Memahami dan mengurus ekstremisme agama di Malaysia

• Main Author: Mohd Noor, Mansor
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universiti Utara Malaysia 2005
• Subjects: HM Sociology
• Online Access: http://repo.uum.edu.my/11957/1/11.pdf; http://repo.uum.edu.my/11957/; http://jgd.uum.edu.my/

Discourses on god and religion are opened to manipulation and deviant act by man resulting in misery, tyranny, exploitation and the destruction to his own very life.Studies show that Malaysians may differ from one another by ethnic, culture, and religion but these differences are not primordial or primary in nature and they are bonded together as citizens and have a value concensus on public opinions. Despite this success story in managing a multi-ethnic, culture and religion that produces prosperity and societal well-being in the country, one should be at ease as Malaysian political structure is contradictory in nature.The author believes that we need to understand the meanings, their characteristics, the rasionality and the prevailing motivation as to why religious groups’ act in extremism should be further discussed and explained. The failure to understand this religious imagination which is easily opened to self-centered human manipulation that could lead to the acts of extremism and violence has caused this problem not to be addressed effectively.The author believes that we should empower the individual not only with revealed knowledge but also with a framework of scientific thought in order to understand religion so that prosperity, societal well-being and peace can be guaranteed; and not just a blind follower of others.Religious study thus has to be integrated with social sciences and, especially, the sociology of religion.