Islamic Civilization and Cultural Dynamics in Southeast Asia: A Comparative Study of Muslim Communities in Indonesia and Thailand

Duski Ibrahim; Hendri Faroza; Agus Srimudin; Dyan Dwianty

doi:10.55606/jurrafi.v5i2.8679

Authors

Duski Ibrahim Universitas Islam Negeri Raden Fatah Palembang
Hendri Faroza Universitas Islam Negeri Raden Fatah Palembang
Agus Srimudin Universitas Islam Negeri Raden Fatah Palembang
Dyan Dwianty Universitas Islam Negeri Raden Fatah Palembang

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55606/jurrafi.v5i2.8679

Keywords:

Civil Religion, Cultural Sociology, Religious Tolerance, Social Construction, Southeast Asia

Abstract

This study examines the dynamics of Islamic civilization and cultural expressions in Southeast Asia through a comparative analysis of Muslim communities in Indonesia and Thailand. Southeast Asia represents a unique region where Islam has interacted with diverse local traditions, producing distinctive cultural forms and civilizational patterns. The research aims to explore how Islamic values, cultural traditions, and historical experiences shape the development of Muslim societies in both countries.Using a qualitative comparative approach, this study analyzes historical sources, academic literature, and socio-cultural practices within Muslim communities in Indonesia and Thailand. The research focuses on three main aspects: the historical development of Islam, the interaction between Islamic teachings and local cultures, and the role of cultural practices in shaping contemporary Muslim identity. The findings reveal that Islamic civilization in Southeast Asia is characterized by adaptability, cultural negotiation, and pluralistic expressions. In Indonesia, Islamic cultural expressions tend to be more institutionalized and integrated within national cultural frameworks, while in Thailand, Muslim communities maintain strong cultural identities through local traditions and religious institutions despite existing within a predominantly Buddhist society. This study contributes to the broader discourse on Islamic civilization by demonstrating that cultural diversity and local adaptation play significant roles in shaping Muslim societies in Southeast Asia. Understanding these dynamics provides deeper insight into the relationship between religion, culture, and civilization in pluralistic societies.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Araujo, A. C., D’Aprile, I.-M., Borstner, B., & Gartner, S. (2008). The historical and philosophical dimensions of the concept of tolerance. Discrimination and Tolerance in Historical Perspective, 4(18).

Ayoob, M. (2012). Was Huntington right? Revisiting the clash of civilizations. Insight Turkey, 14(4), 1–11.

Bellah, R. (2017). Civil religion in America. In Religion Today: A Reader (pp. 101–105). Routledge.

Bellah, R. N. (1967). Civil religion in America. Daedalus, 1–21.

Berger, P. L., & Luckmann, T. (1990). Tafsir sosial atas kenyataan sosial: Risalah tentang sosiologi pengetahuan.

Chantra, T. (2017). Political participation during conflict: A case study of the conflict areas in Songkhla and Pattani provinces of Thailand.

Creppell, I. (2013). Toleration and identity: Foundations in early modern thought. Routledge.

Decorte, J. (2004). Tolerance and trinity. In Conflict and Reconciliation (pp. 105–117). Brill.

Dreher, J. (2016). The social construction of power: Reflections beyond Berger/Luckmann and Bourdieu. Cultural Sociology, 10(1), 53–68.

Hayeesama-ae, S. (2023). An implementation of the integration of knowledge into curriculum of the Faculty of Education, Fatoni University, Thailand: Perceptions, problems, and prospects.

Haynes, J. (2019). From Huntington to Trump: Thirty years of the clash of civilizations. Rowman & Littlefield.

Hjelm, T. (2014). Social constructionisms: Approaches to the study of the human world. Bloomsbury Publishing.

Hunter, J. D., & Ainlay, S. C. (2024). Making sense of modern times: Peter L. Berger and the vision of interpretive sociology. Taylor & Francis.

Kara, O. (2010). Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann, The social construction of reality: A treatise in the sociology of knowledge. Cankaya University Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 7(1).

Kaur, K., & Darmawan, I. (2024). The role of Islamic media in promoting zakat: A comparative study of audience perception in India and Indonesia.

Knauff, F. T. (2016). A revaluation of tolerance and toleration: A selective incorporation of classical conceptions of tolerance (Doctoral dissertation, University of Pretoria).

Kreutzmann, H. (1998). From modernization theory towards the “clash of civilizations”: Directions and paradigm shifts in Samuel Huntington’s analysis and prognosis of global development. GeoJournal, 46, 255–265.

Mazya, T. M., Ridho, K., & Irfani, A. (2024). Religious and cultural diversity in Indonesia: Dynamics of acceptance and conflict in a multidimensional perspective. International Journal of Current Science Research and Review, 7(7), 4932–4945.

McCargo, D. (2004). Buddhism, democracy and identity in Thailand. Democratization, 11(4), 155–170.

Melvin, N. J. (2007). Conflict in Southern Thailand: Islamism, violence and the state in the Patani insurgency. Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

Nachan, N. (2023). The constitutions of the Kingdom of Thailand: Elite-constructed constitutions (1932–1974). Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington.

Najikh, A. H. (2023). Social media construction towards da’wah activities: A perspective from Peter L. Berger’s social construction theory. Langgar: Journal of Social, Humanities, and Islamic Study, 2(1), 1–14.

Noiwong, O. (2001). Political integration policies and strategies of the Thai government toward the Malay-Muslims of southernmost Thailand (1973–2000) (Doctoral dissertation, Northern Illinois University).

Nugroho, P. (2019). Internalization of tolerance values in Islamic education. Nadwa, 12(2), 197–228.

Oberdiek, H. (2001). Tolerance: Between forbearance and acceptance. Rowman & Littlefield.

Phillipson, C. (1998). Reconstructing old age: New agendas in social theory and practice. Sage.

Preap, S. (2005). A comparative study of Thai and Khmer Buddhism. Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University.

Rozikin, I., Suradinata, E., Mulyati, D., & Achmad, M. (2024). Policy analysis regarding the maintenance of religious harmony and the establishment of houses of worship (Implementation study of the joint regulation of Minister of Religion and Home Affair Minister Number 9/8 of 2006 in Cilegon City, Banten Province). Eduvest Journal of Universal Studies, 4(5).

Said, E. W. (2008). Covering Islam: How the media and the experts determine how we see the rest of the world (Rev. ed.). Random House.

Sala, R. (1997). Toleration and respect in a multicultural society: An overview. Notizie Di, 21, 22.

Samuel, H. (1993). The clash of civilizations. Foreign Affairs, 72(3), 22–49.

Satasut, P. (2019). Monastic activism and state-sangha relations in post-2014 coup Thailand (Doctoral dissertation, University of Wisconsin Madison).

Somvichian, K. (1969). The Thai military in politics: An analytical study (Doctoral dissertation, University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies).

Speece, M. W. (2019). Sustainable development and Buddhist economics in Thailand. International Journal of Social Economics, 46(5), 704–721.

Stauffer, R. E. (1975). Bellah’s civil religion. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 14(4), 390–395.

Subrahmanyan, A. (2013). Reinventing Siam: Ideas and culture in Thailand, 1920–1944 (Doctoral dissertation, University of California, Berkeley).