ISLAMISASI DAN IDENTITI MUSLIM SABAH SEBELUM 1963: MIGRASI, ADAPTASI BUDAYA DAN KETAHANAN KOMUNITI

ISLAMIZATION AND MUSLIM IDENTITY IN SABAH BEFORE 1963: MIGRATION, CULTURAL ADAPTATION AND COMMUNITY RESILIENCE

Abstract

Artikel ini membincangkan Islamisasi dan pembentukan identiti Muslim Sabah sebelum tahun 1963 dengan memberi tumpuan kepada tiga unsur utama, iaitu migrasi Muslim, adaptasi budaya dan ketahanan komuniti. Kajian ini menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif berasaskan kajian kepustakaan dan analisis sejarah sosial terhadap sumber-sumber berkaitan perkembangan Islam, hubungan maritim, pengaruh Kesultanan Brunei dan Kesultanan Sulu, pentadbiran kolonial British serta kedudukan masyarakat Muslim di Borneo Utara. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan bahawa identiti Muslim Sabah tidak terbentuk melalui satu faktor tunggal, sebaliknya berkembang secara beransur-ansur melalui jaringan perdagangan, migrasi masyarakat Muslim, perkahwinan, pendidikan agama tidak formal dan hubungan sosial masyarakat pesisir. Di pantai barat, pengaruh Brunei memperkukuh identiti Melayu-Islam melalui bahasa, adat dan komuniti Muslim pesisir, manakala di pantai timur, jaringan Sulu-Mindanao membentuk identiti Islam maritim dalam kalangan masyarakat Bajau, Suluk, Tausug dan komuniti pesisir lain. Kajian ini juga mendapati bahawa pengalaman kolonial British menjadi ujian penting terhadap ketahanan komuniti Muslim apabila pengaruh kesultanan semakin terbatas dan misi Kristian memperoleh ruang yang lebih tersusun melalui pendidikan, kesihatan dan program sosial. Walau bagaimanapun, Islam terus dipertahankan melalui keluarga, imam, guru agama, masjid, surau, kelas al-Quran dan persatuan Islam. Artikel ini menegaskan bahawa Islamisasi Sabah sebelum 1963 perlu difahami bukan sekadar sebagai proses penyebaran agama, tetapi sebagai proses pembentukan identiti Muslim yang berakar dalam migrasi, adaptasi budaya dan ketahanan komuniti tempatan.

This article examines Islamization and the formation of Muslim identity in Sabah before 1963 by focusing on three main elements: Muslim migration, cultural adaptation, and community resilience. This study employs a qualitative approach based on library research and socio-historical analysis of sources related to the development of Islam, maritime networks, the influence of the Brunei and Sulu Sultanates, British colonial administration, and the position of Muslim communities in North Borneo. The findings show that Muslim identity in Sabah was not formed through a single factor, but developed gradually through trade networks, Muslim migration, intermarriage, informal religious education, and the social relations of coastal communities. On the west coast, Brunei’s influence strengthened Malay-Muslim identity through language, customs, and coastal Muslim communities, while on the east coast, the Sulu-Mindanao network shaped a maritime Islamic identity among the Bajau, Suluk, Tausug, and other coastal groups. The study also finds that British colonial rule became an important test of Muslim community resilience, as the influence of the sultanates became increasingly limited while Christian missions gained a more organized space through education, healthcare, and social programmes. Nevertheless, Islam continued to be preserved through families, imams, religious teachers, mosques, prayer houses, Qur’anic classes, and Islamic associations. This article argues that Islamization in Sabah before 1963 should not be understood merely as a process of religious expansion, but as a process of Muslim identity formation rooted in migration, cultural adaptation, and the resilience of local communities.