ABSTRACT
The unprecedented resurgence of Islam since the 1970s has been an intriguing
political trend in Malaysia, Indonesia and elsewhere. The response of state actors
to this Islamic resurgence has been different across nations and across times.
Some Muslim-led governments pursued a policy of ‘Islamisation’ to pre-empt
capture of the state by conservative ulama (Islamic scholars), while others
defended the essentially ‘secular’ character of the state at the risk of sacrificing
some authority within increasingly self-conscious Muslim constituencies. The
growing prominence of Islam in both state and society has led to major shifts in
particular policy areas, generating a range of theoretical and empirical
controversies.
