The Other Malaysia

(*Note: I was invited to write a think-piece for an upcoming project and I thought I’d share it with anyone interested)
The past decade has witnessed a period of intense speculation on the subject of Muslim subjectivity; often prompted by reasons that have less to do with academic concerns and more with politics [...]

(This is a summary of the talk I gave at the International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM) on 2 February 2010, at the ASEAN LOGICS conference. The panel was addressing the question of Addressing the Gulf/Divide in ASEAN over Cultural, Racial and Religious Differences. Ive tried to reproduce my talk verbatim below.)
Ladies and Gentlemen, fellow [...]

(*Terjemahan dari rencana Farish A. Noor bertajuk “Pigs’ Heads, Cows’ Heads and The Demons Among Us” oleh saudara David Chong yang budiman. Saya terhutang budi kepadanya atas kesudian beliau untuk menterjemahkan rencana ini.- FN )
Oleh Farish A Noor/ Diterjemahkan oleh David Chong
Terjemahan Mahabharatta dalam bahasa Melayu-Indonesia, Hikayat Pandawa Lima, menceritakan episod menarik dan mustahak yang [...]

In the Malay-Indonesian rendering of the Mahabharatta, the Hikayat Pandawa Lima, we have an interesting and important episode that takes place as the great battle of Bharatayudha is fought. The Pandawa prince Yudistira - who is an ascetic and pacifist at heart - is forced to do battle with the great King Prabu Salya. Prabu [...]

Looking at the state of Malaysian politics and society today, at a time when the nation is caught in the grip of a collective anxiety over questions of identity and its future, it is heartening to note that so many of the efforts at nation-building, reconciliation, the fostering of a sense of nationhood and common [...]

Malaysia has been making international headlines over the past few weeks for all the wrong reasons, yet again. The spate of arson attacks on Churches, Temples and Mosques is a worrying sign that the fragile social contract - if there ever was one - that underlies the Malaysian multicultural project is in danger of falling [...]

Reading the comments that we received after the posting of the note ‘Migration as Protest’, we were somewhat dismayed at the overall negative tone of so many who wrote in to say that they were despondent and had given up with the Malaysian project itself, to the point where many Malaysians were contemplating of leaving [...]

According to Malaysia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kohilan Pillay, the number of Malaysians who have decided to up their roots and emigrate abroad has almost doubled this year. 3,800 Malaysians have given up their citizenship and simply opted to leave the country of their birth. Furthermore it has been noted that almost half of those who [...]

Keynote address at the conference ‘Religious Activism and Women’s Development in Southeast Asia’, 20 Nov 2009, Singapore
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(Note: below are selected passages only)
I. Introduction: How the Persian ambassador was shocked by the ruler of Aceh
There is an account of the 17th century Persian embassy that was despatched to the court of the Maharaja of Ayudhaya, Siam: [...]

(Note: This article first appeared in the epicly excellent site, The Nut Graph. Furthermore, at the said epicly excellent site (where there are many other excellent, sublime, seminal, magnum opus-sy articles, by the way), this article is accompanied by pretty pictures. And was properly edited too. – Yusseri)
Silly season seems to still be around in [...]