An Analysis of Intellectual Genealogy and Islamic Though in the Nineteenth Century Malay Riau Kingdom

Project description:

Nineteenth century was a brilliant period of Riau in intellectual and cultural tradition. The extensive writing tradition as an intellectual activity was taking place at that moment. There are many writers who emerged during this century. At least, there were twenty four intellectuals noted who had produced works in subjects such as law, fiction, religion, and history like Raja Ahmad, Raja ali Haji, R. Abu Muhammad Adnan, Raja Aisah Sulaiman and Raja Ali Kelana -just to mention some names.

Dealing with nineteenth century's works, many still assume that Malay Riau writers only produced historical works, fictive poets, and grammar. Researchers or writers rarely study about Malay Riau works that have Islam as their background.  It is because, only some books like Tuhfat al-Nafis, Silsilah Melayu Bugis, Syair Abdul Muluk, Bustanul Katibin, and Kitab Pengetahuan Bahasa  that have been extensively studied by the scholars, not religious book concerning such as Islamic political thought, theology, law, jurisprudence, and sufism. In fact, religion had become determinant factor that promoted the intellectual activities and creativities as well as Malay culture. In the pre-Islamic period, according to Hasan Junus, Malay Riau culture "was no more than a peripheral culture which did not pay attention to intellectual activities. Even thought there were no Islamic intellectual as popular as those of Aceh, Palembang, Banjarmasin, and Pattani, but one thing interesting is that the Malay Riau intellectual's works in history, grammar, and poets consists of Islamic teachings and moral messages.

The background described above has encouraged me to study further about the Intellectual Genealogy and Islamic Though in the Nineteenth Century Malay Riau Kingdom. Therefore, this study not only aims at explaining genealogy (the dynamics, transformation, and discontinuity in historical development) of Malay intellectuals, but also aims at describing socio-intellectual tradition and development of Islamic thought.  The clear explanation on the genealogy of intellectuals is expected to provide new insight dealing with diachronic movement and intellectual chain among generations of the Malay Riau intellectuals. Meanwhile, the clear description of socio-intellectual tradition and development of Islamic thought is expected to explain the development of intellectual tradition and Islamic thought in the nineteenth century as a chain of Islamic intellectual development before and after that century.

(Project done while being Postdoctoral fellow at International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS), Leiden University)