Women, piety and practice: A study of women and religious practice in Malaysia

Abstract

While the definition of religion in sociology has been highly contentious, we define religion in this article as simply the acts of piety that are conducted within the religious sphere. The point of this definition is to draw attention to practice and away from belief. This approach to religion appears to be especially useful in the case of contemporary Islam, where female piety has become a significant aspect of religious renewal. The idea of a religious sphere is taken from the work of Luc Boltanski and his colleagues who have coined the expression 'the inspirational city'. Religion thus consists of acts of piety within the inspirational city, where this space is seen to be in tension with the secular city. The measurement of piety in everyday life sharply differentiates the profane world from religion. These ideas are explored in this article through qualitative data that are drawn from a small sample of pious women in contemporary Malaysia. We explore three aspects of female piety: veiling, polygamy and child-rearing. The article attempts to understand the terms in which piety is measured within the broader context of the Islamization of public life in Malaysia.

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“…Keadaan ini mewujudkan suatu paradoks kerana teks budaya bukan Barat seperti Korea Selatan yang digunakan pihak kerajaan untuk mengimbangi aliran teks budaya Amerika menerusi Dasar Pandang ke Timur dan nilai-nilai Asia mewujudkan perdebatan kritikal mengenai isu-isu yang berkaitan dengan budaya, identiti nasional dan Islam yang membentuk idea kemodenan Malaysia. Namun, isu yang lebih penting adalah kontroversi mengenai wanita Melayu dan K-pop telah mewujudkan satu lagi persoalan mengenai wanita dalam konteks projek kemodenan di negara ini (Tong & Turner, 2008). Justeru, artikel ini berhujah bahawa wanita Melayu mempunyai pendekatan ketidakpatuhan strategik yang digunakan dalam proses penggunaan budaya popular Korea dan perkaitannya dengan pembinaan imaginasi kemodenan popular.…”

"I am Too Old! Who is Going to Give Me a Job?" Women Hawkers in Teluk Bahang, Penang, Malaysia

“…Amin (2004) argues that women's employment (as well as fertility) in Malaysia also depend (apart from women's tastes and preferences) on social values and culture. Although it will be touched upon here only briefly, the changing role of women and the view of the family at the intersection of "Islamization projects" and state and economic interests in Malaysia have been the topic of lively discussions (Kooi-Chin Tong & Turner, 2008;Ong, 1990). Stivens (2006), for example, argues that the highly politicized discourse from the state, religious leaders, and the media around family values in Islam has had a significant impact on Malay women.…”

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