Liberalisme dan Pemikiran Pemimpin Muslim di Malaysia.

Liberal thinking is a stream of thought that fights for the right of freedom of speech and the right of freedom of religion. This thinking is seen as a threat to religious harmony due to the interpretations made concerning religious matter depending on the rationale and contextual perspectives. This paper focuses on the epistemological debate on liberal thought and its relationship with the Muslim schools of thought leaders in Malaysia.. Using the qualitative methods, this study also includes the method of interviewing sixteen informants among national leaders, community leaders and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to view the reality of this thinking in the Malaysian context. The informants have been sampled by using purposive sampling strategies to gain clear and direct informations. The result of this study shows that liberal thinking is a knowledge that has a long history of science. It is influenced by a variety of historical and state conditions including the influence of aristocracy, industrialization and religion. Liberal thought is also a basic of secular civilization that stems from Western scholars who opposed the attitudes and ideologies of the Christian religion's leaders. It is clear that liberal thinking is a Western's mold and its effect can be seen in the way of life and culture of Western society today. The concern is, the finding shows that this thinking has infiltrated the minds of some Malaysians especially among Muslim leaders. This method of thinking needs to be dealt holistically as this liberal thinking may affect the way of Muslims' thinking from different backgrounds. The implication may appear in various forms of movements claiming that they carry Islamic symbols while their principles are extreme in nature and completely contrary to the true principles of Islamic teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]