Southeast Asia is home to 260 million Muslims, the largest religious community in the region. This course will survey the politics of this community, describing and analysing key movements, events and figures. A number of broader issues will be addressed, including:
• The impact of Middle-Eastern events and Islamic doctrines on Southeast Asian Muslims;
• The role of Islam in regional insurgencies, such as those in southern Thailand, the southern Philippines, and western Myanmar/Burma;
• The dynamics of radicalisation and terrorism; and
• The impact of accelerated Islamisation upon political Islam in Malaysia and Indonesia.
In addition, the course will foster close analysis of primary source texts as well as critical engagement with the scholarly literature on Southeast Asian Islam.
The course is focused on primary and secondary source readings regarding Southeast Asian Islam. It assumes no prior knowledge of Islam or Southeast Asia. I will take particular care to ensure that any specialist Islamic terms or concepts will be fully explained during the course. No vernacular language skills are needed but if students wish to use materials in foreign languages for their essays, they should feel free to do so.
• The impact of Middle-Eastern events and Islamic doctrines on Southeast Asian Muslims;
• The role of Islam in regional insurgencies, such as those in southern Thailand, the southern Philippines, and western Myanmar/Burma;
• The dynamics of radicalisation and terrorism; and
• The impact of accelerated Islamisation upon political Islam in Malaysia and Indonesia.
In addition, the course will foster close analysis of primary source texts as well as critical engagement with the scholarly literature on Southeast Asian Islam.
The course is focused on primary and secondary source readings regarding Southeast Asian Islam. It assumes no prior knowledge of Islam or Southeast Asia. I will take particular care to ensure that any specialist Islamic terms or concepts will be fully explained during the course. No vernacular language skills are needed but if students wish to use materials in foreign languages for their essays, they should feel free to do so.
- Teacher: Greg Fealy