Malaysian Potpourri/The Arab Community: Search for roots continues relentlessly 500 years on
By : RINA DE SILVA and AUDREY DERMAWAN
Syed Mohsen Ahmad Alsagoff (right) when he was 8, with his brother Syed Ali (left), on the occasion of their sister Sharifah Zain’s wedding to Syed Sheikh Abdul Rahman Alsagoff before the Japanese occupation. The family is wearing traditional Hadrami outfits prevalent during the 1940s and 1950s.
There has been an Arab community in Malaysia for more than five centuries and they have not forgotten their roots. To members of the community, their family tree is of more than passing interest, write RINA DE SILVA and AUDREY DERMAWAN.
Sharifah Hendon Syed Hassan Al-Yahya (second from left) and her family poring over their family tree in their house in Shah Alam. From left are her uncle Syed Salim Syed Ahmad Al- Yahya, her mother Sharifah Aishah, her father Syed Hassan Syed Abdul Kadir Al-Yahya and her uncle Syed Alwi Syed Ahmad Al-Yahya.
A picture of the Pedigree book of Alawiyeen families or ‘buku silsilah’ which is granted to those whose claim about lineage to Prophet Muhammad is verified.
SHARIFAH Hendon Syed Hassan Al-Yahya's family tree is getting bigger by the day. The 53-year-old, her parents and uncles have traced their roots back to the first member of the Al-Yahya clan to come to Malaysia.
He was Syed Yasin who came from Hadhramaut, southern Yemen, to Terengganu in the 1770s to preach Islam.
The family tree shows that Sharifah Hendon is the ninth generation of the Al-Yahya family here. And if they meet someone whose name includes "Syed" and "Al-Yahya" they ask for their antecedents. If they turn out to be a descendant, they are added to the family tree.
Her family is now trying to trace their Hadhramaut ancestry, said Sharifah Hendon, adding that the family plans to write a book about the Al-Yahyas soon.
But there are still some holes in the story says her 74-year-old uncle, Syed Salim Syed Ahmad Al-Yahya, a former journalist.
Their research shows that all eight children of Syed Yasin left Terengganu to preach Islam.
"We suspect one of our forefathers came back to Terengganu but we still don't know which one. We found out there are even Al-Yahya families in Thailand."
Most of the members of the Arab community here have researched their family trees.
But some have taken an additional step to establish their roots. They have gone to AlMaktab Addaimi, a registry office in Jakarta to apply for what is known as the Pedigree Book of Alawiyeen Families or buku silsilah.
It is a 20-page booklet which at first glance looks like a passport, and it declares that the holder is a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad.
Arabs whose name starts with "Syed" and "Shariff" claim to have lineage to the Prophet Muhammad through his grandsons Al-Husin and Al-Hassan respectively, said Syed Hassan Jaafar Al-Shahab, chairman of the Assadah Family Tree Institute, a body that researches and verifies this claim.
The Arabs were here as early as the 16th century, when Malacca was a major port. Their main purpose was to preach Islam, said Datuk Syed Hussein Al Habshee, president of Al-Jamiatul Khairiyah, a 25-year-old association formed to foster community support among the Arabs here and to run charity projects.
"In the early years, they traded clothing materials and spices to provide the income they needed as they preached," he said.
The 1931 British Malaya National Census report showed there were 4,937 Arabs living in Malaya, which included Singapore but excluded Sabah and Sarawak.
Today, the number is estimated at anything from 50,000 to 500,000. Many have intermarried and assimilated into Malay society. They have identified themselves as Malays but their names reflect their origin.
The vast majority of the Arabs are known as Hadhramis to reflect their place of origin, Hadhramaut in southern Yemen, said Dr Abdul Rahman Tang Abdullah, an International Islamic University lecturer in Malaysian and Southeast Asian History.
"The Hadhramis claim Malayness on the grounds that they mastered the Malay language, practise a variety of Malay customs and have matrilineal blood ties with their Malay hosts," said Abdul Rahman in his 2007 paper on Arab Hadhramis in Malaysia: Their origins and assimilation in the Malay Society. As a result most of them pay less attention to their Arab identity.
"They lost their Arabic tongue and contact with their ancestral homeland, and became largely assimilated into Malay society."
Most of today's Arabs can trace their family roots to as far back as the 18th century. Their ancestors settled in Penang, Terengganu and Johor initially.
Today, one can find Arab descendants in almost every state, said Syed Hussein.
Wadi Hassan and Wadi Hana are also known as "Kampung Arab" in Johor Baru. Batu Pahat is also known to have an Arab community. And some Arabs in Johor came from Singapore, where there is still a large Arab community.
In Penang, the "Kampung Arab" is in Burma Road. There is also a cemetery for the Syed families there.
Wherever the Arabs settled, they built a mosque and a religious school, said Syed Hassan.
"In most states, there is at least one mosque which the Arabs built," he said.
An Arab Hadrami family wedding has many similarities with a Malay wedding as a result of the assimilation, but in the early days, efforts were made to keep the Arab family ties strong.
"If you married a non-Arab descendant those days, you were considered an outcast," said Syed Mohsen Ahmad Alsagoff, the founder and former president of Al-Jamiatul Khairiyah.
Even now, Syed Mohsen wears the traditional jubah, a long white robe either with or without a coat, for official functions and family events.
The zapin, or samsar, which originates from the Arab Peninsula is still danced here, but unlike the original version danced only by men, the modern version here includes women.
Tracing lineage important
THE pedigree book of Alwiyeen families, or buku silsilah, is granted to those who have a verified claim of lineage to Prophet Muhammad.
Alwiyeen is believed to be the first descendant of Prophet Muhammad in Hadhramaut, Yemen.
His father, Ubaidillah, was brought to Yemen from Iraq by his father, Ahmad Isa Al-Muhakhir, who is said to be a descendant of Prophet Muhammad, according to the the Assadah Family Tree Institute.
This local body does research and verifies Arab descendants who claim lineage to Prophet Muhammad.
The 20-page booklet is issued by AlMaktab Addaimi, a registry office in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Assadah Family Tree chairman Syed Hassan Jaafar Al-Shahab says his institute can track family roots as far back as 1,400 years ago.
"A descendant of the Prophet Muhammad would have either the name 'Syed' or 'Shariff'," he said.
"This should not be confused with the 'Syed' used by the Indian Muslims.
"They are called that because they are born on a Friday," he said.
To verify their family roots, the institute requires the applicants' names, parents' names, both grandparents' names, all their great grandparents' names and great great grandparents' names,", he said, adding that it is important for the members of the Arab community here to have their family tree traced.
"We must know who we are, our identity, what our roles are to play in our society. We have the responsibility to propagate Islam, to continue what our great grandfathers did in the past," he said.
He said about 5,000 have applied to AlMaktab Addaimi to register their claims.
The "Al" in the names of Arab descendants, such as Al-Habshee, Al-Attas or Al-Yahya has been circulating among the community for generations.
Most believe that Shahab from Al-Shahab means rising star in Arabic. Attas means "sneeze", to indicate the incident when the prominent 15th century Yemeni preacher Omar Abdul Rahman was heard sneezing in his mother's womb.
Yahya is said to mean "ironmonger".
Habshee indicates Habshah, a place in Ethiopia where a well-known preacher from the Habshee family, Syed Alwi, preached, and Alsagoff means "shelter".
In Shariff families, the women are called "Sharifah". Previously women in the Syed families were given the name Sayyidina, but now they are called Sharifah for some unknown reason.
500 Yemeni families in Penang at present
THE first Yemenis, the forefathers of the Malaysian Arab community, arrived in Penang more than 100 years ago.
Since then, the community, numbering about 500 families, has played an important role in the development of the state.
Apart from religious teaching, the forefathers were known to be actively involved in business, trade, shipping, education, law and politics.
Until the 1960s, the entire community lived in the centre of George Town in Lebuh Acheh.
But since then, many of them have moved out of the area and built homes on other parts of the island.
According to Syed Jaafar Idid, treasurer of the Al-Iqhak Association (an association for the Arab community in Penang), one of the community's main residential areas now is Kampung Syed off Jalan Burma.
It is also known as Kampung Arab. Other areas include Kampung Makam, Lebuh Melaka, Air Itam and Gelugor.
Many are still involved in business, manufacturing and selling items like the Quran, textiles and perfumes.
"What is unique about the community now is that many of them still practise certain Arab traditions, despite the influence from the local culture.
"The most common is that fathers are called 'Wali' and mothers 'Umi'. The Arabs also tend to marry within the community," he said.
On the whole, Syed Jaafar says the close-knit community has no problems living in Penang and has adapted to the local culture.
"Most of us are already in the third or fourth generation and were born and bred in Penang.
"We have no intention of returning to where our forefathers came from," he said.
Shariffah lucky to get education
SHARIFFAH Afifah Syed Abbas feels fortunate. Unlike her two elder sisters, the 49-year-old was allowed to study and later go out and work.
The principal of Sekolah Menengah (P) St George recalls how her late father, Tan Sri Syed Abbas Alhabshee, an Umno veteran and corporate leader, stopped her two elder sisters from getting more than a basic education and wouldn't let them go out to work.
"My sisters were only taught how to read and write. When it came to my turn, somehow things changed. I was fortunate that my father allowed me to study and to become who I am today," she said at her home in Kampung Syed, off Jalan Burma, yesterday.
Shariffah Afifah is from one of the 500 Malaysian families of Arab descent in Penang.
Although they mixed well and adopted some of the local culture, many people in the community continued to practise aspects of the more strict Arab culture.
Shariffah Afifah said during the time of her mother, Puan Sri Sharifah Muznah Syed Abdullah and her grandmother, women were not allowed to work and were confined to the home.
She said the men are extremely protective of the women. "There are certain rules. We cannot be seen as being too sociable," she said, adding that the rules have relaxed with time.
"I find it a joy to work. That's why I consider myself fortunate compared with my sisters."
Shariffah Afifah is from the third generation. Her grandfather, a businessman from Yemen, came to Penang more than 160 years ago. Her father was born here.
She is married to businessman Syed Idrus Syed Abdul Rahman, 53.
- NST
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