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March 17, 2025
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August 26, 2025
Published
August 31, 2025
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Abstract

Existing research on social cohesion in Malaysia often examines it at the national level, with a strong emphasis on inter-ethnic relations. However, there is a significant gap in studies th at focus solely on intra-ethnic cohesion within the Malay-Muslims community. This study addresses that gap by developing and validating, through expert consensus, a new instrument to measure intra-ethnic cohesion. The study employs a quantitative design using the Fuzzy Delphi Method with a 7-point Likert scale, involving 10 carefully selected experts. Data were analysed using triangular fuzzy numbers and defuzzification ranking. Findings show that all elements of the proposed construct such as self-belonging, inclusivity, organizational/ political participation, recognition, legitimacy and equality has reached expert consensus. The agreement level exceeded 75%, the threshold value was below 0.2 (d<0.2) and the fuzzy score (A) was greater than the α-cut value of 0.5. These results provide a foundation for developing a structured framework for measuring social cohesion within the Malay-Muslim community in Malaysia. This article reports Phase 1 of instrument development, highlighting its limitations and future directions for full psychometric validation.

Keywords

Fuzzy Delphi Method Social Cohesion Malay-Muslims Community Intra-ethnic Relation

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Copyright (c) 2025 Nur Anis Amalina Amir Hamzah, Mohd Sobhi Ishak, Azlina Abdullah, Shamsul Amri Baharuddin, Azizah Sarkowi, Ahmad Zul Hakimi Hassim

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Amir Hamzah, N. A. A. ., Ishak, M. S. ., Abdullah, A. ., Baharuddin, S. A. ., Sarkowi, A., & Hassim, A. Z. H. . (2025). A Fuzzy Delphi Approach to Social Cohesion Among Malay Muslims in Malaysia. Millah: Journal of Religious Studies, 24(2), 869–906. https://doi.org/10.20885/millah.vol24.iss2.ar10
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