Understanding the Rarity of Conversions Within the Bā ‘Alawī Community in Singapore (1980-2020s)

Abstract

Bā ‘Alawī Arabs have been credited for bringing Islam to the Malay world through its Ṣūfi brotherhood, the ‘Ṭarīqa ‘Alawīyya. Recent studies highlighted their role in conversions to Twelver Shī’a Islam in the region, specifically in Indonesia and Malaysia. Yet, Twelver Shī’a Islam in Singapore has taken a different trajectory, with conversions mainly within the Malay community. This paper seeks to explain the dearth of Singaporean Bā ‘Alawī conversions to Twelver Shī’a Islam. It was found that although there was a large pool of Bā ‘Alawī Shī’a converts in Indonesia and Malaysia, only two Singaporean Bā ‘Alawī individuals identified as Shī’ī. This study was inspired by Pickvance’s argument for the importance of seeking causal reasons to explain differences in comparable phenomena. It was done through in depth, unstructured interviews with eight contemporary Singaporean Bā ‘Alawī and non- Bā ‘Alawī scholars and individuals involved in disseminating Islamic knowledge in Singapore. Oral history interviews of three prominent Bā ‘Alawī religious scholars living in the 1980s and 1990s together with biographies of Bā ‘Alawī religious scholars were also analysed in this research. This paper puts forth five main factors that curb Singaporean Bā ‘Alawī conversion to Shī’a Islam: a strong network of Bā ‘Alawī scholars who monopolised Singaporean Islamic institutions in the 1980s and 1990s, their involvement in the creation of a unified Islamic curriculum in Singapore madrasah, their creation of home-based Islamic educational classes, the Singapore modernisation and secularisation agenda, and a desire to preserve their cultural identity through the Bā ‘Alawī Sufi order, ’Ṭarīqa Alawiyya. This paper argues against ignoring studies that have lack of numbers as they may offer insights into a nuanced understanding of the Muslim minority experience.