Suchergebnisse

There are obviously several ways to explore the issue of Islamic radicalism in Southeast Asia. Instead of focusing on explicit violence such as those carried out by jihadi groups or those associated with them, this research article chooses to examine three empirical cases of Muslims' expression of "restrictive Islam" that have taken place in the public sphere in both majority and minority Muslim contexts of Southeast Asia. They are: Muslims' calling for the removal of an elected Chinese Christian governor of Jakarta on account of blasphemy in Indonesia; Muslims' cow head protest to intimidate Hindus in Malaysia; and some Muslims' thrashing of pillows at a hospital for COVID-19 patients as an expression of vehement faith-based refusal and protest in Buddhist Thailand against health protocols issued by Thai officials in the current fight against the pandemic in Southern Thailand. This article argues that the "restrictive" lives that some Muslims lead in Southeast Asia today have to assume a negotiated form that is a mixture of "high artificiality", recently adopted from a version of purist Islam they claim to be authentic, and the "pure normality" resulting from a combination of political reality informed by existing forms of governance in these countries and the legacy of how historical Islam arrived in this land. The result is that the "restrictive Islam" espoused by many Southeast Asian Muslims could not be overly "extreme" or "radical" but tends to appear in a somewhat "negotiated" form.

"Questions the relationship between violence, nonviolence, and reconciliation in societal conflicts. The contributors maintain that reconciliation per se is not a panacea. If not managed properly, reconciliation programs can become contests of competing victimizations, and can even spark future conflict. The contributors examine international influences on the peace/reconciliation process in Indonesia's Aceh province, as well as the role of Muslim religious scholars. They also examine the effect of violence in southern Thailand, where insurgent violence provides "leverage" during the fighting, but negatively affects their post-conflict objectives. The Sri Lanka chapter shows that "successful" violence does not necessarily end conflict--Sri Lankan society today is more polarized that it was before its civil war. The Vietnam chapter argues that the rise of nonviolent protest in Vietnam reflects a profound loss of state legitimacy, which cannot be resolved with force. The following chapter examines "Red Sunday," a Thai reform movement engaged in nonviolent protest in the face of violent government suppression. The book ends with a look at ethnic conflict in Indonesia after it emerged in 1998 from three decades of dictatorial rule. In studying violent conflict and programs for reconciliation, the contributors found that they are dealing with highly complex issues, such as historical grievances, dysfunctional states, or civil wars. Understanding such conflict issues is crucial in the efforts to curtail violence and strengthen reconciliation possibilities"--

"Using case studies from the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Basin, this book examines the global trend of violence against religious places and figures. It also addresses the phenomenon of religion becoming a motive or justification for violence. The contributors find attacks on sacred places to be particularly damaging to peace and harmony in many Asian and Pacific societies because of the centrality of religion there. A diverse range of topics are covered, including an empirical exploration of the global trends of violence against sacred spaces; attacks against and policies toward holy sites in Israel and Palestine; the fate of Indian Islamic monuments after India gained independence in 1947; the Christian community's response to the increasing Islamization of Malaysia, and the future of communalism in Malaysia. Africa and Australia are also referenced in the work. The book's penultimate chapter argues that understanding the special role of sacred sites represents a crucial dimension to fully understanding Australia's history and culture. The book ends by recounting the experiences of JUST International, an organization campaigning for the protection of sacred spaces and religious institutions. Taken together, this volume explores the importance of protecting sacred spaces, holy symbols, and religious people as a crucial element in fostering peace in the world, and especially the Asia-Pacific region. The contributors argue that much violence in the world is rooted in politics of religious identity. Acting in the name of religion, violent perpetrators frequently target religious institutions and symbols, which usually generates further deadly conflicts"--Provided by publisher