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

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/6337/1/3182-6815-1-SM.pdf http://journalarticle.ukm.my/6337/ http://www.ukm.my/ppbl/Gema/gemahome.html
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id	my-ukm.journal.6337
record_format	eprints
spelling	my-ukm.journal.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
institution	Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
building	Perpustakaan Tun Sri Lanang Library
collection	Institutional Repository
continent	Asia
country	Malaysia
content_provider	Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
content_source	UKM Journal Article Repository
url_provider	http://journalarticle.ukm.my/
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/6337/1/3182-6815-1-SM.pdf http://journalarticle.ukm.my/6337/ http://www.ukm.my/ppbl/Gema/gemahome.html
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score	13.211869

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

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