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Being Minority and Majority - Chinese Muslims in Malaysia

Zhou, Qinyi (2022) COSM40 20221
Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies, Lund University
Abstract
This paper examines the identities of Chinese Muslims who are simultaneously an ethnic minority and a religious majority in the Malaysian social context. The research questions how their identities shape their festival practices and social environments. As the research question in this paper is highly relevant to identity, identity theories serve as the theoretical framework for this paper to support this study. The data for this paper was obtained through semi-structured interviews with Malaysian Chinese Muslims. From the data obtained, this paper draws three conclusions. First, Malay and Muslim identities are conflated in Malaysian society, so being Muslim also means the possibility of not being identified as Chinese for the Chinese;... (More)
This paper examines the identities of Chinese Muslims who are simultaneously an ethnic minority and a religious majority in the Malaysian social context. The research questions how their identities shape their festival practices and social environments. As the research question in this paper is highly relevant to identity, identity theories serve as the theoretical framework for this paper to support this study. The data for this paper was obtained through semi-structured interviews with Malaysian Chinese Muslims. From the data obtained, this paper draws three conclusions. First, Malay and Muslim identities are conflated in Malaysian society, so being Muslim also means the possibility of not being identified as Chinese for the Chinese; Second, in Malaysian society, the existence of religious laws gives Muslim identity clear boundaries, and the identification of the individuals becomes less important, which may reinforces the construction of a Muslim identity, but can also lead to negative attitudes about being Muslim. Finally, this study also found that the identities of Chinese Muslims in Malaysia are not exactly equal, but rather the Chinese identity is stronger and the Muslim identity is weaker. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Zhou, Qinyi
supervisor
organization
course
COSM40 20221
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Identity, Festival customs, Malaysian Chinese, Social environment
language
English
id
9099322
date added to LUP
2022-09-05 11:59:24
date last changed
2022-09-05 11:59:24
@misc{9099322,
  abstract     = {{This paper examines the identities of Chinese Muslims who are simultaneously an ethnic minority and a religious majority in the Malaysian social context. The research questions how their identities shape their festival practices and social environments. As the research question in this paper is highly relevant to identity, identity theories serve as the theoretical framework for this paper to support this study. The data for this paper was obtained through semi-structured interviews with Malaysian Chinese Muslims. From the data obtained, this paper draws three conclusions. First, Malay and Muslim identities are conflated in Malaysian society, so being Muslim also means the possibility of not being identified as Chinese for the Chinese; Second, in Malaysian society, the existence of religious laws gives Muslim identity clear boundaries, and the identification of the individuals becomes less important, which may reinforces the construction of a Muslim identity, but can also lead to negative attitudes about being Muslim. Finally, this study also found that the identities of Chinese Muslims in Malaysia are not exactly equal, but rather the Chinese identity is stronger and the Muslim identity is weaker.}},
  author       = {{Zhou, Qinyi}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Being Minority and Majority - Chinese Muslims in Malaysia}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}