Islam, Politics and Conflict in Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia is home to 260 million Muslims, the largest religious community in the region. This course will survey the diverse political expressions of this community, describing and analysing key movements, events and figures as well as the involvement of Islamic groups in regional conflicts and terrorism. A number of broader issues will be addressed. First, the course will look at the nature of the interaction between external Islamic sources and local religio-cultural traditions, both historically and contemporaneously. It will also examine the role of Islam in regional insurgencies, such as those in southern Thailand, the southern Philippines and western Myanmar. Further, it will explore the dynamics of radicalisation and terrorism, as well as the impact of accelerated Islamisation upon political Islam in Malaysia and Indonesia, and on regional diplomacy. Finally, the course will closely analyse primary source texts and critically engage with the scholarly literature on Southeast Asian Islam.