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AbstractThis article explores the impact of Muslim organizations and Muslim political parties in Indonesia and Malaysia and their relationship to democracy. Questions addressed are as follows: How does the political system (broadly described) facilitate or constrain the goals of various Muslim organizations (both groups in society and political parties)? What roles do these Muslim organizations play in impacting politics and where (or in what areas of) in the political process are they most effective? Under what circumstances have Muslim associations and/or parties been a force for (or antagonistic to) democratization? Given the ethnic and regional diversity in Malaysia and Indonesia, the initial hypotheses for these questions are as follows: under authoritarian and semi-authoritarian rule Muslim organizations actually have greater opportunities to polarize rhetoric as they appeal to citizens based on claims of moral supremacy, fulfillment of social welfare needs, and some level of criticism of a restricted or corrupted political order. At different times the Pan-Malayan Islamic Association (PAS), the leading Muslim party in Malaysia (and a dominant opposition party) has had limited appeal to voters. Under more democratic conditions, Islamic groups or parties may need to moderate their appeals, and/or build coalitions with secular or non-Islamic groups in order to win power and influence in the larger political system. Muslim political parties exist in both Malaysia and Indonesia; their power and influence have varied over time. This project aims to explain why these parties have had more support at some times than others and under what conditions they may moderate their demands and policy choices to accommodate pluralist leanings.

The Masyumi Party, which was active in Indonesia from 1945 to 1960, constitutes the boldest attempt to date at reconciling Islam and democracy. Masyumi proposed a vision of society and government which was not bound by a literalist application of Islamic doctrine but rather inspired by the values of Islam. It set out moderate policies which were tolerant towards other religious communities in Indonesia. Its achievements were nonetheless precarious: it was eventually outlawed in 1960. Many of its leaders then turned to integralism, a radical doctrine echoing certain characteristics of 19th-century Catholic integralism, which contributed to the advent of Muslim neo-fundamentalism in Indonesia. This book examines the Masyumi Party from its roots in early 20th-century Muslim reformism to its contemporary legacy.

Since the rise of Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to power in 2002, the country has been at the forefront of events in the region and beyond, even more so in the wake of the 15 July 2016 failed coup attempt. The party's initial pro-EU, pro-democratic posture has given way to an illiberal authoritarianism since 2010, a process that has yet to reach its denouement. Tahir Abbas' worthy ambition in Contemporary Turkey in Conflict: Ethnicity, Islam and Politics is to chart the path of sociopolitical transformation Turkey has undergone over the last decade or so, by surveying some of the key ideas and actors shaping contemporary Turkish politics.

15 Saving the Nonviolent Revolution in Syria: For a Credible StrategyNotes; 16 Syrian Writers, Artists and Journalists Speak Out Against US and Russian Policy; The Signatories; Notes; CLOSING WORDS; 17 Goethe Medal 2015 Acceptance Speech; Bibliography

This study examines the roles of political elites in the Muhammadiyah in facingthe dynamics Muslim politics in post New Order regime. There are three issuesdiscussed: the emergence of Islamic political parties, the desire to implementthe Jakarta charter as a state ideology, and the rise of terrorism. The result ofthe study demonstrated that there are four variants of the political attitudes ofthe elites in Muhammadiyah in post-New Order regime: 1) transformative-ideal-istic; 2) moderate-idealistic, 3) realistic-critical, and 4) accommodative-prag-matic. The variations are deeply influenced by two main factors: the sociologicalbackground and organizational factor.Penelitian ini menguji peran elit politik dalam Muhammadiyah dalam menghadapidinamika politik Muslim pada era rezim pasca Orde Baru. Ada tiga isu yangdibahas: munculnya partai-partai politik Islam, keinginan untuk melaksanakanPiagam Jakarta sebagai ideologi negara, dan munculnya terorisme. Hasil penelitianmenunjukkan bahwa ada empat varian sikap politik para elite di Muhammadiyahpada era rezim pasca-Orde Baru: 1) transformatif-idealis; 2) moderat-idealis, 3) realistis-kritis, dan 4) akomodatif-pragmatis. Variasi ini sangat dipengaruhioleh dua faktor utama, yaitu latar belakang sosiologis dan faktor organisasi.

The advances made in women's issues in the Gulf State of Kuwait during the last sixty years have been widely commented upon, but limited academic research has been published on their material effects. In 2005, Kuwaiti women received the right to both vote and to run in elections to Parliament--the first women in the conservative Arab Gulf bloc to do so. This book presents five remarkable women leaders in Kuwait, including one of the first elected Kuwaiti female Members of Parliament, an art advocate and museum founder, a national hero and oil industry leader, a university founder, and a current, controversial MP. In intimate conversations with the author, they share their thoughts on topics such as gender relations and equality, the current women's rights movement, the role of religion in politics and education, and female leaders' visibility and impact. Their different backgrounds, interpretations of Islam, and outlooks on the future of their country combine to embody the changes involving women's issues in Kuwait that have occurred since the mid-twentieth century.Even as Muslim feminists' critique creates new arenas in Islamic theology and stridently conservative forms of Islamism become increasingly visible in the public space, the material effects of the advances in women's issues in Kuwait have received little academic attention until now. A book that both complicates and contributes to understandings of women, Islam, and social change, this important work will be of great interest to scholars in religious studies, women's and gender studies, and Middle Eastern studies, as well as reformers throughout the region who continue to find inspiration in Kuwait's "Blue Revolution.".

Discourse on Islam and politics during the 20th century is inseparable with related scholarly publications about Indonesia, taking time on that period. Reviewing "Indonesia", a journal issued by Southeast Asia Program Publications at Cornell University, this writing mainly aims to report the notion of how Islam and politics were being represented in the international scholarly works. Three categorizations of sub-themes are gained by evaluating two numbers of "Indonesia", they are (1) group and hierarchy, (2) perception and knowledge dynamics, and (3) public figure. The categorizations are used as a framework in analyzing how the notion of Islam and politics was internationally perceived through scholarly works issued during that period. The result shows that the impression of the notion of Islam and politics tends to be perceived as a power for promoting groups formation. The power distribution is another critical substance which can be derived from the group formation. The role of religion, to this extent, can easily be used as a legitimate source for any critical political decision. Societal segregation can be considered as a result of a certain kind of discrepancies in the realm of power distribution among several groups of people. In other words, the role of Islam is very critical in shaping the political expression of the people in Indonesia. Keywords:Islam and politics, Group and Hierarchy, Public Figure

Islam and Politics, Beverly Milton-Edwards, Cambridge: Polity
Press, 2004, pp. vii, 217.The Search for Arab Democracy: Discourses and
Counter-Discourses, Larbi Sadiki, New York: Columbia University
Press, 2004, pp. vii, 409These two books approach Middle Eastern Arab and Islamic politics from
a post-modern perspective informed by new European and American
scholarship on democracy and gender. Both authors tackle a range of issues
that should have been treated as discrete topics. Beverly Milton-Edwards
and Larbi Sadiki, the two authors, are trying to define Islam and politics
not only in terms of the world after 9/11, but also in terms of the
recurring and yet-to-be-solved issue of the role of Islam in the modern
world and its relationship to politics.