This article describes post-colonial state-making in the absolute monarchy of Brunei. After detailing the Sultan’s powers, contextualizing the monarchy’s stability, and introducing its state ideology, Melayu Islam Beraja (“MIB”), the article addresses formal laws, such as Brunei’s Constitution and a new Islamic penal code, which are symbolically significant for the MIB state’s (self-)legitimation but have little immediate relevance to many Bruneians’ lives. The article, therefore, shifts its focus to normative spheres that receive much less scholarly attention but, arguably, should—namely state-rituals like the Sultan’s three-week-long birthday celebrations. These, and other non-legal spheres, including, also, royal speeches, contain normative aspects that reflect and impact key developments in the MIB state. Grounded in the Royal Birthday’s and Islamic penal code’s analysis, the final part problematizes stereotypes of Brunei being a “sharia state” vis-à-vis its multidirectional normative messages and ability to hybridize broad cultural influences for the ruling system’s benefit.

中文翻译：

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超越伊斯兰教法国家：文莱达鲁萨兰国马来伊斯兰君主制的公共庆典和日常建国

这篇文章描述了文莱君主专制的后殖民国家建设。在详细介绍了苏丹的权力、结合了君主制的稳定性并介绍了其国家意识形态之后，马来伊斯兰教(“MIB”)，文章涉及正式法律，例如文莱宪法和新的伊斯兰刑法，这些法律对于 MIB 国家的（自我）合法化具有象征意义，但与许多文莱人的生活几乎没有直接关系。因此，本文将重点转移到学术关注少得多但可以说应该关注的规范领域，即像苏丹为期三周的生日庆祝活动这样的国家仪式。这些和其他非法律领域，也包括皇家演讲，包含反映和影响 MIB 国家关键发展的规范方面。基于皇家生日和伊斯兰刑法典的分析，