The History and Development of Islamic Administration in the Era of Brooke's Governance in Sarawak

This article aims to explain at a glance the administration and implementation of Islamic law during the period of Brooke's reign in Sarawak. This study uses a historiographical approach that is historical writing, principles or methods of historical writing and works or results of writing related to Islamic law in Sarawak during the reign of Brooke. The historiographic research approach used in this study went through four steps, namely; heuristic; source criticism; interpretation; and historiography. The problems answered in this paper are related to the administration and existence of Islamic jurisprudence throughout the period of Brooke's reign. Manuscripts, notes of Brooke and notes of British officials from the West relating to Islamic jurisprudence in Sarawak during Brooke's reign were collected, critiqued and interpreted to produce a new historiography of the development of Islamic jurisprudence in the state of Sarawak. All information obtained from historical materials is cross-checked or audit trail to test the validity of the information. Inductive and deductive analysis approaches are used in the content analysis of historical materials to give meaning to the historical facts found. This study successfully explains the administration and implementation of Islamic law from the beginning of the reign of James Brooke until the last Rajah Brooke in Sarawak. The historical materials also managed to prove that the administration and implementation of Islamic law is the result of the legacy of the governments in Sarawak before the appointment of James Brooke as Governor of Sarawak in 1841.