Piety and Politics: Islamism in Contemporary Malaysia (Religion and Global Politics)

## Abstract This book challenges conventional wisdom by arguing that tectonic movements and subterranean shifts that underscore the gradual politicization of Islam and the rise of an Islamism in political and popular discourse based on conservatism and orthodoxy have long been at work in Malaysia, despite popular media representations of Malaysia as the epitome of moderate, progressive Islamic governance. While the opposition Islamist party is widely regarded as the main Islamist player in the drama, the book suggests that the ruling regime has proven equally strident in its Islamist predilections, at times to the extent that there is little differentiating the two. The net result of this “Islamization race” has been the increasing alienation of Malaysia’s non-Muslim population from mainstream politics that has increasingly come to be defined with decidedly Islamist referents. The book also explores two previously underexplored dimensions of Muslim politics in Malaysia. First, it investigates the role of Islamic civil society movements in negotiating and redefining the parameters of Islamism. This dimension has greater salience today given that Islamic civil society movements and coalitions have located themselves at the forefront of major debates over religious freedoms, civil liberties, constitutional rights, the sanctity of shari’a, and the nature and manifestation of the Islamic state. Second, it investigates Islamism as expressed in “netizen politics.” Both these dynamics underscore the rise of Muslim conservatism in Malaysia in general, and constitute major challenges to our traditional understanding of the nature of politics and political compromise in the country. Publisher description: Malaysia, home to some twenty million Muslims, is often held up as a model of a pro-Western Islamic nation. The government of Malaysia, in search of Western investment, does its best to perpetuate this view. But this isn't the whole story. Over the last several decades, Joseph Liow shows, Malaysian politics has taken a strong turn toward Islamism. This book offers a comprehensive analysis of the growing role of Islam in the last quarter century of Malaysian politics. Conventional wisdom suggest that the ruling UMNO party has moved toward Islamism to fend off challenges from the more heavily Islamist opposition party, PAS. Liow argues, however, that UMNO has often taken the lead in moving toward Islamism, and that in fact PAS has often been forced to react. The result, Liow argues, is a game of "piety-trumping" that will be very difficult to reverse, and that has dire consequences not only for the ethnic and religious minorities of Malaysia, but for their democratic system as a whole

Malaysia, home to some twenty million Muslims, is often held up as a model of a pro-Western Islamic nation. The government of Malaysia, in search of Western investment, does its best to perpetuate this view. But this isn't the whole story. Over the last several decades, Joseph Liow shows, Malaysian politics has taken a strong turn toward Islamism. This book offers a comprehensive analysis of the growing role of Islam in the last quarter century of Malaysian politics. Conventional wisdom suggest that the ruling UMNO party has moved toward Islamism to fend off challenges from the more heavily Islamist opposition party, PAS. Liow argues, however, that UMNO has often taken the lead in moving toward Islamism, and that in fact PAS has often been forced to react. The result, Liow argues, is a game of "piety-trumping" that will be very difficult to reverse, and that has dire consequences not only for the ethnic and religious minorities of Malaysia, but for their democratic system as a whole.

Contents......Page 16 Abbreviations......Page 18 Introduction......Page 24 1. Genesis of an Islamist Agenda......Page 40 2. The Malaysian State and the Bureaucratization of Islam......Page 64 3. Reconstructing and Reinforcing Islamism......Page 94 4. “Popular” Political Islam: Representations and Discourses......Page 134 5. “Securing” Islam in a Time of Turbulence......Page 170 Conclusion......Page 198 Epilogue......Page 216 Notes......Page 226 D......Page 264 K......Page 265 Q......Page 266 Z......Page 267 Selected Bibliography......Page 268 A......Page 276 E......Page 277 I......Page 278 M......Page 280 N......Page 281 P......Page 282 T......Page 283 Z......Page 284 Malaysia, home to some 20 million Muslims, is often held up as a model of a pro-Western Islamic nation. The government of Malaysia, in search of Western investment, does its best to perpetuate this view. This book offers a comprehensive analysis of the growing role of Islam in the last quarter century of Malaysian politics