CRAFTING SELVES : THE CASE OF INDIAN-MUSLIMS IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

The logic of Singapore's multiculturalism is based on the model of the population as being constituted of four simplified racial categories - Chinese, Malay, Indian and Others (all other racial groups) or what is now called the CMIO quadrotomy. The main premise behind this categorisation is the assumption that within each category there are enough defining elements to create an overarching, single ethnic identity, one capable of subsuming the different sub-ethnic or dialect groups. Among the unintended consequences is that of the essentialism and totalisation of the CMIO categories into the fabric of local society.

So great is the influence of the CMIO quadrotomy that it affects state policymaking decisions. For example, the creation of self-help organisations such as CDAC, SINDA and MENDAKI, were rigidly in line with the CMIO structure, i.e. for the Chinese, Malays and Indians respectively. The all-encompassing use of the CMlO quadrotomy at state level inadvertently seeped down to the mind of the masses. It is no exaggeration to say that Singaporeans tend to think in tenns their own and others' ethnic identity. This in turn has ramifications on the way Singaporeans interpret or make sense of the world they live in.

While the CMIO quadrotomy does not pose many problems to those who 'fit' neatly into these categories, it poses complex problems to those who do not, that is, the 'in-betweens'. The Indian-Muslims are examples of 'in-betweens', sharing the religion Islam with the Malays while being ethnically Indian.

This thesis is a study of the ethnic and religious identity of Indian-Muslims in Singapore. My objective is to try to capture some of the more significant changes in the evolution of the definition of 'Indian-Muslim' and the sentiments within the Indian-Muslim community with regards to their ethnic and religious identity. I will also be exploring the continuum of lndian-Muslimness in an attempt to deconstruct the "common-sense" notions of lndianness and Malayness in the Singapore discourse. This will give us an understanding as to how Indian-Muslims see themselves and how they react to the CMIO quadrotomy.