Factors of Not Converting to Islam Among Peranakan Chinese in Kelantan

Peranakan Chinese community have arrived in Kelantan for the last three centuries. They can acculturate themselves into the Malay Muslim community in this state to the extent that they can adopt the lifestyle of Malay and speak Kelantan slang Malay fluently. However, this acculturation can only change the lifestyle and slang language, not the beliefs and religion. The objective of this article is to examine the factors that can cause Peranakan Chinese in Kelantan not to embrace Islam and to be comfortable with the religion of their ancestors. Previous studies have found six hindrance factors for Chinese to embrace Islam, namely; a) communal and ethnocentric attitudes of Kelantan Malays. b) ethnocentric and communal attitudes of the Chinese. c) differences of beliefs. d) maintaining peranakan Chinese identity. e) economic discrimination. f) implementation of Islamic politics. This study examines the extent to which these six factors hinder Peranakan Chinese from embracing Islam. A total of 12 Peranakan Chinese informants in Kelantan were interviewed in a semi-structured method and they consisted of elected representatives from each district in Kelantan. The study found that the majority of respondents can receive Malay and adopt Malay lifestyles. However, there are several factors that cause them to not embrace Islam, namely the Chinese communal attitude that prioritises family ties and is more comfortable sticking to the existing religion than a new religion.