The Influence of Western Secular Ideas of Liberalism on Some Malay Muslim Intellectual Elites in Malaysia

Abstract

This paper discusses the Western ideas focusing on liberalism that influenced some Malay Muslims intellectual elites in Malaysia. This is only a conceptual paper to highlight the rise of liberalism among the Muslim intellectuals nowadays in Malaysia thus attracted the youngsters to follow them. This study is also introducing certain prominent liberalist in Malaysia to scrutinize their ideas and standpoint towards Islam because they called themselves as Muslim-liberal. The main objective of this paper is to examine some influencing factors of Western ideology upon the mind of Muslim intellectual elites that drive their actions for everyday life. The finding reveals that those intellectuals have been de-westernized their thought because of their Western educational background but still believing in Islam as their religion. As a result, their Islamic practice is merely on the mold of Western thought unlike the majority of Muslims.