Roundtable on Contemporary Islamism in Maritime Southeast Asia

Date and Time: Nov 29, 2023, from 3:30PM HST
Register Online: https://tinyurl.com/y6ckt6nf

Following the discourse on a “conservative turn” that arose in the past decade, scholars have identified certain trends in Southeast Asian Islam that strongly indicate the return of Islamism in the region. Some scholars have even linked such developments to similar trends in the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, and Central Asia. On the whole, social and political expressions of Islamism in Southeast Asia are becoming more fortified in many fields of Muslim life. On the one hand there are new forms of religious conservatism and extremism, but on the other hand, there are also growing demands for halal products and services. This has provoked scholars to redefine the notion of Islamism among Muslims in the region. This roundtable will discuss such trends by observing the dynamic developments in contemporary Islamism in maritime Southeast Asia, particularly in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, and will examine expanded notions of Islamism and conservatism among Muslim communities in the region.