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The Divine Bureaucracy and Disenchantment of Social Life: A Study of Bureaucratic Islam in Malaysia. By Maznah Mohamad. Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan, 2022. 320 pp. Common in the literature on political [...]

The Evolution of a Muslim Democrat: The Life of Malaysia's Anwar Ibrahim. By Charles Allers. New York: Peter Lang, 2013. 345 pp. Any attempt at offering a biography of Malaysia's [...]

By examining the historic settlement of the Balochi people from West Asia to East Africa, this article seeks to study and examine their past immigration patterns, presence and current socio-political situation as a minority Muslim population. The Balochi people are an Indo-European ethnic Sunni Muslim minority population located in a region currently shared and divided by modern Islamic republics of Iran in West Asia and Pakistan in South Asia. The Balochis have formed a significant part of the non-indigenous Muslim population in East Africa since the late 17th century. Yet, there is not much written on them as a distinct Sunni Muslim minority group originating from historic Iran (including parts of South Asia) to Africa. Being part of a larger project, this study will explore the chief reasons behind the immigration of the Balochis to the regions of East Africa and how did their presence affect the local population and vice versa. The hypothesis is that the Balochis were formerly welcomed by the indigenous and non-indigenous population of East Africa and established amicable relationships with them. Using the method of qualitative content analysis combined with historical analysis, this article highlights the reciprocal impacts of the Balochi immigrants and indigenous people of East Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Islam and Politics in Southeast Asia. Edited by Johan Saravanamuttu. Abingdon, Oxford: Routledge, 2010. Hardcover: 188pp. A cursory glance at this neatly edited volume of essays might give one the [...]

The article examines the different contradictions and paradoxes existing within the history of pre-independence Malaysia with a re-appraisal of independence fighters.

This article seeks to analyze the evolving development and contestations regarding the interplay of Islam and politics in Malaysia's public space for a period of 60 years (1957-2017) since its independence as a nation-state. A crucial element in this discourse is the official position of Islam as the "religion of the federation" in the Malaysian Constitution, which simultaneously guarantees the freedom of other religions embraced by almost half of the country's population. The population became even more diverse ethnically and religiously upon the formation of the Federation of Malaysia, which replaced Malaya, on September 16, 1963. Closely related to the discourse of political Islam in Malaysia, the evolving concepts of "religion" and "secularism" in Malaysia's Islamic context have undergone considerable shifts as a result of constant public engagement by an assortment of politicians, commentators, scholars, bureaucrats, and civil society activists. As the argument develops, Malaysia's interaction with Islam has been essentialized by political interests such that boundaries are hardened between what is considered Islamic and un-Islamic. The increasingly rigid positions adopted by Islamic stakeholders have arguably worsened both interreligious and intra-Muslim relations, with progressive Muslim voices increasingly finding themselves marginalized in the state-controlled political environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes an analysis of changes implemented during Malaysia's Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's administration (2003–09), using the theoretical framework commonplace in studies on conservatism. Based on the premise that transformations in conservative polities are prone to producing conflict, the dynamics of conflict situations during Abdullah's checkered Premiership is foregrounded. As we apply the main criteria defining conservatism to regime behaviour in Malaysia, it becomes clear that such criteria are stoutly held by the regime's elites in their quest for social harmony and political stability. Regime maintenance then finds justifications in such seemingly sublime ends, thereby self-perpetuating Malaysian conservatism. Such despondency prevailed during Mahathir Mohamad's administration (1981–2003), which displayed bias against changes and introduced schemes to justify the systems it upheld. Transmutations wrought during Abdullah's tenure may have been neither substantial nor totalizing, but within the conservative paradigm which had long gripped national politics, Abdullah's deviations were significant nevertheless. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper focuses on the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) as an exemplary model for universal peace and justice. According to the Qur'ān Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) was, is and will always be a perfect role model for all of humanity. The Messenger (peace be on him) possessed sublime morals, an excellent example for every one who seeks pleasure of Allah and success on the Final Day, and remembers Allah in abundance. Allah endowed him with an exalted standard of character for all mankind to - emulate. The Sirah (life conduct) of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him), thus, also presents a mod us operandi for implementation of universal peace and justice transcending racial and national boundaries. Evidence from the annals of authoritative Islamic history, Sirah works and the collections of Hadith is drawn upon in this paper to identify from the articulations and practices of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) the modus operandi for peaceful implementation of universal peace and justice in the present global scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses developments on the banned Islamic movement Darul Arqam through a ruling issued by the National Fatwa Council in Malaysia. The Malaysian government decided to release Ustaz Ashaari Muhammad, former leader of Darul Arqam from the restrictions imposed upon him. The early recruits Darul Arqam were generally young, first generation rural-urban migrants who formed the upcoming Malay middle class.

The article focuses on the author's views on the downside of the affirmative action policy called bumiputera in Malaysia. The author claims that the emergence of a Malay middle class as a result of the new economic policy (NEP) was artificial because this middle class was made and supported by the government. He believes that a successful model of Muslim Malay economic enterprise is the taqwa-based framework of economic development conceptualized by Ustaz-Ashaari Muhammad.