MALAY ANIMISM AND ISLAMIC ORTHODOXY IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

This study aims to describe and analyse some of the present indigenous Malay animistic beliefs and practices vis-à-vis Islam of Malays within the specific urban, modern, and nation-state context of Singapore. This is especially important when we consider that the Islamic developments in Singapore have been drastic over the past few decades. Basically, I shall focus on the Malay Muslim beliefs in the semangat, keramat, hantu, jin, and God. Attention shall also be given specifically to indigenous bomoh practices in Singapore. Thus, the significance of this study lies in the fact that most studies in the past dealing with indigenous Malay beliefs and practices have largely ignored the social structural and Islamic context in which these beliefs and practices are set within. As such these studies fail to take into account the dynamic processes by which the beliefs and practices change, as Malay Muslims “adapt” themselves to the changing social structural circumstances around them.