What is Islam Hadhari?
• According to the Prime Minister, Abdullah Hj. Ahmad Badawi, “Islam Hadhari is an approach that emphasizes development, consistent with the tenets of Islam, and is focused on enhancing the quality of life.” (Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Islam Hadhari: A Model Approach for Progress and Development, Kuala Lumpur: MPH, 2006, 3) Islam Hadhari means “civilisational Islam.” • High on the agenda of Islam Hadhari is poverty elimination through balanced economic development, strengthening the Muslims’ faith, and raising the status of Islam in the world. • Renewal and reform are essential ingredients of Islam Hadhari. Islam Hadhari also seeks to provide a civilised alternative to the rigid, exclusive, hard-line, and extremist misinterpretations of Islam that are propagated today by deviant groups. Such misinterpretations pose a great threat to Muslims’ own understanding of their religion, to say nothing of the non-Muslims’ understanding of Islam. Islam Hadhari seeks nothing less that a return to the
