Ideological void in South East Asia



Chaos in the orient…

Estrada’s eviction, Wahid’s woes, Thailand’s tainted elections – recent events have seen South East Asia, the former den of economic tigers, transformed into a regional theatre of tragicomedy political dramas and numbing economic chaos – a stark contrast to the heady days prior to the 1997 currency crisis. Even Mahathir seen as Asia’s ‘ideological’ firebrand gleams fainter. What happened to Asia’s brave and strident leaders? And what of their visionary master plans? Where is the vaunted supremacy of Asian Culture? What will save the Ummah in South East Asia? And now the Recession in the US is set to hit Asia again.



The Ummah in South East Asia is taking a pounding. Indonesia, the largest Muslim country in terms of population faces fracturing and dismembering. There are persistent attempts to destabilise the country, several thousands have died in on going political violence since 1997. In Malaysia Anwar and Mahathir’s struggle has divided the Ummah and the kuffar are making their moves. On the 22 May, 2000 the head of Malaysia’s Chinese political party resigned his position from Mahathir’s cabinet – manifesting their push to grab more political power in Malaysia. Naïve Islamic political parties, in a Machiavellian rush to maximise votes have offered concessions to the kuffar in Malaysia. For the first time, since the colonialist British removed her physical presence from Malaysia, Muslims face the real threat of losing their own land to the non-indigenous kuffar - Chinese and Indians brought in by the colonialist for the expressed purpose of facilitating their pillaging of the land.

It’s the ideology

The Ummah has attempted various nation constructs since the destruction of the Khilafah on the 3rd of March 1924. When the colonialist removed themselves from our lands, they didn’t just give us a piece of cloth(national flag) to stick on poles along with our own little songs(national anthems) to sing, they planted their lackeys in place to ensure that their kufr viewpoint of life (world view) would be firmly embedded in the hearts and minds of their conquered subjects. Till this day, the Ummah everywhere is shackled by structures emanating from the kufr creed of the colonialist. We still slavishly, implement colonialist legal systems, colonialist education systems our students are graded by their examinations, and we remain subjects to kufr colonialist economic structures. Little wonder then, personalities such as Mahathir and Anwar whilst resorting to shallow and disgusting jahilliyyah concepts such as patriotism and nationalism, in an effort to add a timbre of validity to their particular calls – at the same time claim to be ‘anti-colonialist’. All this whilst working to implement and enforce colonialist systems of life. Can we truly claim to have achieved independence? (Merdekakah kita?)



If progress were equal to economic growth, then Capitalism has failed South East Asia badly. If George Soros (the ‘monster’) is to be blamed for robbing Malaysia of 30 years of growth – then surely Suharto and his cabinet along with Mahathir and his cabinet at the time (which included his now rival Anwar Ibrahim) must similarly be guilty for allowing this to happen. For it was the inadequacies and failures of capitalism structurally and principally that enabled this to happen and ultimately it was our leaders who compromised our wealth and security by implementing and enforcing this treacherous ‘system’.



If progress is to be a measured by the GDP and GNP then the increase in the number of abortions and infanticide amongst Muslims in the region must similarly be a function of the ‘progress’ brought by capitalism. And so too must be the numbers of Falsehood that have sprouted in the hedonistic environment bred by secularism / capitalism. Globalisation and capitalism, far from bringing peace and prosperity have instead visited misery, poverty, chaos and carnage to the many of Indonesia and South East Asia.



Capitalism is a failure. If it were a bridge it would be condemned. If its proponents were car salesmen they would be flogged for fraud. Its claims to be a ‘system’ of life are a scam. Western nations can only make it work, by intimidating the rest of the world, to buy their goods, and work in their sweat shop factories. The markets are manipulated so as to ensure that debt ridden third world producer countries are perpetually enslaved to servicing the interest on their loans. The West works Capitalism by a series of compromises, contradictions and hypocrisy. Whilst the US and EU forbid third world nations from implementing protectionist policies, they are busy erecting a myriad of trade barriers and aggressive protectionist policies of their own. To ensure their wasteful standard of living – western nations manipulate regional political power and plant their puppet regimes in our lands. And if that fails, they simply bomb our lands and starve or shoot our children – all this to ensure the continuity of their capitalist way of life. The oil in the Middle East is theirs – on their terms.



‘Progress’ is not merely economic growth. It has absolutely nothing to do with the increase in the production of goods and services of a nation. Rather it is much more fundamental matter. The enlightened thinkers of the Ummah must realise that what enables a nation to progress is the basis upon which the society stands and about which the life of the society revolves. True progress can only emanate from the correct ideological creed, and the Aqeedah of Islam is that creed.



The structure of a State, its rules and regulations as well as systems of life emanate from this ideological creed. From it too, we obtain our particular worldview and viewpoint about life. This Aqeeda would provide the Ummah with the proper concept about their role in this life and the strong incentive that drives them to effectively execute that role. Rasulullah SAW and the Sahabah may Allah SWT be please with them established Daulah Islamiyyah from the Aqeedah of Islam and transformed an insignificant City State of Madinah surrounded by enemies, into a Super Power of the day within the life time of the Khulafa’ ar Rashideen. The civilisation of Islam, the noble and enlightened Ummah it produced as well as the true brotherhood of man was unrivalled. The depth and breadth of her judicial system and the stability of her economic system which provided for every citizen’s basic needs of food, clothing and shelter too are unmatched.

The Challenge
This is the challenge to the sincere thinkers amongst the Ummah. To understand Islam and the purpose for which it was sent to this Ummah, and consequently our duty to this Deen. Compromising with and offering the kuffar political power in order to win an election is not from the Sunnah of Rasulullah SAW. This Machiavellian madness instigated by Islamic opposition groups in Malaysia and Indonesia holds the real danger of ultimately dispossessing the Ummah of their land. Let Singapore be a lesson to the Ummah there. Jangan tanah Islam dipajakkan kepada orang kafir, kerana ketagihkan menang pilihanraya. 



There are no short cuts. There is no other method. True progress is ideological and it involves the intellectual transformation of the society – uprooting the kufr from the root completely and replacing it with the true comprehensive ideological creed of Islam. This first, before the material transformation can follow.

Allah SWT says:

Allah SWT will not change the situation of any people (Qawm), until they change all that is within themselves (anfusihim). [ Surah Ar-Ra’ad: 11]



This change must be intellectual, ideological for it to be able to truly transform and to raise the Ummah. South East Asia, like the Islamic Ummah needs an ideology, that ideology is Islam. The Ummah must arise – understand, embrace and then on to move to re-establish Islam upon this earth by the method of Muhammad SAW the last Messenger of Allah SWT. 

Abu Yahya