Yusof Rawa

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix =

| name = Yusof Rawa

| native_name = يوسف بن عبدالله

| image = Yusof Rawa.jpg

| office = 1st Spiritual Leader of the Malaysian Islamic Party

| term_start = 1987

| term_end = 1995

| predecessor = Position established

| successor = Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat

| office1 = 5th President of the Malaysian Islamic Party

| term_start1 = 1982

| term_end1 = 1989

| predecessor1 = Asri Muda

| successor1 = Fadzil Noor

| nickname = Pak Yusof

| birth_name = Yusof bin Abdullah

| birth_date = 8 May 1922

| birth_place = Lebuh Acheh, George Town, Penang, Straits Settlements

| death_date = {{death date and age|2000|04|27|1922|05|08|df=yes}}

| death_place =

| death_cause = Pneumonia

| profession =

| party =

| spouse = Kalsom Ali

| children = Mujahid Yusof Rawa (son)

| parents = Abdullah Nordin al-Rawi

| alma_mater =

}}

Yusof bin Abdullah (Jawi: {{lang|ms-Arab|يوسف بن عبدالله}}; 8 May 1922 – 27 April 2000) was a Malaysian politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP), 1st Spiritual Leader and 5th President of the Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) from 1987 to 1995 and from 1982 to 1989 respectively. His legal name was Yusof Abdullah.{{Cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=NdIVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=iBQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6727,6046916&dq=yusof-rawa&hl=en|title=Demise of a respected Islamic leader, scholar|date=28 April 2000|work=New Straits Times|access-date=19 June 2010}}{{Dead link|date=March 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} He was the father of Mujahid Yusof Rawa, the Senator and Deputy President of the National Trust Party (AMANAH).

Early career

Yusof joined PAS in 1951, and notably unseated future Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad from the seat of Kota Setar Selatan in the 1969 election.{{Cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=3t0dAAAAIBAJ&sjid=pxQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4208,1565565&dq=mahathir+yusof-rawa+1969+1964&hl=en|title=Do not be complacent, says Dr Mahathir|date=21 September 2009|work=New Straits Times|access-date=19 June 2010}} Yusof was appointed as a Deputy Minister while PAS was a member of the governing Barisan Nasional coalition in the 1970s, and also served as Malaysia's Ambassador to Afghanistan, Turkey and Iran. He also served as Malaysian delegate to the United Nations.

President of PAS

Yusof became the President of PAS in 1982, winning the post uncontested after a leadership crisis in the party.{{Cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=V7MTAAAAIBAJ&sjid=1I0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=4519,4830483&dq=yusof-rawa&hl=en|title=Pas will be reorganised, says Yusof Rawa|date=24 April 1983|work=New Straits Times|access-date=19 June 2010}} His election was seen as a victory for the ulama faction of the party as his predecessor, Asri Muda, was considered not an alim.{{Cite book|last=Liew Chin Tong|title=Southeast Asian Affairs 2007|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CHjao4mjMTAC&q=%22yusof+rawa%22|year=2007|isbn=978-981-230-442-1|page=206|publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies }} Asri's leadership was notable for the shifting of PAS's outlook towards Malay nationalism. Both joining the Barisan Nasional coalition and moving away from religious-based policy platforms caused the party to lose support.{{cite book|last1=Matheson Hooker|first1=Virginia|last2=Norani Othman|title=Malaysia: Islam, society and politics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0W5t5lxigh8C&q=asri+muda+1978|year=2003|publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies|isbn=981-230-161-5|page=204}}

Yusof subsequently attempted to increase the influence of the ulama within PAS,{{Cite book|last1=Matheson Hooker|first1=Virginia|last2=Norani Othman|title=Malaysia: Islam, society and politics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0W5t5lxigh8C&pg=PA208|year=2003|publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies|isbn=981-230-161-5|page=208}} surrounding himself with ulama leaders such as Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat and Abdul Hadi Awang.{{Cite journal|first=Farish|last=Noor|title=Blood, sweat and jihad: the radicalization of the political discourse of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) from 1982 onwards|journal=Contemporary Southeast Asia|date=1 August 2003|volume=25 |issue=2 |pages=200–232 |doi=10.1355/CS25-2B|doi-broken-date=16 January 2025 }} The direction of his leadership of the party was seen as firmly Islamist:{{Cite book|last=Joseph Chinyong Liow|title=Piety and Politics: Islamism in Contemporary Malaysia|year=2009|publisher=Oxford University Press US|isbn=978-0-19-537708-8|page=75}} under his presidency, the party adopted an Islamic State as official policy, and proposed to limit the powers of Parliament to be subject to the oversight of an "Ulama Assembly". At the same time, he steered the party away from Malay nationalism and introduced significant changes to the party's internal structure. One change was to introduce the position of "Spiritual Leader", of which he was the first occupant. His leadership style has been described as "fiery and outspoken". He resigned in 1989 citing health reasons,{{Cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=eWMmAAAAIBAJ&sjid=IpADAAAAIBAJ&pg=2681,9302&dq=yusof-rawa&hl=en|title=Yusof Rawa to quit as Pas president|date=16 February 1989|work=New Straits Times|access-date=19 June 2010}} and was replaced by his deputy Fadzil Noor,{{Cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=87oTAAAAIBAJ&sjid=hJADAAAAIBAJ&pg=7052,1060863&dq=yusof-rawa&hl=en|title=Change puts Pas leadership at the crossroads|last=A. Ghani Ismail|date=5 April 1989|work=New Straits Times|access-date=19 June 2010}} who set the party on a more moderate path.{{cite book|last=Liow|first=Joseph Chinyong|title=Piety and Politics: Islamism in Contemporary Malaysia|url=https://www.questia.com/read/121886648/piety-and-politics-islamism-in-contemporary-malaysia|year=2009|publisher=Oxford University Press|page=76|access-date=11 November 2014|archive-date=14 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614060351/https://www.questia.com/read/121886648/piety-and-politics-islamism-in-contemporary-malaysia|url-status=dead}}{{ISBN?}}

Personal life

Yusof died in Penang on 28 April 2000. His son, Mujahid Yusof Rawa, became a member of parliament in 2008{{Cite news|title = Game for laughs|newspaper = The Star|date = 12 May 2008|url = http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2008/5/12/lifefocus/20730186&sec=lifefocus|access-date = 19 June 2010}} and a Minister in the Prime Minister's Department for Religious Affairs in 2018.