan Islam di Turki, dari tahun 1970-an sehingga tahun 2002 dalam usaha mengembalikan amalan hidup secara Islam dan memartabatkan politik serta pemerintahan berlandaskan Islam di Turki. Tulisan ini juga turut mengupas latar belakang peribadi dan peranan yang dimainkan oleh Necmettin Erbakan dalam mencorakkan perjalanan politik Islam di Turki. Turut diberi perhatian ialah fenomena kemunculan dua parti yang berasal dari serpihan parti-parti yang pernah diharamkan dalam memberi nafas baharu kepada seruan terhadap Islam. Saadet Partisi (SP) ditubuhkan oleh Necmettin Erbakan meneruskan perjuangan kumpulan konservatif Islam, manakala Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi, (AKP) yang dipimpin oleh Recep Tayyip Erdogan menonjolkan pendekatan pragmatis dan sederhana bagi mengelakkan pertentangan dengan pihak kepimpinan sekular. Berbanding pendekatan SP yang kurang disenangi dan semakin merosot, AKP berjaya menjadi sebuah parti yang mewakili suara majoriti rakyat Turki. Penyertaan AKP dalam arus perdana politik di negara itu membuktikan bahawa politik Islam mampu berjalan seiring dengan demokrasi apabila sistem tersebut diamalkan dalam erti kata yang sebenarnya.