Coexistence and Acceptance as a Means of Global Peace: The Case of Malaysia
In its true sense, peace transcends the mere absence of violence. In setting the agenda for global peace, however, it is pertinent to consider some success stories of some melting pots that have survived decades of racial, cultural, and religious differences based on the principles of peaceful co-ex...
| Authors: | ; |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
De Gruyter, Versita
2013
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| In: |
The Journal of Rotterdam Islamic and Social Sciences
Year: 2013, Volume: 4, Issue: 1, Pages: 1-20 |
| Further subjects: | B
Coexistence and Acceptance
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| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | In its true sense, peace transcends the mere absence of violence. In setting the agenda for global peace, however, it is pertinent to consider some success stories of some melting pots that have survived decades of racial, cultural, and religious differences based on the principles of peaceful co-existence and mutual acceptance. While this study will highlight this model as exemplified by the Malaysian sociopolitical milieu, it is always good to transpose such local gains to global peace. Peace studies as a field of study is increasingly important in a world bedevilled with civil wars and transnational conflicts. Rather than focusing on the surge of violence and conflict transformation alone, we could start modelling peace to be transplanted to volatile regions and countries in the world. Modelling peace does not imply coming up with a statistical model that will bring about peace. What we intend to highlight here is the need to use best practices or success stories for possible adaptation in other regions and countries. This is not a magic wand but a progressive way to tackle the increasing spate of state-sponsored violence and conflicts associated with racial and religious differences. Against this backdrop, this article examines the imperativeness of co-existence and mutual acceptance as a means to promote global peace while using Malaysia as a case study. The justification of Malaysia as a suitable case study needs to be clarified from the outset. Being a multicultural, multireligious, and multiracial country, Malaysia is one of the very few countries in the world that has a large percentage of three major races of predominantly different religions. Such a cosmopolitan society is a melting pot where peoples of a variety of cultures, races, and religions have assimilated into a cohesive whole while retaining their individual identities and cultural heritages. The article is organised into five parts. After this introduction, Part 2 gives a preliminary understanding of the fundamental terms in the study, including their definition of terms as well as contextualising them in the light of the scope and limitation of this study. Part 3 presents a general introduction on the imperativeness of global peace in a world that is increasingly bedevilled with violence tainted with racial, religious, and ideological differences. Part 4 is the core of the article since as it dilates on the achievements recorded in Malaysia over the years since Merdeka (Malaysian Independence, 1957) in terms of peaceful coexistence, mutual acceptance, and understanding that have cascaded into a sustained peace in the country. Part 5 gives the conclusion and a highlight of major issues. Other Muslim majority countries can learn from the Malaysian model. |
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| ISSN: | 2199-6172 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The Journal of Rotterdam Islamic and Social Sciences
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