Global Movement of Moderates or Wasatiyyah:
A Commentary on an Initiative
Mohamed Fauzi Yaacob
This is a revised text of a lecture hosted by the Institute of Oriental
Philosophy held at the Institute in Tokyo on July 1, 2014.

IntroductionW

HEN I was invited by The Institute of Oriental Philosophy for ashort talk some time towards the end of 2010, I chose to speak on
the challenges of pluralism in Malaysia and the efforts Malaysia had tomake in meeting those challenges. During the talk, I elaborated several
initiatives by the government of Malaysia, religious bodies and civilsocieties and private individuals of all religions in meeting thosechallenges, especially the challenge of making the citizens of Malaysia
appreciate the need for embracing religious and cultural diversity as ameans of national integration.
Today, I am going to explore the theme further by talking about thewasatiyyah movement, or the movement of the moderates, which is an
initiative by the Malaysian government, as articulated by the Prime
Minister Mohd. Najib Abdul Razak, to take to the next level the task ofnation-building, and simultaneously to involve the rest of the world in
the effort for global peace by increasing inter-religious understanding
and tolerance. Najib articulated the idea of wasatiyyah during his
maiden speech at the 65th United Nation General Assembly on
September 27, 2010, which reportedly was well-received.
This talk is about the global movement of moderates, or wasatiyyah
movement that Najib articulated. It is a commentary of its potential andinfluence as a weapon against extremism, and of activities and programs
that have been planned and carried out to concretize the concept,
principles and values associated with it. I shall begin by explaining what
wasatiyyah means.

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Wasatiyyah defined
Wasatiyyah is Arabic, quranic and prophetic. It is quranic and prophetic
because it is derived from the Quran and Hadith, the two primarysources of Islamic teachings. Arabic is the language of the Quran and ofProphet Mohamad, peace be upon him. Though Arabic, quranic andprophetic in origin, it is not exclusively Islamic. Its message and ideals
are universal, transcending linguistic, ethnic and religious divide.
As a term, wasatiyyah has been generally translated as moderation,balance or equilibrium. It also translates as excellent or excellence. Its
origin is the quranic expression of ummatan wasatan (which appeared
as part of Surah 2, Ayat 143), which is generally translated as amoderate nation or community. Wasat is the root word from which
wasatiyyah is derived.
Generally, Muslim scholars have reservations about the close
association between wasatiyyah and moderation. To many a scholar,
wasatiyyah goes beyond moderation. An eminent scholar in Islamic
Studies in Malaysia, Mohd. Kamal Hassan, for example, argues that as aconcept, wasatiyyah must encompass three key attributes—justice,
excellence, and balance or moderation. The inclusion of the attribute ofjustice is based on a Hadith or Sunnah that was reported by Ahmad on
the authority of Abu Sa’id al-Khudari that the Prophet interpreted theword wasat, from which wasatiyyah is derived, to mean justice or aladl. Kamal argues that, although justice connotes balance, equilibrium
or moderation, it stretches further than that to deserve to be a separate
attribute. It requires an objective mind that free of emotion, bias or
prejudice. Kamal finds support for this opinion from the interpretation
by many commentators of the Quran of another verse of the Quran thathas the same root with wasat, which is awsat-u-hum. According toKamal, many commentators of the Quran interpreted the word awsat tomean ‘the most just (a’dal) amongst them’.
The basis for incorporating excellent or excellence into the meaningof wasatiyyah is due to its usage in Arabic language as well as on a
Hadith or Sunnah. Arabs understand the word wasat to also mean thebest or excellent/excellence. This can be understood from the term awsat
al-Arab to describe the Quraish tribe from which the Prophet belongs,
the term means the best or noblest tribe among Arabs. The Sunnah that
Kamal refers to here is the one which reports that the Prophet was thewasat among his people, which scholars interpreted to mean ‘the noblest
among his people genealogically.’
Kamal argues that the relevance of moderation as a third attribute is94… global movement of moderates or wasatiyyah
not an issue. It has been widely accepted, and it is the most explicit
meaning that one can derive from the word wasat (Mohd. Kamal 2013).
Kamal also cautions us that moderation is not something that needs to
be attained at all costs. “It is defined by the Quran and Sunnah … there
is no moderation if there is no justice and there is no justice by transgressing the definitive injunctions of the Quran and Sunnah”. Moderation is not mediocrity, because Islam enjoins excellence. Rather, it is the
middle position between two forbidden extremes, which many Muslim
scholars defined as the modes of the excessiveness or ifrat and laxity or
tafrit. It is in this regard that moderation is a just, excellence andbalanced concept. It is the striving to uphold that is good andcommanded in Islam and to achieve excellence in everything.
Wasatiyyah as used by Najib in his numerous speeches is in the sense
the word has been defined and agreed to by most scholars, which takes
into account all the three attributes. As an instrument to promotenational integration within a pluralism, and also as an instrument toincrease the level of international understanding, wasatiyyah emphasizes
moderation and avoids extremism. By being moderate, the ideals of
excellence and just are being realized simultaneously.
Najib’s call for a ‘global movement of the moderates’ or thewasatiyyah did not stop at UNGA. After the UNGA’s address, Najib
presented his case at many other international meetings and was
similarly well received. These included Oxford Center for Islamic
Studies, Oxford University, England on May 6, 2011; The Asia-Europe
Summit of Heads of State and Government (ASEM) in Brussels,
Belgium. The 10th Asia Security Summit in Singapore on June 3, 2011;
and Commonwealth Head of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Perth,
Australia, on October 30 2011; and East-West Center, Honolulu,
Hawaii, on November 12 2011.
Encouraged by the support he obtained especially internationally, inJanuary 2012 as he officiating The International Conference of the
Global Movement of the Moderates, Najib announced the setting up of
Institute Wasatiyyah of Malaysia (IWM) and The Global Movement of
the Moderates Foundation (GMMF) to provide the institutional support
for his project. Operating as part of Prime Minister’s Office, the Instituteof Wasatiyyah is to further the pursuit of ‘moderation and balance in all
its aspects—respect for democracy, the rule of law, education, humandignity and social justice. The GMMF, on the other hand is to spearhead
this work at an international level, to act as a ‘center of first resort forthe consolidation and dissemination of information and campaign
materials to all those who want to join the fight against extremism,

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governmental and non-governmental bodies alike’. It is to complement
other initiatives for global dialogue and cooperation.

Wasatiyyah, what’s so novel about it?
In his speech at the opening ceremony of the ICGMM, Najib did notregard the call for moderation as novel. He insisted that ‘moderation has
always been our chosen path. It is a testament to how we gained our
independence from the British back in 1957 … moderation is the fitrah… the solid bedrock on which all of the world’s civilizations have been
built…’. How true! As a matter of fact, one can argue that moderation asa fitrah not exclusively Islamic. It is also the essence of other beliefs.
What Prophet Mohamed teaches that ‘moderation is the best of actions’,
Jesus says ‘let your moderation be known unto all men’. The Torahteaches people of the Jewish faith that moderation in all things is a ‘wayof life’. Buddhists are urged to follow ‘the middle path’. The ‘ying’ and‘yang’ principles define life’s balance for Taoists and Confucianists.
Additionally, even before Najib announced IWM and GMMF, there
already exist elsewhere similar institutions engaging in the promotion ofmoderation. The Al-Qaradhawi Center for Islamic Moderation andRenewal, housed in the Faculty of Islamic Studies, University of Qatar,and The Moderation Assembly for Thought and Culture which wasestablished under the patronage of King of Jordan and The Royal
Academy of Jordan were two examples (Mohammad Haniff Hassan
2014).
Nevertheless, the world saw something refreshing in Najib’s call for
the GMM to get back to ‘the center stage’. As such he caught theattention of, and received support from, many world leaders andjournalists. James Fallow, a correspondent for The Atlantic, expressed
his admiration for Najib’s speech at the UNGA, saying that it wasdifferent from Najib’s predecessors who ‘would sometimes have crafted
such a speech to emphasize the Zionist menace or Western hegemonism
as trumping all other threats’. He further said, ‘This prime minister took
a different approach’ (The Atlantic 2010/09). In his address at the 9th
World Islamic Economic Forum, London, 29 October 2013, the British
Premier, David Cameron was quoted to have said, ‘… Najib is a newly
reelected leader whose pioneering Global Movement of the Moderates(GMM) is uniting and inspiring people across the world in the fightagainst extremism’. GMM was a welcome inclusion at the 16th Summitof Non-Aligned Movement, as reflected in the following words, “TheHeads of State and Government recognized the valuable contributions of

96… global movement of moderates or wasatiyyah
all religions and beliefs to modern civilization and the contribution that
dialogue among civilizations can make towards an improved awarenessand understanding of common values of tolerance and peacefulcoexistence.” And, “The Heads of State & Government reaffirm thecommitment of all religions to peace, and the need for the voices ofmoderation from all religions & beliefs to work together in order tobuild a more secure and peaceful world. They further recognizedmoderation as an important value and a common approach to counter all
forms of extremism and to promote dialogue, mutual respect,understanding and acceptance. In this regard, the initiative by Malaysia
to promote moderation via the Global Movement of Moderates (GMM)
is welcomed.”
It is true that an examination of the programs implemented by the
GMM thus far reflects ‘a new approach in international relations andforeign policy’ where perspectives and framework of moderation torealize world peace and harmony are being applied as the main goal. Its
works in strengthening of people-to-people diplomacy to complement
government-to-government diplomacy and in widening people
participation in foreign policy decision-making is refreshing. So is its
current effort at developing ideas, framework and strategies formoderation on the following five initiatives: digital diplomacy; nontraditional security threats; democracy and governance; social cohesion
and inclusive development; and youth, women and civil society. The
development of muqasid al-syariah index is quite a daunting task.
In Malaysia, the term wasatiyyah is currently popular in public
discourse. But concepts quite akin to it were already in place during theprevious administrations. It was in the policies of the first three prime
ministers: Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra, Abdul Razak Hussain andHussain Onn, in somewhat veiled forms, subsumed under the concept of
goodwill or muhibah.
It was more explicit during Mahathir Mohamed’s administration, in
his policy of ‘inculcation of Islamic values’ in administration. In
Mahathir’s conception, moderation was one of values to be propagated.
The others are: trustworthiness, responsibility, sincerity, dedication,
diligence, cleanliness, discipline, cooperation, integrity, andthankfulness.
It was most explicit in the concept of Islam Hadhari or Civilizational
Islam put forth by the PM just before Najib, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi,
who put forth the idea to counter religious extremist views and to
propagate the middle or civilizational way of Islam. To spread themessage of Islam Hadhari, Badawi set up The International Institute ofglobal movement of moderates or wasatiyyah

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Advanced Islamic Studies, and an another, The Institute of Islam
Hadhari, which was housed in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).
Currently, IIAIS is quite low-keyed & receiving not much official
support, and not much is heard of about The Institute of Islam Hadhari.
Can this be an indication of things to come—that a set up will besimilarly neglected should the project initiator will no longer be inpower?
Perhaps not, because for the moment it appears that there are morework to be done in Malaysia, and done immediately. Going by thecurrent trends, it can be safely asserted that Malaysia is relatively freefrom civil strive. But Malaysia cannot afford to be complacent. She has
to be on guard all the time. This is because lately talks and events that
could lead to ethnic and religious tensions and discords do crop up more
frequent than before.
Even by focusing only to the period beginning from 2000 onwards,
we can point out many examples, which include incidents like the bodysnatches at funeral parlor, confiscation of Bible in Malay language,
allegations of mass conversion of Malay Muslims to Christianity,
custody battle of children upon conversion of one of the spouses, use of
the term Allah in Catholic publications and bible, demolition of Hindu
temples, display of disrespect for one religion by adherents of anotherreligion, allegation of religious discrimination, controversy over hududlaw, cow’s head incidents, issues connected with LGBT, and a host ofothers.
Perhaps, elaborations on some of these events may illustrate the point.
First, the case of ‘body snatches at funeral parlor’. There were several
cases over the years. The most recent involved a person by the name of
Teoh Cheng Cheng who died on June 7 2014, after falling from anapartment building in Penang. While the family was preparing for her
funeral, a group of officials from Penang Islamic Religious Department(Jaipp) arrived at the parlor to claim the body, armed with evidence toshow that she was a Muslim and therefore deserved a Muslim burial.
She was allegedly converted to Islam some time in 1996 and assumed
the name of Nora Cheng binti Abdullah. The family was startled
because as far as they were concerned, she was a Buddhist, and they
were not aware of her conversion. After some tensed moments and highdrama, with the involvement of high ranking opposition party leaders
who were happy to be dragged in such a situation, the family reluctantly
allowed the remain to be taken away by the religious officers. To theleaders of opposition party leaders situations like this were always awelcome example of religious authority’s thoughtlessness and98… global movement of moderates or wasatiyyah
insensitivity. The family was advised to take the matter to the court.
Four days later, Penang Syariah High Court ruled she was not a Muslim
and ordered Jaipp to return the body. Teoh Cheng Cheng was finallygiven a Taoist funeral when her remains were cremated at Batu Gantung
crematorium (Star online, retrieved on 15 June 2014).
There were two recent cases of custody battle of children upon
conversion to another faith of one of the spouses. One was the custody
battle between K. Patmanathan, who assumes the name of Mohd.
Ridzuan Abdullah upon his conversion to Islam, and his former wife M.
Indira Gandhi. In April 2009, Mohd. Ridzuan had reportedly taken away
their three children, then aged two, 11 and 12 respectively, andconverted them to Islam purportedly without Indira Gandhi’sknowledge. The Syariah Court awarded Mohd. Ridzuan custody of all
three children. The High Court later granted Indira Gandhi custody ofthe children and, in March 2010 Mohd. Ridzuan was ordered to theyoungest girl to the mother, but he did not comply. On May 30 2014,
Ipoh High Court Judge issued a warrant of arrest against Mohd. Ridzuan
for alleged contempt after he repeatedly failed to return the girl to Indira
Gandhi. It was reported that the police are tracking down Mohd.
Ridzuan, and the episode is still without a closure (Star Online, retrieved
25 June 2014).
Public discussions on hudud or Syariah Criminal Law cause someconcerns among sections of Malaysian population. They raisedquestions like why do we need hudud when Malaysia is not even an
Islamic state? When it was suggested that the law be applied only to
Muslims, some sections of the population were appeased. But when Dr
Mushaddad of Institut Wasatiyyah Malaysia, during a forum of religious
scholars in Shah Alam on May 6 2014 (The malaymailonline 7 May
2014, retrieved 2014/06/06), expressed the view that the criminal law be
applied to non-Muslims as well, then there were protests all over, be it
individuals, rights or public interest groups and political parties.
Perpetrators include individuals, leaders of political parties, both thegovernment and the opposition, and rights or interest groups. They are
guilty of deeds and words that constitute threats to public order. Malay
right group like Perkasa and Isma, Chinese right group like Dong Zhong
and Indian right group like Hindraf made controversial and provocative
statements from time to time. Even members of ruling coalition do comeup with similar statements occasionally. Such statements would comewhen the leaders feel that their influences are waning so they have tocome up with statements that would make them appear to be
championing their people. Leaders of UMNO, MCA, MIC and Gerakan

global movement of moderates or wasatiyyah99

do make such statements from time to time.
Leaders of interfaith dialogues have expressed concern with which
the frequency of the occurrence of such utterances and actions. They
also express concern over the lack of action, or of selective action, by
the authorities over such matters. They think that matters like theseshould be nipped in the bud.
Therefore, most Malaysians are of the opinion that work in
Malaysia’s own backyard has to be put in order first before wasatiyyah
movement is to be brought to a global level, like combating acts ofaggression and terrorism against the people of Palestine by Israel, or by
the movement led by Buddhist monk Wirathu against the Rohingyas in
Myanmar.

Concluding Remarks
Though the idea of wasatiyyah is not exactly new, the concept is worth
noting, both as an initiative for national integration as well asinternational cooperation & understanding.
Najib should be congratulated for having the foresight to bring it up
for international attention and acceptance. But for wasatiyyah to be a
success at global level, work in Malaysia’s own backyard has to be put
in order. Otherwise, Malaysia’s friends whom she courts as partners incombating extremism would not be taking her seriously. If or when that
happens, it sounds the death knell of wasatiyyah or the global movementof the moderates! Or, it will be, as suggested by an opposition leader, ‘apolitical scam’ (http://tonypua.blogspot.jp/2012/01, retrieved
2014/06/02). As it was, it almost turned into one when in late June Najib
called on UMNO members to emulate the courage shown by the fightersof the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil), who recently took overthe Iraqi city of Mosul (http://www.the Malaysianinsider.com, retrieved
2014/07/10).

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Author Biography
Mohamed Fauzi Yaacob is the former Dean of Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences,
University of Malaya. As a sociologist, he served as a fellow at Harvard University and
London School of Economics and Political Science. He is the author of Main Puteri(1993: Main Puteri, a traditional Malay shamanistic performance), and the editor of
Malaysia: Menangani Perubahan dan Pembangunan (2006: Sociopolitical andeconomic conditions in facing the challenge of globalization and development in
Malaysia; collection of articles), and Malaysia: Transformasi & Perubahan Sosial(2009: Essay on sociocultural transformation in Malaysia).
This was his second lecture held at the Institute of Oriental Philosophy. The content of
the first lecture held on December 2010 was published in The Journal of Oriental
Studies vol. 21, which is available at http://www.totetu.org/assets/media/paper/j021_166.
pdf.