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The Impact of Being Tamil on Religious Life Among Tamil Muslims in Singapore Torsten Tschacher a Thesis Submitted for the Degree

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The Impact of Being Tamil on Religious Life Among Tamil Muslims in Singapore Torsten Tschacher a Thesis Submitted for the Degree THE IMPACT OF BEING TAMIL ON RELIGIOUS LIFE AMONG TAMIL MUSLIMS IN SINGAPORE TORSTEN TSCHACHER (M.A, UNIVERSITY OF COLOGNE, GERMANY) A THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES PROGRAMME NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE 2006 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It is difficult to enumerate all the individuals and institutions in Singapore, India, and Europe that helped me conduct my research and provided me with information and hospitality. Respondents were enthusiastic and helpful, and I have accumulated many debts in the course of my research. In Singapore, the greatest thanks have to go to all the Tamil Muslims, too numerous to enumerate in detail, who shared their views, opinions and knowledge about Singaporean Tamil Muslim society with me in interviews and conversations. I am also indebted to the members of many Indian Muslim associations who allowed me to observe and study their activities and kept me updated about recent developments. In this regard, special mention has to be made of Mohamed Nasim and K. Sulaiman (Malabar Muslim Juma-ath); A.G. Mohamed Mustapha (Rifayee Thareeq Association of Singapore); Naseer Ghani, A.R. Mashuthoo, M.A. Malike, Raja Mohamed Maiden, Moulana Moulavi M. Mohamed Mohideen Faizi, and Jalaludin Peer Mohamed (Singapore Kadayanallur Muslim League); K.O. Shaik Alaudeen, A.S. Sayed Majunoon, and Mohamed Jaafar (Singapore Tenkasi Muslim Welfare Society); Ebrahim Marican (South Indian Jamiathul Ulama and Tamil Muslim Jama‘at); M. Feroz Khan (Thiruvithancode Muslim Union); K.M. Deen (Thopputhurai Muslim Association (Singapore)); Pakir Maideen and Mohd Kamal (Thuckalay Muslim Association); and Farihullah s/o Abdul Wahab Safiullah (United Indian Muslim Association). I am furthermore indebted to M. Elias, K.T.M. Iqbal, Khader Sultan, and J.M. Sali for supplying me with photocopies of Singaporean Tamil Muslim literature. Thanks are also due to H. Mohamed Ghouse Maricar, Mohd Ibrahim, N. Mohd Aziz, M.G.M. Muzammil Hasan, Mohd Rafi, Rizwana, and Mohd. ii Shariff H. Alaudeen for sharing knowledge and for their hospitality, and to M. Saravanan for transcribing the audio recording of a Tamil sermon for me. Several Sufi groups kindly permitted me to observe their dhikr-meetings and readily answered questions regarding their groups. I am especially grateful, again, to Naseer Ghani and family, who provided me with many contacts for my research and whose generous hospitality I was able to enjoy many times throughout my stay. On the institutional side, I have to thank the managements and Imams of various Indian Muslim mosques for their cooperation, especially the Masjid Abdul Gafoor, the Masjid Jamae (Chulia), and the Masjid Malabar. Similarly, I am grateful to MUIS for permitting me to participate in several dialogue sessions between MUIS and Indian Muslim associations, and within MUIS especially to Mohd Nazirin Abu Bakar, who kindly supplied me with information on Tamil Muslim religious education with an amazing promptness. The staff at Lee Kong Chian Reference Library, National Library of Singapore, was similarly helpful in allowing me to use their facilities. In India, my gratitude is due to the following individuals and institutions: in Chennai, to M.S. Basheer and the Islamic Studies & Cultural Centre for granting me access to the Centre’s library and supplying me with information; in Kottakuppam, to Kazi Zainul Abideen, General Secretary, Anjuman Nusrathul Islam Public Library, for permitting me to peruse the library’s collection and to copy articles from old journals; in Porto Novo, to Hamid Ghouse and family for their hospitality; in Karaikal, to P.T. Rajan for supplying me with literature; in Nagore, to M. Jafar Muhyiddin for sharing his memories with me and permitting me to copy from his collection of books and journals published by Tamil Muslims in Singapore, as well as for his kind and generous hospitality; in Kadayanallur, to S.M. Asan Pillai and M. Tuan Packir for their hospitality, their support in identifying possible respondents and iii in conducting interviews; in Tenkasi, to M.S. Thurapsha, for sharing information and his hospitality; in Melappalaiyam, to L.K.S. Mohamed Meeran Mohideen for allowing me to make copies from books in his private collection; in Thuckalay, to N.A. Nazar for his efforts in identifying respondents and for acting as my research assistant during my stay; finally, to the many respondents who supplied me with information, and to the folks in Korkkadu and Srirangam for their usual hospitality. I also would like to mention the Institute of Indology and Tamil Studies, University of Cologne, Germany, for permitting me to peruse their library, and to the staff at Leiden University Library for granting me access to an 18th century manuscript. Many thanks also to A. Mani, Dean, International Research & Cooperation, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Japan, for an inspiring discussion on Tamil Muslims. The staff and students at the South Asian Studies Programme have been most helpful and supportive. Thanks are especially due to my supervisor, Assistant Professor Dr Ulrike Niklas, and to Professor Peter Reeves, Head, South Asian Studies Programme, for their friendly and encouraging support. Dr Rajesh Rai kindly provided me with one of his articles and allowed me to read drafts of material on Indians in Singapore. I am particularly grateful to my fellow postgraduates at SASP, Carol, Gauri, Ranajit, Sathia, Sujoy, Taberez, and Yamini, and special thanks again to Sathia for her readiness to help this veḷḷaikkāraṉ in translating some intricate examples of Tamil prose. Outside SASP, Aruna, Charanpal, Christian, Deepa and Harminder provided much needed encouragement in times of stress. Yet my deepest gratitude goes to my family in Germany for their support during my time in Singapore. This thesis is dedicated to the loving memory of my father, who succumbed to a prolonged illness just a few weeks before submission. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS II TABLE OF CONTENTS V SUMMARY VIII LIST OF TABLES X LIST OF FIGURES XI LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS XII NOTE ON TRANSLATION AND TRANSLITERATION XIV CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 Islam and Ethnic Difference 1 Scope of the Study 8 Review of Prior Studies 13 Methods, Sources, and Structure 17 CHAPTER 2: HISTORY 23 Tamil Muslims in Pre-Colonial Southeast Asia 23 Tamil Muslims in Singapore 1819-1942 29 Demography and Origins 29 Economic Activities 38 Religious Life and Activities 47 Tami Muslim Society after World War II 59 CHAPTER 3: IMAGES OF COMMUNITY AND SOCIETY 69 Introduction 69 Tamil Muslims and Society in Singapore 70 The Basis of Difference 75 Subgroups 75 Kin-centers 81 Religious Differences 86 v Malayization 92 Social Stratification and the Question of Caste 95 CHAPTER 4: THE ORGANIZATION OF RELIGIOUS LIFE 102 Introduction 102 The Administration of Islam in Singapore – Historical Overview 104 The Administration of Islam in Singapore before World War II 104 The Administration of Islam in Postwar Singapore 108 Non-ethnic Muslim Institutions and Organizations 111 The Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS) 111 Mosque Administration and Indian Muslims in Singapore 117 MENDAKI and the Ethnic Self-Help Paradigm 122 Non-ethnic Muslim Associations 124 Indian Muslim Associations 128 Overview 128 Typology of Indian Muslim Associations 129 Activities and Programs 134 Funding 139 The Federation of Indian Muslims (FIM) 143 Informal Indian Muslim Groups 145 Networks of Associations and Individuals 147 Official Relations of Religious Organizations 147 Informal Networks and the Role of the Individual 154 CHAPTER 5: LANGUAGE AND RELIGION 159 Introduction 159 Language and Community 161 Preaching, Teaching, Publishing – The Use of Language in Religion 171 Debates and the Speech Community 185 CHAPTER 6: CONTESTING AND REPRESENTING DIFFERENCE 194 Introduction 194 Religion and Institutions 196 Access to Services 196 Administering Religion 207 Difference in Practice and Identity 220 Popular Practice and the Formulation of Difference 220 The Fallacies of the Identity Discourse 240 vi CHAPTER 7: CONCLUSIONS – ETHNIC DIFFERENCE IN RELIGIOUS LIFE 250 Locating Difference 250 Managing Difference 255 Talking about Difference 261 Concluding Remarks 267 BIBLIOGRAPHY 270 APPENDICES 298 Property Owned or Rented by Tamil Muslims in Law Reports 298 Towns of Origin of Tamil Muslims in the Prewar Period 300 Tamil Muslim Subscribers to Ciṅkai Nēcaṉ from Singapore 302 Law Reports Mentioning Tamil Muslims 307 Indian Muslim Associations 317 Excerpt from a Tamil Religious Lecture 318 Religious Education Offered by Tamil Muslim Institutions 324 GLOSSARY 326 vii SUMMARY SUMMARY This thesis aims to investigate the impact of ethnic differences on the religious life of Tamil-speaking Muslims in Singapore. More specifically, it examines in which contexts ethnic differences between Tamil-speaking Muslims and other Singaporean Muslims become salient. Furthermore, the effects of that salience both in practical terms, e.g. in the organization of religious life, as well as in discursive terms, i.e. in the way ethnic differences are conceptualized in the religious domain, are elucidated. Both anthropological and historical research methods were employed in order to address these questions. The thesis consists of seven chapters. After the Introduction, chapter 2 outlines the historical development of Tamil Muslim society in Singapore, with a focus on the colonial period, which will serve as a point of comparison for the contemporary situation throughout the thesis. Chapter 3
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