Occasional Paper 14 - From the Mosque to the Ballot Box

Islamism has been at the forefront of Malaysian politics for the past two decades. The recurrence of religious controversies, from apostasy to the debate on the use of the word 'Allah', emphasizes the importance of the religious factor seeing the rise of a 'new phenomenon' or the 'resurgence of Islam' in a country where, in fact, Islam has been entrenched in every layer of society for more than a century. In view of the recent political and social turbulence in the country, and the next general elections (2012 or sooner), this Occasional paper aims to offer to its reader an understanding of political Islam in Malaysia and its forms of expression within political parties and civil society and understand the influence of a major phenomenon.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Sophie Lemière

Chap 1 - Public Policies and Private Connections. The Religious Dimensions of Malaysia's International Integration
by Delphine Allès

Chap 2 - "Dakwah and Politics": The Influence of Islamic NGOs in Contemporary Malaysia 
by Sophie Lemière

Chap 3 - Moral Politics. Unity Government, September 16 and the Contestation of Ideas in the Malaysian Islamic party (PAS)
by Haris Zalkapli

Chap 4 - An Alternativ Islamism. Hizbut Tahrir and the Quest for the Caliphate in Malaysia
by Mohamed Nawab Mohamed Osman

The Scientific Editor

Sophie Lemière - is pursuing her PhD at Sciences Po Paris. Her research focused on Islamic NGOs and contemporary politics in Malaysia. She’s affiliated researcher at CERI and Irasec laboratories and associate researcher of the Research group on transnational religions in contemporary Southeast Asia of Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) at Nayang Technological University in Singapore.

The Research Institute on Contemporary Southeast Asia (USR 3142 – UMIFRE 22 CNRS MAEE) has since 2001 focused its activities on the political, economic, social and environmental evolutions of the eleven countries of the region. Based in Bangkok, the Institute promotes a variety of approaches by calling on experts and specialists from all academic fields and teaming them up as required.Comparative approaches and transversal studies are favored as much as possible.