Kassim Ahmad (9 September 1933 – 10 October 2017)[2] was a Malaysian Muslim philosopher, intellectual, writer, poet and an educator. He was also a socialist politician in the early days of Malaya and later Malaysia and was detained without trial from 1976 to 1981 under Malaysia's Internal Security Act.[3]
Kassim Ahmad | |
|---|---|
| قاسم أحمد | |
| Born | 9 September 1933 |
| Died | 10 October 2017 (aged 84) |
| Alma mater | University of Malaya |
| Spouse | Sharifah Fauziah binti Yussof Alsaggof |
| Era | Contemporary Islamic philosophy |
| Region | Islamic Philosophy |
Main interests | Islamic Philosophy, Existentialism, Novelist |
Early life
editKassim was born in Bukit Pinang, Kota Setar in the northern Malaysian state of Kedah in 1933. His parents were Ahmad Ishaq and Ummi Kalthom Ahmad. One of them originated from Pattani, Thailand. Kassim's grandfather was a farmer and a religious teacher who lived in Perai, Penang. In 1960, Kassim married Sharifah Fauziah binti Yussof Alsaggof.[4]
Education
editHe attended a Malay primary school in Bandar Baharu before attending Sultan Abdul Hamid College for his secondary education. He later went to Singapore to enrol at the University of Malaya in the 1950s.
In Singapore, he completed his dissertation that challenged the popular status of Hang Tuah as a Malay hero. Hang Tuah is a Malay legendary warrior mentioned extensively in The Malay Annals and Hikayat Hang Tuah. Kassim instead argued that Hang Tuah's antagonist Hang Jebat was the hero. In Malay legends, Hang Tuah fought and killed his sworn brother Hang Jebat who rose up against an unjust sultan. The former is celebrated for his loyalty to the sultan, despite suffering injustice from the courts.
He was preparing for his doctorate degree in political science in 1976 when the government detained him without trial for five years.[5]
Career
editUpon graduation from the university, he worked as a researcher at Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (Institute of Language and Literature) in Kuala Lumpur where he specialised in Hang Tuah literature. Soon after, he moved to London to lecture on Malay language at the School of Oriental and African Studies for four years.[5] Due to his deep interest in Malayan politics, he refused to take up a permanent position at SOAS and decided to return home. Upon his return to Malaya, he taught at a school in Penang. His service as a teacher was terminated after he was found distributing socialist pamphlets to his students.[6]
Activism and political participation
editKassim was an active member of the University Socialist Club in the 1950s, a left-wing student body in Malaya and Singapore. He was also a member of Parti Rakyat Malaysia when Ahmad Boestamam was the president.
He later went on to lead the political body together with Syed Husin Ali from 1965 until 1980 before joining the ruling United Malay National Organisation.[7]
He was arrested under the Internal Security Act for 5 years beginning 1976 for allegedly supporting a socialist-communist movement in Malaysia. Syed Husin himself had been arrested two years earlier on similar grounds.
Kassim was later released on 30 July 1981 after Mahathir Mohamad became the prime minister. Mahathir first met Kassim at the University of Malaya, and had written forewords for Kassim's books.
Islam and Quranism
editIn 1984, he wrote Hadis: Satu Penilaian Semula (Hadith: A Re-evaluation), a book questioning the role of hadith in Islam, and ignited a debate on Quranism in Malaysia.[4][8][9] The book was banned by the Home Ministry in 1986.
Publication
editThis is a partial list of his work:
- Characterisation in Hikayat Hang Tuah (1966)
- Kemarau di Lembah (1967)
- Perwatakan dalam Hikayat Hang Tuah (1973)
- Pengembara Dalam Perjalanan (1978)
- Universiti Kedua (1983)
- Hadis: Satu Penilaian Semula (1984)
- Hadis: Jawapan Kepada Pengkritik (1992)
- Quo Vadis Bangsaku?
- Polemik Sastera Islam
- Mencari Jalan Pulang Daripada Sosialisme Kepada Islam
- Jalan Ke Parlimen
- Hikayat Hang Tuah
- Lamumba Mati[10]
Awards
edit- Doctorate of Letters, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (1985)
- Anugerah GAPENA (1987)
- Anugerah Zaaba (2016)
References
edit- ^ "The passing of a world class philosopher". The Malay Mail. 13 October 2017.
- ^ "Kassim Ahmad passes away". The Star. 10 October 2017. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
- ^ "For the love of the common people". The Star.
- ^ a b (in Indonesian) Aviv Alfiyyah dan Dewi Khodijah, “Kassim Ahmad: Tokoh Mungkir Sunnah Melayu,” dalam Yang Membela dan Yang Menggugat, ed. Muammar Zayn Qadafy (Yogyakarta: Interpena, 2011), hal. 183.
- ^ a b Teng, Fan Yew (27 September 1979). "Free Ahmad". The New York Review of Books. 26 (14). Retrieved 10 October 2017.
- ^ "Malay intellectual Kassim Ahmad dies". The Malaysian Insight. 10 October 2017. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
- ^ "Syed Husin remembers #3 – Overcoming 1974 arrests and Ops Lalang". Malaysia Kini. 23 September 2021.
- ^ (in Indonesian) Abdul Majid Khon Pemikiran Modern dalam Sunnah, (Jakarta: Kencana, 2011), hal. 110-111.
- ^ "JAWI's detention, arrest of Kassim Ahmad was illegal, court rules". The Malay Mail. 21 December 2015. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
- ^ "Nada sinis puisi era 60-an". Utusan Online. Archived from the original on 24 December 2015.