Islam and National Identity: The Case of Brunei

International Studies (Russia). 2021.

Bazhatarnik M.

Any national identity is based on an idea of a nation, famously defined by Anderson as “an imagined political community” with set borders. Still not fully consolidated, the nation of Brunei is experiencing ongoing identity formation. From a constructivist perspective, though a collective identity such as the one of a nation does not emerge naturally, primordial or structural commonalities, i.e. ethnicity and religion, may well provide the groundwork.

In Brunei’s context the particular emphasis in unifying the nation has been placed on Islam. The article examines the role of Islamic tradition in the construction of Bruneian national identity. First, it aims at analyzing the reasons and objectives for Islam to become a cornerstone of nation-building process; secondly, it is intended to assess how such a stance is reflected in public documents and the government’s actual policies.

Keywords: национальная идентичность, политический ислам, national identity, islamization and secularism, Brunei Darussalam, Бруней