ISLAMIC ELEMENTS IN MALAY HORROR FILM: A STUDY ON OF SYAMSUL

YUSOF’S MUNAFIK 2

BY

NOR AZMIRA BINTI TAMIZI

INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA

2022
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ABSTRACT

This paper aims to analyze the Islamic elements in Syamsul Yusof’s Munafik 2 and examine
the appropriation of horror presentations with the Islamic theme of the film. Also,
determining whether the film can be considered Islamic or not. The film presents a story of
an Islamic preacher’s endeavor to help people who suffered from devilry and depicts
hypocrites who deceive people and go against Allah SWT, only to achieve power and
influence. The scriptwriter expressed the horror movie series as a film with an Islamic
awareness to the viewers. The study was conducted through textual analysis and the
application of Islamization and Mikhail Bakhtin’s theory of dialogism. The findings of this
study show that this film presents Islamic messages on faith and desires while using horror
elements to indicate some spiritual aspects and painful experiences of the characters. At the
same time give a dramatic effect to this film. However, this study finds that Munafik 2 is
more suitable to be labelled as an Islamic-based film after comparing its contents to Islamic
regulations. Nevertheless, this movie undoubtedly gives viewers good moral and Islamic
messages while ensuring the film is a great horror film and surpasses the genre’s standard.

Keywords: Malay horror film, religious horror film, Islamic film, horror film, Islamic
perspectives, dialogism.
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APPROVAL PAGE

I certify that I have supervised and read this study and that in my opinion, it conforms to
acceptable standards of scholarly presentation and is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a
Final Year Project for the degree of Bachelor of Human Sciences (English Language and
Literature) (Honours).

…………………………………..
Md. Mahmudul Hasan
Supervisor

This Final Year Project was submitted to the Department of English Language and Literature
and is accepted as a fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Bachelor of Human
Sciences (English Language and Literature) (Honours).

…………………………………..
Head, Department of English Language and Literature

This Final Year Project was submitted to the Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and
Human Sciences and is accepted as a fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Bachelor
of Human Sciences (English Language and Literature) (Honours).

…………………………………..
Dean, Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences
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DECLARATION

I declare that this final year project has been authored by myself and has never been
submitted, in whole or in part, in any previous degree at IIUM or other institutions. Unless I
stated otherwise by reference or acknowledgment.

Nor Azmira binti Tamizi

Signature: Date: 7 July 2022

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DECLARATION OF COPYRIGHT

INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA

DECLARATION OF COPYRIGHT AND AFFIRMATION OF FAIR USE OF

UNPUBLISHED FINAL YEAR PROJECT
ISLAMIC ELEMENTS IN MALAY HORROR FILM: A STUDY ON OF
SYAMSUL YUSOF’S MUNAFIK 2

I declare that the copyright holders of this Final Year Project are jointly owned by the
student and IIUM.

Copyright © 2022 Nor Azmira binti Tamizi and International Islamic University
Malaysia. All rights reserved.

No part of this unpublished Final Year Project may be reproduced, stored in a

retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior written
permission of the copyright holders except as provided below:

1. Any material contained in or derived from this unpublished research

may be used by others in their writing with due acknowledgement.

2. IIUM or its library will have the right to make and transmit copies
(print or electronic) for institutional and academic purposes.

3. The IIUM library will have the right to make, store in a retrieved
system and supply copies of this unpublished research if requested by
other universities and research libraries.

By signing this form, I acknowledged that I have read and understand the IIUM
Intellectual Property Right and Commercialization policy.

Affirmed by Nor Azmira Binti Tamizi

7 July 2022
……..…………………….. ………………………..
Signature Date
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My paper is a dedication to my family, friends, and future generation.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

In the name of God, The Most Gracious and The Most Merciful.

All praises to Allah for being with me, granting my wishes and blessing me with good
health throughout my study. Although my journey of completing this final year project made
me experience hardship and perseverance, I never once thought of giving up. Allah S.W.T is
the Giver of Gifts, and I believe my hard work will be rewarding soon as all these chances
bestowed on me are nothing but the reason to keep striving. Also, my gratitude to our Prophet
Muhammad SAW (May peace be upon him) for being the epitome of my life, guiding me to
be a good Muslim and also the embodiment of my study.

I would like to express my appreciation to my beloved parents, Araba'iah Binti Ali

and Tamizi bin Ghazali. They are my biggest supporters whenever I feel downhearted and
always pray for my blessing and happiness. They believe in my potential more than I think
mine while wishing me the best. Knowing that there are people who keep me from falling
makes me want to work harder, afraid of nothing. Also, I am very thankful to my siblings for
always being there and supporting me through thick and thin.

Besides, I would like to thank my best friend, Nur Liyana Binti Hashim for helping to
check and read my works, especially this final year project. At the same time, supporting me
and always gave me words of encouragement. Also, my close friends at IIUM kind are very
to lend a hand in reviewing my paper.

Last but not least, I feel very blessed and grateful for having a kind and admirable
supervisor, Dr Md Mahmudul Hassan. His knowledge and guidance have helped me in
completing this project.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT............................................................................................................................... 2

APPROVAL PAGE ................................................................................................................... 3

DECLARATION ....................................................................................................................... 4

DECLARATION OF COPYRIGHT ......................................................................................... 4

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................... 10

1.0 Chapter Overview ..................................................................................................... 10
1.1 Background of The Study .............................................................................................. 10
1.2 Statement of the Problem ............................................................................................... 12
1.3 Research Questions ........................................................................................................ 12
1.4 Research Objectives ....................................................................................................... 13
1.5 Significance of the Study ............................................................................................... 13
1.6 Limitations of the Study ................................................................................................. 13
1.7 Chapter Summary ........................................................................................................... 14

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................... 15

2.0 Chapter Overview .......................................................................................................... 15
2.1 Religious Elements in Horror Film ................................................................................ 15
2.2 Morality Through Fears and Monstrous Effects ............................................................ 16
2.3 Islamic Perspectives on Narrative Works ...................................................................... 17
2.4 Theoretical Framework .................................................................................................. 18
2.5 Chapter Summary ........................................................................................................... 19

CHAPTER THREE: TEXTUAL ANALYSIS I ...................................................................... 20

3.0 Chapter Overview .......................................................................................................... 20
3.1 The Meanings of Islamic Values Based on Bakhtin’s Theory ....................................... 20
3.1.1 Strong Faith in Allah S.W.T Is the Core of Human’s Strength ............................... 21
3.1.2 The Choice Between Religion and Power ............................................................... 22
3.2 Horror Elements in Munafik 2 ........................................................................................ 24
3.2.1 Portrayal of Evil Creatures ...................................................................................... 24
3.2.2 Explicit Cruelty........................................................................................................ 26
3.2.3 Horrifying Punishment of Hypocrites ..................................................................... 27
3.3 Chapter Summary ........................................................................................................... 27
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CHAPTER FOUR: TEXTUAL ANALYSIS II....................................................................... 29

4.0 Chapter Overview .......................................................................................................... 29
4.1 Malay Horror Film as Islamic Film................................................................................ 29
4.1.1 Islamic Themes ........................................................................................................ 29
4.1.2 Sharia Compliance ................................................................................................... 31
4.1.3 Munafik 2 from Islamic Perspectives ...................................................................... 33
4.2 Chapter Summary ........................................................................................................... 33

CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION.......................................................................................... 35

REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................ 39
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CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

1.0 Chapter Overview

This chapter presents the background of the study discussing the topic, some ideas, and work
references related to the topic. Also, the problem statement of this study explains the issues of
the topic chosen. Furthermore, this chapter lists research questions and the objectives of this
study. Following that, this paper includes the importance of this study and its limitation.

1.1 Background of The Study

One of the biggest pillars of the world’s film industry is the horror genre, and it is also a new
way of delivering moral messages to the masses, particularly in Malaysia. One of the main
messages often implemented through this medium is that it brings the idea of spirituality,
faith, and good vs. evil. In West, there are horror films with Christian influences and religious
mythology, such as The Exorcist (1973). It is hard not to talk about the religious horror film
without mentioning the movie. Besides, there is a recent horror film franchise that also
features some religious themes, which is The Conjuring franchise by an Australian
filmmaker, James Wan. His movies have attracted many people since the release of the first
main movie, The Conjuring (2013), and makes the viewers follow the sequels aired in 2016
and 2021, and also the companion movies under the same franchise like Annabelle (2014)
and The Nun (2018). The franchise also gives a little bit of influence to the movie studied for
this paper, as certain scenes show similar ambiance between those two movies.

In Malaysia, the most popular horror films with Islamic themes are the ones directed
by Malaysia’s blockbuster filmmaker, Yusof Haslam’s sons. These are Syamsul Yusof's
Khurafat (2011), Munafik (2016), Munafik 2 (2018), and Syafiq Yusof's Penunggang Agama
(2021). Past few years, Turkish horror movies have also become famous amongst Malaysian
viewers. Some of the movies are movie series from Siccin (2014) and Dabbe: The Possession
(2013). All the films mentioned share the common usage of religious teaching to fight the
devil or evil intentions by exorcism, removing the curse of black magic, and fighting against
deviated teachings. These films bring the message of religious faith, such as having a strong
faith in God and avoiding deviated teachings such as making a pact with the devils and any
other practices of necromancy.
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Based on the horror films listed, horror and religion are genres that are relatively close
to each other. These two genres become a good combination because religions and cinematic
horror share some similar features in their presentation, which are metaphysical and based on
abstract reasoning. Religions have a strong sense of spirituality and faith, and horror has its
core on paranormal and supernatural aspects. Most religious-themed horror movies make
religious institutions or preachers the protagonist or heroes. However, horrific elements are
typically seen as something extreme due to fear and anxiety on the viewers, which might
cause negative impacts. Then, how do the h0orrific presentations work with religious themes?

There is a study that (Stone, 2001) hypothesizes horror movies as a threat and a
catharsis in confronting the fear of the unknown relating to supernatural, and religions play a
role in the confrontation based on four dimensions of human experience, which are horror
from nature, the psyche, the body, and the supernatural. The study shows that fear can come
in multiple dimensions and how the religions offer the aspects to confront that kind of evil or
fear. According to Stone (2001), the resistance rate against the horror is not consistent with
the dimension of the human experience. For instance, religious elements’ role will be less
significant in confronting the horror from nature, such as the fear of monstrous animals as
depicted in Jaws (1975), than confronting supernatural horror that involves demons and
ghosts (Stone, 2001). Besides, the representation of religion in a horror film can depict the
increase or decrease in the belief of religions.

This study will investigate Syamsul Yusof’s Malay horror film entitled Munafik 2,
and it has a prequel released two years earlier, Munafik (2016). Munafik is an Arabic term for
a hypocrite. Munafik 2 focuses on the issues of faith where people choose to prioritize
worldly desire and astray from God. Both films present the same main character, Adam, an
Islamic preacher who is also capable of helping to cure people who get cursed by the black
magic. Compared to the first sequel, Adam is getting stronger in terms of his spirituality,
which is also one of the reasons why I choose to analyze the second sequel, Munafik 2. In the
second film, I observe that the religious meanings are broader, and the suspense of the horror
features has more tension.

Henceforth, this thesis will explore religious elements in a horror film through an
Islamic lens, based on Mikhail Bakhtin’s dialogism that perceives the literature through
multiple voices. Bakhtin’s reading on the Problem of Dostoevsky’s Art perceives the work
contains multiple voices that are not subordinate to the author’s voice. Every character’s
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voice will not share a similar idea with the author, but their idea is based on the context.
Dialogism is based on the communication between characters, the author, and the reader.
Mikhail Bakhtin’s theory of dialogism is the advancement in the discourse of reading novels.
However, I will use this theory to analyze the film, in both the verbal (text) and non-verbal
(mise-en-scene). The dialogism consists of multiple voices and perspectives that match the
film, Munafik 2, which contains multiple plots.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

This study will focus on Malay horror films because there is no study that focuses on the role
of Islamic elements in Malay horror films, even though the horror genre is very popular in
Malaysia. This kind of film usually brings the message of Islam, such as spreading messages
of faith, including the ideas of good vs. evil, submission, repentance, death, and afterlife. In
the study, I would like to explore Malay religious horror cinema from the perspective of
Islamic literature. Syamsul Yusof's Munafik 2 involves many aspects of spirituality and faith
that can depict many meanings rather than the meanings that evolve the ground idea as the
title, which is related to the hypocrisy. However, the film contains some explicit gruesome
scenes containing murder and torture that could be questioned its appropriateness in an
Islamic film.

Moreover, some religious series also favor featuring horrific punishments for the
consequences of disobeying God. For instance, tragic accidents could happen to the sinner or
the punishment for the sinner after death, in burial. So, the monstrous effects have become
the standard medium in giving the viewers admonitions to repent or submit to Allah S.W.T.
The downside of too much exposure to horror elements in religious themes is that it makes
the horrific side of holiness over-focused. In fact, there are many beautiful sides of Islam that
can be the reasons for people to submit to Allah S.W.T. Thus, the position of the Islamic
elements in Malay horror films seems ambiguous because those films can be assumed to use
religious presentation for creative purposes rather than spreading moral messages. This study
will determine whether this Malay horror film can be classified as one of the contemporary
works of Islamic literature based on the reading of Rasit (2012) and Hassan (2016).

1.3 Research Questions

This study raises some research questions, which are:

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1. What are the meanings of Islamic values presented in Munafik 2 according to

Bakhtinian theory?
2. Are the horror elements used in Munafik 2 appropriate from an Islamic perspective?
3. Are Malay horror films with Islamic themes considered Islamic?

1.4 Research Objectives

Based on the inquiries upon the issues of the film, this study aims to achieve the following
objectives:

1. To analyze the meaning of the Islamic values in Munafik 2 based on the Bakhtinian
theory.
2. To examine the appropriateness of horror elements used in Munafik 2 from the
Islamic perspective.
3. To determine whether Malay horror films with Islamic themes are considered Islamic.

1.5 Significance of the Study

This study aims to broaden the studies of horror films and religion regarding morality and
Islamic perspectives. Moreover, this study is also designed to contribute in terms of
determining whether a horror film with Islamic themes can be classified as an Islamic film or
not. In that case, this study will help the authors and screenplays to improve the quality of
their works to fit the criteria of Islamic literature. Furthermore, Islamic literature may
proliferate in Malaysia. Based on Rasit (2012), the religious film is not quite prominent in
Malaysia compared to other Muslim countries such as Indonesia and Iran, which produce
more films related to the actual Muslim community. The claim is based on the time of the
study, but I believe, even today, Malaysia is still slow in producing religious films compared
to the countries mentioned.

1.6 Limitations of the Study

This study has some limitations as the analysis of Munafik 2 only focuses on the meaning of
Islamic values based on the Bakhtinian dialogism, which mainly highlights on
communication. Therefore, the study will not concern much about the interpretation of
features other than Islamic elements. For instance, the Satanic representation in the film may
 14

not be thoroughly emphasized. Moreover, the theory of dialogism will make this study put
more attention on the interaction between characters and their speech.

1.7 Chapter Summary

In this chapter, the paper introduces the topic of the study, which is the correlation between
religious and horror cinema. For this study, I will focus on Islam and Malay horror films and
analyze Syamsul Yusof's Munafik 2 to explore the meanings of Islamic elements through
Bakhtinian dialogism and Islamization. Based on the previous studies on Islamic literature,
this study aims to seek whether Munafik 2 as a religious horror film can be part of Islamic
literature. Through the study's objectives, this analysis will identify the meaning of the
Islamic features and whether their usage is appropriately presented in the film to ensure that
the Islamic values will not be misinterpreted. They can deliver the valid message of Islam.
 15

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 Chapter Overview

In horror films, religious themes are undoubtedly famous in many countries, including
western and middle eastern countries. However, there is no study done on Munafik 2.
Fortunately, there are several scholars who have done a study that shares ideas similar to my
topic for this thesis. The concepts discussed are about religious features in horror films, how
the elements influence viewers' impression in terms of moral messages, and Islamic
perspectives on such films. Therefore, this chapter reviews some writings on religious-horror
films and some other studies related to my inquiry. Although all the studies discussed are
none from Malay horror films, the notion of those studies is still relevant to my research, as
mentioned earlier.

2.1 Religious Elements in Horror Film

In religious-horror films, religious aspects play a significant part. There is no review done in
Malay horror films regarding the subject. However, some studies have touched on the area of
the topic.

According to Mary Ann Beavis (2003), religion is one of the popular themes in a
horror movie. The author mentions a few typical usages of religious elements such as the
Bible as the prop of the scene, source of divine truth, means to be safe of evil forces, and
many more. In her analysis, she discusses the use of the Bible in contemporary horror films,
in which she comes out with five features of Bible influences. Uses of the Bible that appeared
a lot in horror films show the strong relation of religion toward the horror genre that is still
portrayed actively in current cinemas. Also, Beavis (2003) shows that most of these films’
narrative worlds assume that the Bible, including fictitious scriptures, is reliable information
about supernatural and mystical events. The writer seems to conduct the study thoroughly
based on the number of films she analyzed to determine the use of the Bible alone. Besides,
she also includes the content of the Bible by which those movies were inspired.

Next, Yorulmaz and Blizek (2014) write about the history of Turkish cinema from its
origin in 1896 until the present years, focusing upon the portrayal of Islam and Muslims in
movies. As the Turkish cinema is improving, four types of Turkish films emerge that show
Islam and spiritual practices, and one of them is a horror film. The authors mention that the
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Turks do not believe in Western horror stories involving zombies, vampires, Dracula, and
other horror figures. Thus, Turkish horror films feature characters that would be familiar
among Muslims, such as Jinn, ghostlike creatures that the naked eye cannot see. Also, the
idea of hell. Both features are mentioned in the Quran; therefore, filmmakers utilize those
ideas to create fears and apply them in filmmaking. However, the authors believe those ideas
are not scary initially, but filmmakers distort such features in horror films and make them
similar to Western horror films. However, this paper’s attention is on Islam in Turkish
cinema in general, covering all film types. Thus, the researchers only emphasize the horror
films on the surface level with no thorough analysis discussed.

In addition, Bilgehan Ece Şakrak (2016) aims at the portrayal of evil figures in
contemporary Turkish horror films and seeks to discover how movies construct the values of
good vs. bad by employing the icon of evil. The author has found some traditional and
mystical concepts such as black magic, superstition, and satanic beliefs. The finding
discovers that those concepts are somehow originated and influenced by beliefs before the
coming of Islam to Turkey. During the pre-Islamic era, the research shows that the country
had been influenced by old beliefs and cultural practices such as old, traditional religions and
cults as well as worshipping the natural elements. Indeed, Turkish horror films have featured
some elements that are believed to be inspired by those religious or cultural beliefs. Besides,
the author also highlights the evil figures like Jinn, who is a spiritual existence mentioned in
Qur’an. In this study, the explanation of the representation of the devilish figures is still
limited as the analysis only consists of two horror films. Since the main subject of the inquiry
is the evil figure, the religious details and the meaning discussed do not cover many aspects
on the bright side of religion.

2.2 Morality Through Fears and Monstrous Effects

Fears and horrifying elements are an important part of horror films and a distinguishing
feature to other film genres. Those types of effects impact the storyline and the viewers when
they watch horror films. Hence, some filmmakers use horror films to send moral messages to
the masses by constructing images of good vs. evil through such effects.

Bryan Stone (2001) studies horror films that bring fears to function as a threat and a
catharsis. At the same time, he explores how religion plays its part in confronting those fears.
In the study, the author provides the types of fear that humans would face and investigates
 17

how religious concepts work to help human beings confront those fears. Stone (2011)
analyses some movies based on fear and how religious symbols and questions can respond to
horrific events. Stone’s analysis shows how religious aspects could appear in a horror film
and how fears could be a medium to deliver morality messages.

Besides, David Carter (2009) writes an essay on the horror film as a contemporary
fairy tale by showing the moral of the story. In his writing, Carter observes the combination
of moral messages and horrifying segments to cause fear of committing sin. Carter studies
such horror films using bad or horror incidents to show that those who commit sins will be
punished and face terrifying death in an unusual way to die. The similarity of horror films
and fairy tales or folktales is that those two genres are often portraying the idea of good vs.
evil, where good people will receive rewards and bad people will get punishments. Carter
analyses many types of horror films and explains how the idea constructs the viewers to see
elements of horror that can appear holy or righteous. Carter’s writing shows that he has done
a deep analysis as he includes some pieces of historical or religious evidence to support his
claims. Besides, he also adds the impacts of morality from horror cinema on the viewers and
how they should comprehend those ideas to life.

As mentioned in the previous topic, Şakrak (2016), who studies evil figures and their
relation to constructing good and bad, also shows the theme of morality through fear. Şakrak
analyses those dark figures as immoral elements, and connection with such figures could
harm oneself. The study presents how people could take lessons and morality through such
portrayal.

2.3 Islamic Perspectives on Narrative Works

The Islamic point of view is one of the essential sections in discussing the study on Munafik
2. To know whether the Malay horror film is Islamic or not, we first need to define what an
Islamic piece of work entails. Thus, I include the concept of Islamic literature and the view of
Islamic perspectives in films.

Hassan (2018) explores the definition of Islamic literature. He examines its nature and
scope to show that the literature is varied and wide without restrictions of language, race, and
territory. In the essay, Hassan explores that Islamic literature may be defined in various
words, yet it still binds to some aspects for literature to be classified as Islamic. As the word,
Islamic literature consists of two components which are “Islamic” and “literature.” Thus, the
 18

literature that has views and manners which Islam favors and shares with the people is called
Islamic literature.

Rosmawati Mohamad Rasit (2012) has studied the position of religious Malays films
from Islamic da’wah perspectives. The study shows that Malay films in Malaysia have little
exposure to da’wah perspectives because she discovers that there are no Malay films in the
period of 2005 to 2010 that discuss religion or religious teaching as the main theme.
Fortunately, there are four films recorded in the analysis that include religious issues directly.
However, only two films hit the box office, and one of them to be a horror/scary film.
Interestingly, this paper mentions ’Islamic-based films’ and ‘Islamic films’ and how a film
can be categorized in those film categories. However, Rasit does not discuss that topic
thoroughly as the data collection on religious film in Malaysia was inadequate during her
research.

All these studies have given incredible help to my thesis. However, there are some
parts that are not discussed by these studies. Hence, my thesis will cover such topics. Firstly,
studies on Islamic components and horror films are still rare, and only a few films are
studied. To be precise, only two Turkish horror films have been discussed, yet the study is
not sufficient and critical enough on the topic of Islamic elements. On the other hand,
Western religious horror films seem to be covered by few researchers, and those papers
always include many film sources. Unfortunately, many fellows have not studied Malay
horror films on religious matters, although religious issues and horror elements are not
something distant among Malaysian viewers. Secondly, the concept of horror films and
Islamic values do not appear much in these studies. Henceforth, my thesis would be an
important topic that can help academics and filmmakers to work on Islamic films.

2.4 Theoretical Framework

Through the textual analysis as an approach, the study will analyze the film by following the
ideas of Mikhail Bakhtin (1895-1975) on dialogism alongside film elements to understand
both verbal and visual presentations in the film from the perspective of the filmmaker and
spectators. On top of that, the Islamic perspective will be the central point of understanding in
the analysis to achieve research objectives.
 19

2.5 Chapter Summary

In this chapter, I summarize a few studies and essays related to my topics and establish the
needs of those writings for my paper. There are three ideas altogether pertaining to my topic
and those studies: religious elements in horror films, morality through fears and monstrous
effects, and Islamic perspectives on narrative works. Lastly, I state some of the research gaps
that I explore when reading those studies and the reasons for the needs of my study.
 20

CHAPTER THREE: TEXTUAL ANALYSIS I

3.0 Chapter Overview

This chapter discusses the findings and analysis of the research questions addressed earlier in
the first chapter. The research questions are:

1. What are the meanings of Islamic values presented in Munafik 2 according to

Bakhtinian theory?
2. Are the horror elements used in Munafik 2 appropriate from an Islamic perspective?
3. Are Malay horror films with Islamic themes considered Islamic?

Munafik 2 (2019), as a religious horror film, shows many explicit and implicit meanings
related to Malay Muslims’ life that will be analyzed in this paper. The textual analysis will
cover two out of three research questions stated above in this chapter. Firstly, the analysis
will discuss the meaning of the Islamic values presented in the movie based on Bakhtin’s
theory of dialogism. Secondly, this paper will analyze the horror element used in the film
from the Islamic perspective. In this analysis, all dialogues inserted are the translation of the
original speech of the movie, as this paper focuses more on the ideas and meanings presented
in the movie.

3.1 The Meanings of Islamic Values Based on Bakhtin’s Theory

Syamsul Yusof describes his Munafik movie series as horror films with Islamic messages,
particularly focusing on hypocrites which are labelled as Munafik in Malay. In Islam, a more
familiar word to describe hypocrites, who are believers on the outward but are actually
disbelievers inward, is the Arabic term Munafiqun. There are few characteristics to define a
hypocrite, and this film, Munafik 2, has displayed in detail the features of such people.
Therefore, this film brings a main message of faith, to believe and worship Allah S.W.T.
Syamsul Yusof portrays the two categories of Muslims, people who strongly believe in Allah
and those who are deviated because of their inadequate knowledge of Islam. Besides, the
filmmaker delivers some moral messages pointing out people who choose their worldly
desires over religion. This movie also illustrates how people can neglect their beliefs due to
fear of world hardship.
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3.1.1 Strong Faith in Allah S.W.T Is the Core of Human’s Strength

Munafik 2 has an Islamic background as its setting. The beginning of the movie shows a male
character who wears a robe that Muslim men usually wear. Such attire particularly is typical
amongst Muslim preachers. Thus, the movie gives the impression that the movie involves a
pious Muslim, which connotes a man who has a firm belief in his religion.

The movie begins with a narration voiced by an old man, and then the scene fades into a
scene of an old couple’s conversation. The couple is the parents of the main character,
Adam.

The important trait of a leader to guide people towards Allah is patience. He must be
patient to endure the struggle in defending Islam. To advise each other of truth and
advise each other of patience. It is not easy to be a preacher that who really sincere,
Salmah. Hopefully, Adam will be consistent (Yusof, 2018, 0:03:40).

Above is the excerpt of the conversation between Adam’s parents that conveys the
reality of being a good preacher and Muslim, where these people will face many obstacles
when spreading the message of Islam.

Furthermore, this movie shows how one’s faith can be easily influenced and seduced to make
them astray from Islam. Adam, the main character, is constantly meeting with a woman in
black who keeps making him doubt his faith. The woman symbolizes an evil figure or devil
that is always trying to deviate and confuse men’s hearts. However, the scene is a perspective
that is only known to Adam as the scene appears to be a sort of his inner feelings. The scene
is the only one that only the person involved will understand. In that case, Adam is the only
person who knows the meaning behind such an encounter with the woman. The woman keeps
making Adam doubt his faith in Allah, where she makes Adam feel bad and not confident in
himself. The frequent encounters to make him think of himself as a bad person, so Adam will
not preach and help others.

This encounter with the woman (devil) is a presentation of his speech during his religious
lecture. He mentions devils will misguide people by showing false illusions.

When Satan wants to lead humans astray, he will do delusion of the devil. Delusion of
the Devil is expressing the wrong thing, in the right picture. The devil is clever at
 22

misleading people. That is why there are knowledgeable, righteous people who got
lost, misguided by the devil’s lies. (Yusof, 2018, 00:05:58)

The speech delivered in the beginning part of the movie foreshadows the plot of the
story. The foreshadowing also allows viewers to prepare for the meaning behind the speech.
The lecture scene only focuses on the issues of the devil’s lies and those who are misguided.

Besides, the whole story interprets every character’s inner side. The other character
analyzed is Sakinah, a single parent struggling to take care of her father and daughter while
facing the evil curses. Sakinah portrays her strong faith in Islam, where she rather faces many
challenging situations than follows wrong teachings. A deviated leader sends evil curses to
haunt Sakinah and make her leave Islam and follow his teachings. The deviated leader even
cursed her father until he was sickened to death. Sakinah’s father is also depicted as someone
who has strong faith in Islam. He was known as an Imam who fought the misguided group
until the leader cursed him. Black magic and curses are supernatural and believed only to be
seen or experienced by the targeted people. However, things like this may be unknown to
certain viewers. Thus, the movie has shown a perspective with which only certain people are
familiar. The movie illustrates how challenges and obstacles can appear in unexpected ways
to ruin one’s faith.

According to Mikhail Bakhtin’s dialogism, Syamsul Yusof uses dialogues to deliver

meanings about inner faith. Faith and belief are something metaphysical that are difficult to
illustrate physically. Thus, the communication between characters depicting good vs evil
shows the characters’ inner truth. For instance, the main character, Adam, has an interaction
between him and a woman (devil) that shows how Adam firms with his belief despite being
doubted by the woman. Using the woman character to portray as a devil to communicate with
Adam will illustrate the devil who always misguides people. Also, Sakinah’s encounter with
Abuja where Abuja keeps forcing her to change her belief, yet she does not budge. The
interaction between Sakinah and Abuja will depict the meanings of a Muslim’s strong faith.

3.1.2 The Choice Between Religion and Power

In Munafik 2, there is a group of people who follow the wrong teachings of the deviated
leader, Abuja. This shows that some people are ignorant and put human beings before God.
Abuja is known as someone who will break everyone who does not follow him and opposes
his teachings. Due to Abuja’s wicked action and black magic, people regard him as someone
 23

superior and powerful, and they are influenced easily by him. Those people who are ignorant
and fear Abuja will follow him blindly. This particular subject in the movie depicts the reality
that people who lack knowledge of religious teachings will blindly trust and follow people
like Abuja. Deviated teachings are not something rare in Malaysia; there are a lot of cases
where people believe in deviated leaders and the teachings that caused chaos among
Muslims. At the same time, there are also those who easily follow and trust certain corrupted
leaders because of their power and fear.

Abuja has done many terrible things against the Islamic teachings. However, he claims
to be a powerful servant who can bring people closer to God and enter heaven easily. He uses
black magic and violence to make people obey and follow him. He kills those against him
and prioritizes his desire by using religion as an excuse. He resorts to beings other than Allah
S.W.T to make him powerful and be superior to other people. He teaches people the wrong
teachings of Islam and spreads the fake pieces of hadith and sunnah of Prophet Muhammad
that favor him. Thus, this shows how one can choose to do anything for power and fame. This
presents that there are people who will associate with jinn (devil) and shamans to help them
improve their lifestyle and, the worst, to use black magic to ruin other people’s lives. These
kinds of people often appear with an unharmed look, but they are actually lying and
deceiving people.

In the lecture scene, Adam foreshadows the situation of Abuja and his followers who
are deviated from Islam when Adam talks about knowledgeable and pious people who get
misguided and compares them to a dog. Those are the references to two Quranic verses:

And relate to them ˹O Prophet˺ the story of the one to whom We gave Our signs, but
he abandoned them, so Satan took hold of him, and he became a deviant. If We had
willed, We would have elevated him with Our signs, but he clung to this life—
following his evil desires. His example is that of a dog: if you chase it away, it pants,
and if you leave it, it ˹still˺ pants. This is the example of the people who deny Our
signs. So narrate ˹to them˺ stories ˹of the past˺, so perhaps they will reflect. (Quran 7:
175-176)

Besides that, this film displays a hypocritical character who is hiding behind a good
mask. Adam’s best friend, Azman, chooses to betray Adam because of jealousy. Azman is
known as someone pious and kind who always accompanies Adam in preaching and helping
 24

people. However, Azman shows his actual color at the climax, where he lies to frame Adam
as someone evil and a hypocrite. Azman has been staying with Adam while keeping his anger
and jealousy towards Adam because Adam is known to be a good preacher who always helps
people in need. Azman does not get such recognition despite being beside Adam for a long
time. Azman rather chooses to deceive and betray Adam for the sake of power. He is
abandoning the Islamic teachings and committing evil deeds because of his desires. This
segment shows how people prioritize their desires in the world over the Islamic teachings.

On the other hand, to Adam his religion is everything. He fights and will sacrifice
himself in order to guide people and manifest the truth that has been concealed by Abuja.
Earlier mentioned in the previous section where Adam is willing to convince his mother, who
did not want to give him a blessing, to go heal people. Adam will not choose Abuja and still
oppose him until the end, although he has been cursed, tortured, and threatened to be killed.
Adam even gets possessed by Abuja’s curses to kill Adam’s mother. Yet, Adam still stands to
fight Abuja and helps people who are misguided by Abuja. Adam shows how Abuja’s power
is nothing compared to his belief in Allah. He believes Allah will help him and always be
there for those who fight for the truth. This scene critiques those other characters and also
people who easily give up and surrender to the false because of fear of facing hardship in this
world.

3.2 Horror Elements in Munafik 2

This section of the chapter will analyze the horror elements used in this film and determine
whether those elements are appropriate from Islamic perspectives. Since the movie is
promoted as a horror movie with an Islamic message, it is crucial to know how such an
approach fits with the theme and is suitable for the viewers. There are several horror elements
used in Munafik 2: the portrayal of evil creatures, explicit cruelty of people, and horrifying
punishment towards hypocrites.

3.2.1 Portrayal of Evil Creatures

In this film, a few evil creatures are portrayed: a mysterious woman in black, the devil who
possesses people, and ghosts. These creatures described as evil in this film appear to ruin
people’s faith by misleading and haunting them. However, all of these are known to be seen
and experienced by targeted people.
 25

Firstly, the mysterious woman in black. This mysterious woman can be depicted as the
devil who appears to only the main character, Adam. She always comes to Adam and speaks
misleading truths to make Adam doubt his faith. She does not appear as a threat or danger,
but she uses her speech telling lies to shake Adam’s sense of goodness. She makes Adam
think that he is not good or pious enough, as her intention is to make him stop believing in
Allah. The woman always says to Adam that he is a hypocrite and is not qualified to be a
preacher.

In this film, the woman symbolizes a devil who always uses people’s sadness and stirs
people up to make them far from religion. The woman always comes to Adam when he is
vulnerable, like either when he is alone or sick and confused. From Islamic perspectives, the
devil is also a creation of Allah. The devil appears to muddle the main character’s faith, as he
promised to Allah that it will incite and misguide humans.

Next, there are three people who have been possessed by evil spirit. They are
Sakinah’s father, Sakinah and Adam. Sakinah’s father has been cursed for a long time. In this
movie, he is depicted as dead, but there is a jinn who resides in his body that holds his death.
When Adam comes to Sakinah’s house, Adam has to deal with the jinn who resides in the
body, and Adam is there to cure the father. After Adam successfully cures Sakinah’s father,
Sakinah gets possessed afterwards. The jinn inside her seems to be quite strong, as it warns
Adam about how humans will then deviate as they get lured by Dajjal.

Sakinah’s image when she is possessed is horrendous and terrifying. There is a scene
where Sakinah is licking blood on the floor. Likewise, Adam also looks different and scary
when he is possessed. In the movie, humans who get possessed by the devil will be
represented differently than their normal looks. Such features might be unrealistic. However,
the costume and look are changed to differentiate the state between the characters when they
are in their normal state and when they are possessed.

Lastly, the existence of ghosts is a typical feature of this kind of horror movies.
Compared to the other evil creatures mentioned previously, the ghost is a somewhat filler in
this movie to give shock or jump scare to the characters and the viewers. It is common for
ghosts to appear when black magic is involved because ghosts and jinn are the same.
However, this paper will use ghosts to refer to the jinn that appears to scare people.
 26

Both Malay and Muslim communities believe in the existence of evil creatures, but the
representation of such creatures might be a miss-or-hit because such creatures are the
supernatural thing that only selected people can see. The presentation in terms of the imagery,
props, and setting could be an inspiration from people’s experiences and also fictional ideas
to make the film more entertaining. However, the elements are appropriate because the
elements used have not deviated from the Islamic belief. According to Abdullah and Hassan
(2019), the supernatural creatures and humans are God’s creatures that coexist in this world.

3.2.2 Explicit Cruelty

In this film, some scenes contain explicit cruelty and gratification towards people. As
mentioned in the previous section, the deviated leader uses curses and violence against his
opponents. Thus, the violence towards those who are against him is shown in the film.

Violence appears in the film even in the early minute, where there is a scene where a
man who is tied to a wooden pole and forced to admit Abuja’s teachings is right.
Nevertheless, the man insists on not doing it, which lead him to be burned by Abuja’s group.
Abuja’s cruelness has shown to the viewers in an early scene to reveal how wicked Abuja is.

Because of the same reason as the man, Abuja and his followers repeatedly assault
Sakinah. Sakinah has been punched multiple times when she rejected Abuja’s offer, and he
even kidnaps her daughter. The film also creates a scene to indicate sexual violence against
Sakinah. On the other hand, Sakinah, whose daughter was abducted, also appears quite
violent in this film. She kills some of Abuja’s followers by stabbing them with a knife. Most
violence made by Sakinah is mainly for protecting her and her daughter’s life.

Furthermore, Abuja, for whom violence is his primary weapon, abducts Adam and
locks him in a coffin with a corpse to make him experience a horrifying situation. Abuja and
his follower torture him explicitly. Adam has experienced many curses, ghosts, and torments
when facing Abuja and his followers. Abuja is evil and proud of his action; he has tortured
Adam and attempted to kill him in front of people. Abuja does such things to show his
superiority and uses religion to permissible his actions.

All those brutalities and cruel images have their purposes. The filmmaker may want to
show Abuja’s wickedness and people’s pain. Believers will constantly be tested, so the
presentation of pain implies how big a test a believer will have and how strong is one’s faith
 27

when facing such situations. However, such gory elements should be considered not to
expose publicly. According to Mohd Hilmi (2010), as cited in Rasit (2012), Islamic films
should not show elements that are forbidden in Islam, immoral activities openly, extreme
actions, and cult and superstitious discussion. Rasit (2012) also mentions that the portrayal of
good and bad elements is important to be considered. Therefore, it is best for some scenes not
to be pictured explicitly to comply with Islamic teachings.

3.2.3 Horrifying Punishment of Hypocrites

This movie is a good vs. evil type that, in the end, it shows moral messages where the
goodwill receives rewards, and the evil receives punishment. Thus, the hypocrites and bad
people receive a sad ending. However, the projection of horrifying punishment of those
people could mislead the viewers. Viewers may think that Islam is a cruel religion where the
religion only focuses on the punishments of the sinner. Indeed, it is true that every sinner will
be punished in the Hereafter, and the filmmaker wants to suggest the meaning and give a
sense of fear of committing sins. Besides, the punishment shown in the movie is not made by
human beings, but the film shows that punishment is caused by a natural disaster. Most past
generations’ punishments mentioned in the Quran come in the form of natural disasters.
Thus, the scene symbolizes the previous generations’ punishments.

In the resolution part of the viewers, Adam, who is tied and is about to be killed, has
yet to surrender to Abuja because he is willing to sacrifice himself for religion. Then, the
place where Abuja’s group gathered is suddenly hit by a storm and collapses, burying Abuja
and his followers by those big concretes. Those people died without seeking forgiveness from
Allah and died in the kufr state. The scene shows that people who disobey Allah and
manipulate Islamic teachings will get a terrible punishment. From the movie, viewers will see
how being hypocrites is something that is hated by Allah.

3.3 Chapter Summary

This chapter analyzes two research questions: the meaning of the Islamic value in Munafik 2
based on the dialogism approach and the appropriateness of horror elements used in the film.
The Islamic value in the film gives two primary meanings. They are: Muslims’ belief in Allah
and the choice between religion and desires. Both meanings are interpreted in the characters
and the plot of the story. Meanwhile, the horror elements used in the film are mostly depicted
 28

based on Islamic mythology, and some violence is featured to focus on the particular subject
in the film.
 29

CHAPTER FOUR: TEXTUAL ANALYSIS II

4.0 Chapter Overview

This chapter is the continuation of the previous chapter on analyzing Munafik 2 based on the
third research question, which is to determine whether Malay horror films with Islamic
themes are considered Islamic. In this part of the analysis, the paper will use several studies
of Islamic perspectives on literary work that can determine whether Munafik 2 can be
classified as an Islamic film.

4.1 Malay Horror Film as Islamic Film

Munafik 2 is presented to be a horror film with Islamic themes, which the film illustrates
through its Islamic messages and Islamic community as its characters and settings. According
to Hassan (2018), literature with views and values that align with Islamic teachings can be
classified as Islamic literature. Based on the principle, Munafik 2 could be considered an
Islamic work, as it corresponds to the definition of Islamic literature. However, Munafik 2 is a
contemporary horror film which is a popular trend in Malaysian cinema. Naturally, it is
rational and possible for the filmmaker to include elements of entertainment to gain the
public’s interest. Hence, classifying Munafik 2 as an Islamic film can raise argumentative
questions as the film features some explicit horrifying elements, which have been discussed
in the previous chapter. Therefore, determining whether Munafik 2 is considered an Islamic
film should be discussed, and this paper will do so based on its theme and filmmaking
process.

4.1.1 Islamic Themes

Munafik 2 has an Islamic theme as the film’s main idea, whose Islamic message has been
discussed in the previous chapter. The film’s setting is Malaysia, a Muslim-majority country.
The film depicts types of Muslims: some Muslims who have strong faith and some who may
not. The film shows that a Muslim should have the right intentions in life, and that intention
should be in line with the Islamic way of life.

Munafik 2 raises the issue of heresy, lack of Islamic knowledge, religious hypocrisy, and
associating God with other beings. These are common issues that can happen in the Muslim
community. The message conveyed in the film will educate the public to be more sensitive to
 30

issues that can be detrimental to Islam and the Muslim community. According to Rasit
(2012), a film can be one of the approaches to spreading Islamic teachings. Thus, Munafik
2 can be acknowledged as a movie that implements the approach. For example, there are
some lines in the movie that depict issues mentioned and show how those issues are cancer to
Islam. “The hardship that you and your family are going through now can end in a blink of an
eye, Sakinah. You can live happily. Your father will be healthy again. And the demons will
not mess with you anymore” (Yusof, 2019, 0:09:38). This scene shows Abuja who tries to
seduce people to follow him by offering good things stating as if he has the power to do
anything. The truth is that Allah S.W.T who will decide everything happen in this world in
which nothing will happen if Allah S.W.T does not allow it to be happened. Also, Abuja
claims that everyone who does not follow him is disbeliever when he is the one who is
misguided. “Those who don't believe in me are indeed Kafiir!” (Yusof, 2019, 0:10:20). This
line alludes the behavior of deviated religious leaders to confuse people about their faith.
These examples show that a film can be a creative way to send religious messages to people.
However, using the horror genre as a medium for delivering moral messages would be hard
to make the whole movie bind with actual Islamic teachings. Rasit (2012) mentions that
da’wah through film may need some consideration in combining good and bad elements in
which there are some movies that need to display false teachings and falsehoods to explain
the truth and moral message to the audience. Similarly, Munafik 2 features superstitious
practices and deviated teaching to present the idea of good vs evil.

Although Munafik 2 contains both spirituous and deviated teaching elements, the film
produces the message well enough for viewers to realize the wrong and correct teachings.
Hence, no confusion or misinterpretation could occur from the viewers’ perspective. The
existence of supernatural figures portrayed in the film is still aligned with Islamic mythology
and history. In fact, all films in Malaysia must follow the national censorship board.
According to Abdullah and Hassan (2019), horror films should check with the film
censorship board to avoid any false or deviated elements and filmmakers are encouraged to
consult with the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM) to clarify any
confusing in making films. Besides, Munafik 2 uses a weak spiritual trait as the main villain
in which humans succumb to their desires and satanic temptations. In the film, the people
show that they believe in God and are willing to worship Him, but some are so spiritually
weak that they are easily influenced. For example, a group of people who follow Abuja can
be assumed to believe in Allah, but their lack of Islamic knowledge causes them to be
 31

influenced by Abuja, where they follow rituals taught by Abuja as a medium to draw closer
to God. In the film, a scene shows Abuja who lies people about himself and his teachings.

I am the true leader! A leader among all of you, for my rank. I can help you to better
understand the Qur'an and Hadith. Don't perform the bid'ah. The religion is not a
matter of common sense! There are so many underlying matters that you won't
understand. I know who among you will walk with me to Heaven. I am able to tell
your future. Keep chanting! Chanting towards the Heaven! (Yusof, 2019, 0:13:03).

Also, Azman is known as a preacher and religious person, but he loses to his desire to
look better than Adam. Azman betrays and defames Adam for falsehood. Munafik 2 focuses
on spirituality rather than outward appearance because people can be different from what
they appear to be. These are some examples of bad behavior presentations that are considered
in order to show the contrast of good teachings.

Therefore, Munafik 2 is a film with Islamic themes that can educate Muslims viewers about
the issue of hypocrisy and practices that can deviate us from true teachings. The film has an
important message for Malaysians to pay attention to as there are many cases where people
declare as the next messengers, have the divine power to communicate with God and have
been exposed to the inexhaustible knowledge of Islam. While such an issue seems illogical in
a certain sense, yet there are people who believe it.

4.1.2 Sharia Compliance

Islamic films or Islamic-themed films follow Shariah compliance in the filmmaking process.
It is important to note that Islamic rulings are the supreme law, and Muslims are obliged to
obey those rules. Indeed, filmmakers, crews and actors are no exception to the rule. However,
people sometimes overlook Shariah compliance in the film and drama industry because the
industry has a notion of “acting,” which signifies that everything is done only for the sake of
the show. For instance, there are many movies and dramas that play characters with intimate
family relationships or married couples. The reality is that the presentation of such elements
is nothing less than a forbidden relationship between a man and a woman. Nevertheless, the
public is not concerned about it as much compared to if the action is committed outside the
glass.
 32

As a result, many films and dramas do not follow Sharia properly, even though the
stories are Islamic in nature. To create Islamic films, screenwriters must ensure that their
works and ideas must comply with Islamic rulings, and the production crew must also respect
Sharia compliance. Therefore, this paper will analyze whether Munafik 2 is a film that
follows the rules during the acting.

First, as regards the appearance of the characters, Syamsul Yusof has a good point in
terms of his scriptwriting when he preserves the aurah (intimate parts of a body) of the
characters in the film. He makes all adult female characters in the film wear hijab, and no
inappropriate clothing worn by the cast, including the devil character that is in the form of a
mysterious woman, is also well covered. For instance, Sakinah is portrayed as a good Muslim
woman because she covers her aurah, although, during the indoor scene, the writer-director
still maintains covering the actors’ aurah by keeping the character wearing a hijab. Besides,
the mysterious woman is also well-covered. For this character, the moviemaker may have
two intentions, namely, to make the mysterious woman look like an entirely black creature,
and at the same time, Syamsul Yusof wants to maintain the aurah of his actor.

Second, in terms of acting, Munafik 2 has actors to play the role, and none of the main
characters is mahram, blood-related or family members of each other. Despite that, Syamsul
Yusof successfully directed the movie without having any physical contact between male and
female artists in the filmmaking. Compared to other local movies and dramas that mostly
ignore the prohibition to make the stories more realistic, Munafik 2 proves that filmmaking
can avoid the physical contact that is prohibited.

The two elements mentioned earlier are typical parts of filmmaking that directors
usually neglect, but Syamsul Yusof, a screenwriter and producer, manages not to do that.
However, it seems that Syamsul Yusof avoids only literal prohibitions in actions that viewers
could see because during the promotion and behind the scenes of Munafik 2, the cast and
crew do not follow the Sharia compliance properly. For example, the interaction between
men and women on set is very close, and the actresses for the film do not cover their aurah.
According to Naim (2010), as cited in Rasit (2012), Islamic film is a form of art that is legal
in Islam where the process and result of the film production should follow Islamic principles,
including the process of spreading, watching the movie and all that should be done with the
aim of disseminating and practicing the teachings of Islam. Thus, as a filmmaker, it is
important to take the whole production of a film to comply with Islam.
 33

Therefore, Munafik 2 does not follow Sharia compliance properly, as the process of
creating the film involves some prohibited actions and interactions. Nonetheless, the
filmmaker shows his effort to keep some prohibitions from appearing on screen. Also, the
script used a presentation of the noble part of the film aligned with the Quran and Sunnah.
The scriptwriter uses valid Quranic phrases and follows the true teachings of Prophet
Muhammad SAW when representing a good Muslim preacher in the film.

4.1.3 Munafik 2 from Islamic Perspectives

As discussed in this paper, Munafik 2 has Islamic elements that contribute to delivering moral
and Islamic messages to the audience, but the film also contains some performances that are
contrary to Islamic teachings, making the film doubtful to be labelled as an Islamic film.
According to Rasit (2012), a film that contains any portrayal of falsehood cannot be classified
as an Islamic film, even though it has Islamic and moral messages, but a film with Islamic
elements. Thus, in creating an Islamic film, it is best to avoid any immoral presentation in the
film and should obey Islamic rulings in all manners. Therefore, Munafik 2 cannot be
classified as an Islamic film but as an Islamic-based film because the film contains a
collaboration of immoral elements, and the production could not comply the Islamic
principles very well.

Nevertheless, Munafik 2 is an excellent attempt to create an Islamic film, as the

message conveyed in the film is focused on strengthening one’s faith in Islam. An Islamic
film should have the highest level of morality and honorable in terms of its characteristic and
objectives and the messages of the film should be full of guidance (Rasit et al., 2011). The
film emphasizes that human beings must have a strong faith in God and never associate Him
with other beings. Rasit (2012) highlights that in the effort to spread da’wah, it is not a single
person’s responsibility, but a whole organization in which cooperation of all cast and crew is
needed to deliver the message of Islam. Henceforth, all parts of filmmaking should as well
portray and practice Islamic values to effectively spread the da’wah to the viewers.

4.2 Chapter Summary

Overall, this chapter concludes the analysis of Munafik 2, which part of this analysis aims to
determine whether Munafik 2 can be classified as an Islamic film. The analysis consists of
two ideas where this study looks at the theme or story presented in the film and the process of
filmmaking in terms of film production compliance with Islamic regulations. This chapter
 34

also highlights the nature of Islamic film to note what type of film would fit the genre. In
addition, the analysis can contribute to researchers and film producers who want to study and
create Islamic films, especially in the Malay horror genre.
 35

CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION

A Malay horror film is the subject of my thesis, where I focus on Islamic perspectives.
Particularly, this study selects Munafik 2 (2019), directed by Syamsul Yusof, to analyze the
Islamic elements presented in the film. Munafik 2 became the perfect choice for this study as
I wish to study a film that has Islamic messages, and it is unique when such a film is
presented in the horror genre. As mentioned in the beginning, Munafik 2 is the second film
of the Munafik film series, where the series presents the negative issues that happened in the
Muslim community and mainly touches on the hypocrites as the subject. The film portrays
the characteristics and behaviors of hypocrites to educate people not to be part of them nor
get swayed by such people. Also, the film allows viewers to depict other interpretations,
which are not limited to religious connotations but social and political as well. The idea of
horror films as part of spreading da’wah is a brilliant idea, especially when the horror genre
is a trend in Malaysia. Although, Munafik 2 is not a pioneer of the genre because there are
some religious horror films that exist and deliver religious messages. However, Munafik 2 is
the most popular horror film in Malaysia, and it makes Islam its central theme.

This paper discusses the appropriation of Islamic elements in horror films as an

approach to spreading Islamic messages. Unveiling the objectives of such a combination to
know whether such appropriation is meant for the film’s aestheticism, which is the use of
Islamic themes only for plot or didacticism in which to give valuable lessons to viewers. If
the religious prescription only exists for plot or popularity purposes, viewers might not
receive many positive impacts on their faith. Thus, this paper analyses the Islamic messages
and horror elements and determines whether the film can be classified as an Islamic film.
Based on the analysis, it is undeniable that Munafik 2 has Islamic and moral messages for
viewers’ awareness. Although some horror representations in the movie are pretty
exaggerated, it is understandable for the filmmaker to do so to surpass the standard of horror
films. Hence, the elements also can be considered in determining whether Munafik 2 is an
Islamic film or not.

The significant part of the finding of this study is the understanding of Islamic
meanings in this film. Islamic elements in Munafik 2 are used to mainly allude to the message
of faith to Allah S.W.T and the choice between religion and power. These ideas represent the
life of Muslims, where the world is a place for Muslims to do good things and worship only
Allah S.W.T. The film focuses on those ideas to educate people not to get swayed by their
 36

desires in this world because Muslims’ goal is to get blessings from Allah S.W.T in Hereafter
and be able to enter Jannah (heaven). Delivering messages to attract people for good
changes, such as remembering God and polishing their faith, are good messages, especially
for Muslims. These Islamic elements are sourced from Quranic verses and Hadith; hence,
people can believe that the messages delivered in this film are accurate and not an imitation
or fabricated. Besides, the horror elements featured in the movie are primarily aligned with
Islamic beliefs and mythology. Indeed, combining Islamic themes and horror elements could
create a great piece of Islamic film.

However, this analysis shows that Munafik 2 cannot be classified as an Islamic film
but an Islamic-based film which is a film with an Islamic theme. For a film to be an Islamic
film, the film should strictly follow the Sharia compliances and avoid producing something
forbidden in Islam. Besides the complete production, the filmmaking process, either aired or
hidden, should also obey Islamic rulings. Thus, the reasons why Munafik 2 is not an Islamic
film are because of the explicit, vulgar presentation in the film production and the choice of
the cast, who do not follow Sharia compliance. Islamic films should deliver good examples
and presentations to the viewers, and everyone involved in the filmmaking should be
responsible for showing actual Islamic messages in any form.

Although Munafik 2 is not an Islamic film, its Islamic messages are still worth paying
attention to as the movie firmly holds the notion of strong religious faith. In this era of
globalization, where some people perceive religious practices as conservative, the effort of
producing religious-themed films can contribute to educating the public constantly to
remember their religions. At the same time, Munafik 2 also has messages criticizing
hypocritical leaders and their zealots, which can connote both religiously and secularly. From
the religious perspective, the messages can connote the existence of deviated religious
teachings that occur from time to time due to insufficient knowledge and weak spirituality.
Besides, criticizing people who are blindly following corrupted leaders because of their
mundane desires. Hence, Munafik 2 is undoubtedly a good film to a certain extent that allows
viewers to gain beneficial knowledge.

Personally, I believe Munafik 2 is one of the great movies in Malaysia as the film has
followed the Islamic compliances almost perfectly as the film keeps the aurah of characters
and the boundary between male and female characters, which is hardly maintained in other
typical Malay films or dramas. It shows how attentive and sensitive the filmmaker is in
 37

respecting religious teachings in filmmaking. However, it would be better if the entire

process of the film, including the cast’s appearances behind the scenes, should portray an
excellent Islamic lifestyle. Despite that, producing a film like this right now is quite
impressive, and the filmmaker may not focus on the cast behind the scenes worrying it might
breach the cast’s privacy.

This study can contribute to religious film studies as there are extraordinarily few
resources for Islamic film studies, especially horror films. Most of the studies related to
religious horror films are not based on Islam but on other religions, such as Christianity or
Catholicism, despite many horror films with Islamic backgrounds. The selection of literature
discussed in this paper may also help researchers find any related sources to the topic similar
to this analysis. Further, this study can also benefit filmmaking and other filmmakers who
want to produce religious or horror religious films as this study offers how a horror film
appropriates horror elements to put together religious beliefs. By exploring the characteristics
of horror films, film companies will be able to understand how to produce that film genre
properly. Hence, films can be one of the best approaches to spreading Islamic messages to the
public if the production follows Islamic regulations.

Furthermore, exploring the characteristics of Islamic films may open the eyes of
filmmakers or artists to create a different kind of film that delivers Islamic messages. Many
films often show a negative or scary side of Islam to build feelings to repent by making
viewers scared of committing sins. Such films will present a sinful lifestyle, and by the end of
the movie, the character will repent and return to God. Although the lousy presentation in
religious-based films means to promote educational ideas, it would be better if the approach
is not limited to that. According to Wok et al. (2014), people believe that religious-based
films are educational but do not necessarily improve their knowledge of Islam. The study
indicates that religious films should be more meticulous in producing religious films (Wok et
al., 2014). Therefore, producing films that strictly follow Islamic compliances may make
people understand more about Islam.

Moreover, Islamic films should not contain haram (forbidden) presentations. So,
producing Islamic films encourages artists and filmmakers to make films that show Islam’s
positive and beautiful sides, such as showing how Islam is the best fortune for a man and
depicting peace and rewards that good Muslims will receive. Such a presentation will not
only attract Muslims but also allow non-Muslims to be exposed to the greatness of Islam.
 38

Also, using films to present how a good Muslim should behave by providing content of a true
Muslim lifestyle where viewers can use the film as their examples to change to be better
Muslims. Non-Muslim viewers also can see how a good Muslim behaves, and their negative
misconception of them as Muslims may change. Overall, Islamic films will be better if the
story focuses more on presenting Islamic teachings to make people understand the religion
better.

In closing, films can be one of the ways to spread Islamic da’wah by presenting good
and reliable messages of Islam. Creating films that follow Sharia compliances can be
classified as Islamic films, which may give more benefits to people and receive many
rewards if God’s will. Hopefully, there will be many religious films that can educate people
while entertaining and make people comfortably learn about Islam. In future, I hope there
will also be more studies on this topic that will produce many resources for this subject,
including religious horror films and the Islamization of such studies.
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