The complexity of Malay Muslim identity in Dina Zaman’s I am Muslim

Malay identity has been an important area of research in the field of Malay studies. Many scholars have argued that Malay identity is a product of a complex interplay of various identity markers and a dynamic adoption of diverse identity strategies. While most studies have focussed on examining Mala...

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Main Author:	Jerome, Collin
Format:	Article
Language:	English
Published:	Penerbit UKM 2013
Online Access:	http://journalarticle.ukm.my/6337/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/6337/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/6337/1/3182-6815-1-SM.pdf

id	ukm-6337
recordtype	eprints
spelling	ukm-63372016-12-14T06:40:53Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/6337/ The complexity of Malay Muslim identity in Dina Zaman’s I am Muslim Jerome, Collin Malay identity has been an important area of research in the field of Malay studies. Many scholars have argued that Malay identity is a product of a complex interplay of various identity markers and a dynamic adoption of diverse identity strategies. While most studies have focussed on examining Malay language, culture and religion as dominant identity markers of Malays in Malaysia, there is still a need for more research on other identity markers in the production of Malay identity. This paper explores the complexity of Malay Muslim identity, particularly queer Malay Muslims who are featured in Dina Zaman‟s I am Muslim. Using the theories and research relating to ethnic, racial, and sexual identity, the paper analyses the markers and strategies employed by queer Malay Muslims in constructing their identities as well as the tensions and conflicts they experience in formulating a Malay Muslim identity marked by queerness. The results show that queer Malays in Dina‟s work adopt varied identity markers and strategies in formulating their own ethnic identity which include embracing both sexuality and religious faith. The results also show that the discord between religion and sexuality becomes a major obstacle to some queer Malays who wish to assert their self-identities, but are not able to do so because of their strong iman, taqwa and ahlaq. The paper hopes to contribute to the research on Malay identity by demonstrating that same-sex sexuality, in addition to normative markers of Malayness, play a pivotal role in identity creation among queer Malay Muslims. Penerbit UKM 2013-05 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/6337/1/3182-6815-1-SM.pdf Jerome, Collin (2013) The complexity of Malay Muslim identity in Dina Zaman’s I am Muslim. GEMA: Online Journal of Language Studies, 13 (2). pp. 169-179. ISSN 1675-8021 http://www.ukm.my/ppbl/Gema/gemahome.html
repository_type	Digital Repository
institution_category	Local University
institution	Universiti Kebangasaan Malaysia
building	UKM Institutional Repository
collection	Online Access
language	English
description	Malay identity has been an important area of research in the field of Malay studies. Many scholars have argued that Malay identity is a product of a complex interplay of various identity markers and a dynamic adoption of diverse identity strategies. While most studies have focussed on examining Malay language, culture and religion as dominant identity markers of Malays in Malaysia, there is still a need for more research on other identity markers in the production of Malay identity. This paper explores the complexity of Malay Muslim identity, particularly queer Malay Muslims who are featured in Dina Zaman‟s I am Muslim. Using the theories and research relating to ethnic, racial, and sexual identity, the paper analyses the markers and strategies employed by queer Malay Muslims in constructing their identities as well as the tensions and conflicts they experience in formulating a Malay Muslim identity marked by queerness. The results show that queer Malays in Dina‟s work adopt varied identity markers and strategies in formulating their own ethnic identity which include embracing both sexuality and religious faith. The results also show that the discord between religion and sexuality becomes a major obstacle to some queer Malays who wish to assert their self-identities, but are not able to do so because of their strong iman, taqwa and ahlaq. The paper hopes to contribute to the research on Malay identity by demonstrating that same-sex sexuality, in addition to normative markers of Malayness, play a pivotal role in identity creation among queer Malay Muslims.
format	Article
author	Jerome, Collin
spellingShingle	Jerome, Collin The complexity of Malay Muslim identity in Dina Zaman’s I am Muslim
author_facet	Jerome, Collin
author_sort	Jerome, Collin
title	The complexity of Malay Muslim identity in Dina Zaman’s I am Muslim
title_short	The complexity of Malay Muslim identity in Dina Zaman’s I am Muslim
title_full	The complexity of Malay Muslim identity in Dina Zaman’s I am Muslim
title_fullStr	The complexity of Malay Muslim identity in Dina Zaman’s I am Muslim
title_full_unstemmed	The complexity of Malay Muslim identity in Dina Zaman’s I am Muslim
title_sort	complexity of malay muslim identity in dina zaman’s i am muslim
publisher	Penerbit UKM
publishDate	2013
url	http://journalarticle.ukm.my/6337/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/6337/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/6337/1/3182-6815-1-SM.pdf
first_indexed	2023-09-18T19:46:37Z
last_indexed	2023-09-18T19:46:37Z
_version_	1777405943140581376

The complexity of Malay Muslim identity in Dina Zaman’s I am Muslim

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