From Surau to Market: Transforming the Economic Values of the Malay Community within the Framework of Religious Moderation

This article discusses the transformation of economic values within the Malay community, shifting from a collective and spiritual system centered on the surau to an individualistic, market-based economy. Modernization and urbanization have diminished the surau 's role as a center for ethics and economic solidarity. Traditional practices such as antar pakatan , once based on mutual cooperation, have turned into wage-based and service-oriented transactions. Using a sociological approach through Marcel Mauss's gift exchange theory, the article highlights how values of reciprocity and social honor are being eroded by market logic. The concept of religious moderation ( wasathiyyah ) is proposed as a bridge between tradition and modernity. This qualitative library-based study emphasizes the importance of revitalizing the surau as a contextual and inclusive center of Islamic economic values.