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While women’s concerns in Malaysia were subsumed under nationalist concerns during British colonialism, the 1980s signalled a turning point. Women could discuss topics in relation to their everyday experiences such as domestic violence. That same period also saw Islamisation gather momentum. Integral to Islamisation was an emphasis on the role of women as wives and mothers so as to maintain the integrity of the patriarchal family. The domestic household and marital issues naturally became key concerns in Islamisation discourse. Muslimah NGOs emerged during this period, responding both to state and everyday discourses on Islam in Malaysian society. One principal response of the NGOs was to ...
Syed Hussein Alatas and Critical Social Theory: Decolonizing the Captive Mind offers a variety of historical, religious, and philosophical perspectives into the significance of Syed Hussein Alatas’ life and thought today.
The writings of Ibn Khaldūn, particularly the Muqaddimah (Prolegomenon) have rightly been regarded as being sociological in nature. For this reason, Ibn Khaldūn has been widely regarded as the founder of sociology, or at least a precursor of modern sociology. While he was given this recognition, however, few works went beyond proclaiming him as a founder or precursor to the systematic application of his theoretical perspective to specific historical and contemporary aspects of Muslim societies in North Africa and the Middle East. The continuing presence of Eurocentrism in the social sciences has not helped in this regard: it often stands in the way of the consideration of non-Western sourc...
. . . The meaning of the phrase “Islam is socialist in nature” merely acts as a categorisation into a particular system of society based on the features that characterise it as socialist. Those who are against Islam being considered as socialist either do not understand the meaning of certain words or want to uphold the current capitalist system. This book, by the preeminent Malaysian sociologist, Professor Dr Syed Hussein Alatas, is the translation of the Malay Islam dan Sosialisme (Petaling Jaya, Gerakbudaya, 2020), which first appeared in 1976 as Islam dan Sosialisma (Pulau Pinang, Seruan Masa). Despite its size, the book covers important and critical issues, including the relationship between religion and socialism, the different types of socialism, as well as the public’s unease about the similarities and differences between socialism and communism. Most importantly, Professor Alatas calls upon us to fight the injustices of capitalism. More than 40 years after its original publication, his ideas are still relevant today.
In an era which many now recognise as ‘post-secular’, the role that religions play in shaping gender identities and relationships has been awarded a renewed status in the study of societies and social change. In both the Global South and the Global North, in the 21st century, religiosity is of continuing significance, not only in people’s private lives and in the family, but also in the public sphere and with respect to political and legal systems. The Routledge Handbook of Religion, Gender and Society is an outstanding reference source to these key topics, problems and debates in this exciting subject area. Comprising over 40 chapters by a team of international contributors, the Handb...
Elite Malay women’s polygamy narratives are multiple and varied, and their sentiments regarding the practice are conflicted, as they are often torn between personal and religious convictions. This volume explores the ways in which this increasingly prominent practice impacts Malay gender relations. As Muslims, elite Malay women may be forced to accept polygamy, but they mostly condemn it as women and wives, as it forces them to manage their lives and loves under the “threat” of polygamy from a husband able to marry another woman without their knowledge or consent; a husband that is married but available.
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Approaching religious identity with an emphasis on agency and contestation, this book offers a historical perspective on the development of Muslim identities in Asia. It examines the contingent politics that influence how Muslims constitute themselves as modern subjects. Through 9 country-based case studies, the book analyses how Muslims articulate their religious identity vis-à-vis the state and society in which they live, and how their position relates to specific social and political contexts. The contributors survey how religious affiliation sparks a politics of difference in contexts where Islamic practices, beliefs and aspirations are contested, as well as where Muslims are framed as the 'Other'.
The overtly secular state of Singapore has unapologetically maintained an authoritarian approach to governance in the realm of religion. Islam is particularly managed by the state. Muslim activists thus have to meticulously navigate these realities - in addition to being a minority community - in order to maximize their influence in the political system. Significantly, Muslim activists are not a monolith: there exists a multitude of political and theological differences amongst them. This study analyses the following categories of Muslim activists: Islamic religious scholars (ulama), liberal Muslims, and the more conservative-minded individuals. Due to constricting political realities, many activists attempt to align themselves with the state, and call upon the state to be an arbiter in their disagreements with other factions. Though there are activists who challenge the state, these are by far in the minority, and are typically unable to assert their influence in a sustained manner.
More than two hundred years after Thomas Stamford Raffles established a British factory on the island of Singapore, he continues to be a towering figure in the nation. Not one but two statues of Raffles stand prominently in Singapore's civic and heritage district, streets and squares are named after him, and important local businesses use his name. But does Raffles deserve this recognition? Should he continue to be celebrated--or like Cecil Rhodes in South Africa, must Raffles fall? This is not a new question--in fact, it was considered at length as far back as 1971, in Syed Hussein Alatas's slim but devastating volume Thomas Stamford Raffles: Schemer or Reformer?. While the book failed to spark a wide debate on Raffles's legacy in 1970s Singapore, nearly 50 years after its original publication this powerful work feels wholly fresh and relevant. This edition features a new introduction by Syed Farid Alatas assessing contemporary Singapore's take on Raffles, and how far we have, or have not, come in thinking through Singapore's colonial legacy.