Context of Encounter

5.4.1 Context of Encounter

As mentioned in Chapter 2, the dissemination of the information on Islam in Brunei is through what Rambo regards as a public mode of contact, that is the mass media, as well as through education system and government agencies. This study however finds that a considerable number of the informants of this study have not seen mass media or Islamic subjects studied at school as the factors that triggered their interest in Islam, as shown in the following interview excerpts:

[E13.Muslim Dusun.I33]

It was during the secondary school years I began to learn about Islamic laws, the history of the prophets... [Q: Had your perception on Islam changed do you think, because of what you learnt from school?]

No, I don‟t think so. I studied Islam at that time not because I was interested in it but because I had to; it was a part of the school curriculum... [Trans.]

[E14.Muslim Dusun.I9]

Since my retirement, I like to watch morning tv, and normally at that particular time of day, there would be some religious Since my retirement, I like to watch morning tv, and normally at that particular time of day, there would be some religious

[E15.Muslim Dusun.I19]

I listened, watched and copied what my friends did during religious classes. When the teacher asked us to recite the Al-Quran verses, I would join the whole class reciting the verses. I did not feel any different because we all were doing the same thing... [Trans.]

Analysing the above interview excerpts, it becomes apparent that the informants‟ encounter with Islam through school and mass media do not represent a meaningful religious encounter. As revealed by the above excerpts, Islamic knowledge in school‟s curriculum has largely been seen as one of the school subjects by the school-age non- Muslim population in the country. Consequently, such constant exposure to Islam

somehow reduced the extent of the informants‟ responsiveness to the religious value of Islam, and this finding thus helps to explain why such public mode of contact does not produce the intended outcome in motivating the informants to learn more about the

religion.

What is equally significant about the impact of the constant exposure to a majority religion is that, it also critically impinged on the country‟s efforts in propagating Islam.

Muslim missionaries, known as the daie, have been actively preaching the ideals of Islam to the population in different parts of the country. A meeting with missionaries, by Rambo‟s definition, should straightforwardly be seen as a religious encounter.

This study however does not yield similar findings pertaining to the so-called encounter between the Dusun Muslim converts and Muslim missionaries before their This study however does not yield similar findings pertaining to the so-called encounter between the Dusun Muslim converts and Muslim missionaries before their

[E16.Muslim Dusun.I23]

I know Islam from the daie themselves. The first time they came to this village was in the 1980s and they needed someone to show them the way around the village. The village head then assigned me to be

their „tour-guide‟ and from then on, I have been friends with the da’wah people. I even joined their door-to-door visits to the Dusun homes. After several years working with them, they occasionally asked me whether I had the intention to convert. I just shook my head politely in response to the question... [Trans.]

[E17.Muslim Dusun.I25]

I lost count how many times the daie came to this village, and because I was the village head at that time, they would stop by my house before carrying out their duties. But despite the regular meeting with them, I had not had the slightest intention to know about Islam more than what I had read from the newspapers... [Trans.]

[E18.Muslim Dusun.I31]

On important Islamic dates, my workplace would hold some religious events to commemorate the date and the da’wah people would come to give lectures. I did go and attend these events but I am certain the interest towards Islam did not come from there... [Trans.]

The above excerpts evidently demonstrate the fact that the da’wah strategy can become ineffective if the impact of the advocacy does not produce effective persuasion and motivation. What probably happens here is that, the familiarity with Islam could have also affected the effectiveness of the da’wah strategy. As the non-Muslims have been constantly exposed to the exact kind of information disseminated by the daie, the

da’wah activities have probably failed to trigger any real interest that could persuade the non-Muslims to see Islam in a different, more positive light. In other words, the da’wah activities have probably failed to trigger any real interest that could persuade the non-Muslims to see Islam in a different, more positive light. In other words, the

What we can deduce from the above discussion is that, the fundamental culture-free definition of the encounter should be a point of contact that a potential convert has with the prospective religion. This fundamental definition will allow one to define the encounter stage according to the kind of context within which the stage occurs. It is clearly shown above that while Rambo‟s study identifies the encounter as a contact point between the missionaries and a potential convert, such definition of the encounter

cannot be applied to Brunei‟s majority-religion context because such contact point does not necessarily produce an outcome desirable and relevant to a religious

conversion.

Equally significant, and related to the above finding, this study also finds that the key components of context that transform a point of contact into a meaningful encounter are persuasion and trust components. It is evident from the experience of the Dusun Muslim converts that the presence of the persuasion and trust components were significantly affected by the regular exposure to the state religion as the converts had not considered their constant encounter with Islam from school and mass media before their conversion to have a significant meaning in their conversion experience.

So, where did the Dusun Muslim converts experience the persuasion and trust component which led them to have a real religious encounter? This study will argue So, where did the Dusun Muslim converts experience the persuasion and trust component which led them to have a real religious encounter? This study will argue