Chapter 1 - Introduction
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GLOBALISED MUSLIM YOUTH: A STUDY OF SINGAPORE AND SYDNEY KAMALUDEEN MOHAMED NASIR BA HONS, M SOC SCI (SOCIOLOGY) This thesis is submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy for the Centre for Study of Contemporary Muslim Societies University of Western Sydney March 2011 0 Statement of Authenticity The work presented in this thesis is, to the best of my knowledge and belief, original except as acknowledged in the text. I hereby declare that I have not submitted this material, either in full or in part, for a degree at this or any other institution. ................................................................................... Kamaludeen Mohamed Nasir 1 Acknowledgements I will like to thank my parents, Latifa and Mohamed Nasir, for instilling in me the values of education, modesty and hardwork. My parents-in-law, Harun and Rohani, for their prayers and support for my academic undertakings. My brother Ameer Mohamed, sister Nurul Jannah, sisters-in-law, Diyana, Nadiah and Suriyana, it is my hope that they will strive to be more than I ever was, am or ever will be. I am forever grateful to my supervisors, Prof Bryan Turner, Assoc. Prof Greg Noble and Dr Steven Drakeley for their valuable insights and empathetic care for me as their student. They have been unfailing sources of motivation and inspiration throughout my entire candidature. Prof Michael Atherton, Prof Kevin Dunn, Dr Samar Habib together with my supervisors made up my Confirmation of Candidature Committee. Their constructive criticisms, farsightedness and kind words have guided me through a stage where many things have yet to fall into place. Assoc. Prof Adam Possamai, Assoc. Prof Geoffrey Benjamin, Asst. Prof Syed Khairudin Aljunied, Dr Lim Chee Han, Dr Alexius Pereira and Dr Jan Ali have all provided critical feedback on aspects of the thesis that have improved it in many ways. The advisors of the Culture, Religion and Society Summer School of 2008 at the University of Antwerp, namely Prof Robert Hefner, Prof John Hutchinson, Prof Steve Bruce and Prof David Voas as well as my colleagues there have provided useful advice during my presentation and discussions. Eva Garcia always went the extra mile in providing excellent administrative and logistical assistance during the course of my study. I will also like to thank the University of Western Sydney for granting me the International Postgraduate Research Scholarship which made my study possible. Prof Chua Beng Huat, Assoc. Prof Hing Ai Yun, Assoc. Prof Kwok Kian Woon and Asst. Prof Shirley Sun - their words of encouragement started me on this academic exploration. Sim Kian Ming and Sim Hee Juat persevered in proofreading my thesis despite the excruciating experiences of proofreading my previous writings. I could 2 not have done this without the support of my wife, Kalsum and my son, Luqman Hakim who have, as a formidable team, kept my sanity intact. Besides keeping me grounded, they have provided me with many moments of sheer joy throughout this journey. This thesis is also dedicated to all my young respondents. You have made this study possible. Finally, to all my friends who have tolerated me for better or for worse. My sincere gratitude does not convey any responsibility for my obstinacy; only I am to blame for the errors remaining. 3 Abstract This thesis is a sociological study of Muslim youth culture in two globalised cities in the Asia Pacific, Singapore and Sydney. This research compares two groups of youth living in secular multicultural cities, across three aspects of popular culture: hip-hop music, tattooing and cultural consumption. The two case studies illuminate a range of attitudes adopted by young Muslims, which demonstrates strategies employed to reconcile popular youth culture with piety. The research explores the extent to which globalisation results in a convergence of popular culture among young Muslims in Singapore and Sydney. It argues that while globalisation does bring about a certain degree of convergence, different state and societal structures in place play a significant role in bringing about different manifestations of Muslim youth culture. As an extension, the thesis explores how different forms of religious management by the authoritarian and liberal models of the Singapore and Sydney states respectively function as crucial mediators of popular Muslim youth culture. This thesis argues against the conventional view of the cultural alienation of minority Muslim youth that promotes the idea of a clash of civilisations and the radicalisation of Muslim youth thesis. Rather, it posits that global cultural flows and forms of piety interact with locally promulgated forms of popular culture, which Muslim youth partake at varying degrees. The dynamic nature of Muslim youth culture is set against attempts by the state, religious leaders and other gatekeepers of particular popular cultural domains who seek to maintain a ―puritan‖ and ―contained‖' view of youth culture. Hence, these demonstrate a plurality of religious rationalities amidst an individualisation of views by young Muslims. These result in some young Muslims existing in the interstices of local youth culture that increasingly conflicts with the globalising and multicultural realities of youth in Singapore and Sydney. 4 Table of Contents Acknowledgements ............................................................................. 2 Abstract ............................................................................................. 4 List of Tables ..................................................................................... 7 CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION ............................................................ 8 Rethinking Muslim Youth Culture, Globalisation and Piety ....................... 11 Research Case: Why Singapore and Sydney? ............................................ 19 Thesis Contributions ................................................................................. 29 Thesis Organisation ...................................................................................31 CHAPTER 2 - LITERATURE AND METHOD ..................................... 34 Muslim Youth and Globalisation ............................................................... 36 Popular Culture and Piety ........................................................................ 46 Recovering Muslim Youth Studies in Singapore and Australia .................. 56 Research Method ....................................................................................... 62 CHAPTER 3 - A TALE OF TWO CITIES: RETHINKING MUSLIM YOUTH IDENTITIES ............................................................ 71 Minority Status ........................................................................................ 71 Social Class .............................................................................................. 76 Conflation of Identity – Of Arabisation and Malayisation ........................ 83 Identity and Space .................................................................................... 86 A Generational Perspective of Identity Formation .....................................96 The September 11 Generation................................................................... 100 The State and the Construction of the Ideal Muslim Youth Identity ........ 109 Conclusion ............................................................................................... 113 CHAPTER 4 - NASHEED, JIHAD AND HIP-HOP ............................ 115 The Hip-hop Generation .......................................................................... 116 Hip-Hop and Islam .................................................................................. 120 Setting the Stage: Singapore and Sydney .................................................. 124 Sydney: 3 Levels of Production/Consumption ........................................... 131 5 Singapore: Disjuncture between Consumption and Production .................. 135 Theorising Muslim Youth and Hip-Hop .................................................. 142 Conclusion .............................................................................................. 149 CHAPTER 5 - TATTOOING THE MUSLIM YOUTH BODY ........ 151 Tattooing and Islam ................................................................................. 152 Blowing Hot and Cool over Tattoos ......................................................... 153 The State of the Body: Regulation of Tattooing in Singapore and Sydney 160 Sydney: Muslim Gangs and “Islamic Tattoos” ......................................... 161 Singapore: Muslim Youth, Chinese Gangs and “Antipodal Tattoos” ....... 168 Theorising Muslim Youth and Tattoos ..................................................... 177 Conclusion ............................................................................................... 183 CHAPTER 6 - YOUTH RESISTANCE THROUGH CULTURAL CONSUMPTION ..................................................................................... 185 Cultural Consumption – Youth as Critical Consumers ............................ 186 “Consumption” and Islam ....................................................................... 190 Getting Connected in Singapore and Sydney ............................................ 192 Singapore and Sydney: Practices of Resistance through Consumption....... 202 Making Sense of the Networked Society and Economic Jihad .................... 213 Conclusion – The Alienation of the “Alienated”