The struggle for Islamic hearts and minds in Malaysia's elections shaped up today as a contest with global resonance as the government pressed a modernist agenda despite a strong challenge from fundamentalists.

While the conservative opposition is promising heaven to its supporters, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is offering Islamic rule which stresses science as much as religion and protects the rights of non-believers.

In a series of rallies ahead of elections on March 21, Abdullah has presented a vision of "Islam Hadhari", or Islamic governance, with the message that "Islam is a religion for development".

"It is about working hard, hunger for knowledge and information in science and technology," he told crowds of potential voters. "God willing we will then develop according to Islam."

Malaysia already ranks as one of the most developed Muslim countries in the world, having transformed a commodity-based economy over the past two decades into a high-tech manufacturing powerhouse.

The forthcoming election reflects the struggle between the ancient and the modern in Islamic countries as diverse as Iraq and Indonesia, both bedevilled by armed extremists fighting in the name of Islamic purity, analysts say.

"The opposition's version of Islam is puritanical," said P Ramasamy of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

"There are many interpretations of Islam, and the struggle between them is a global trend with the al-Qaeda terrorist group reflecting one extreme."

"Our development agenda is not over, we must strive for steady growth," Abdullah says, while the opposition Islamic party PAS frets that economic development has brought with it decadence and a loss of piety.

PAS controls two of country's 13 states, both in the rural northeast of paddy fields and coconut palms, while Kuala Lumpur boasts gleaming skyscrapers, an overhead monorail system and six-lane highways jammed with modern vehicles.

Bold rejection

Abdullah has also scorned PAS's call for the country to be governed by Shariah criminal laws complete with amputations and stoning to death for errant Muslims.

"We must be fair and just to all races. This is required by Islam. Everyone has the same rights under the constitution and demands the same system of justice," he told a rally in Seremban south of the capital.

Malaysia's population of 25 million includes large minorities of ethnic Chinese and Indians who make up more than a third of voters and therefore hold the balance of power, so Abdullah's bold rejection of Islamic fundamentalism has been seen by some as a necessary election tactic.

But he is an Islamic scholar, having graduated in Islamic studies at university, and observers have watched closely to see whether he would ease up on the development path set by his predecessor Mahathir Mohamad, who retired last October.

"Abdullah has Islamic credentials so he is exercising that knowledge. Umno has to wrestle back the Islamic monopoly from PAS," said Abdul Razak Baginda, executive director of the Malaysian Strategic Research Centre.

Some foreign commentators have suggested that the government and the opposition are trying to "out-Islamise" each other, but that is only true to the extent that there are seen to be different interpretations of Islam.

"No, certaintly we are not falling into PAS' trap," of playing up the religious angle, Abdullah said.

But, he added, "Muslims are easily motivated by religious arguments, including what PAS is telling them. So we need to take a position."

Abdullah said the government's introduction of "Islam Hadhari" was centred on "how to become a good Muslim, the need to be honest and hardworking.

"We want the promotion of Islam in moderation with various races living together in harmony." - AFP