ABSTRACT
This chapter deals specifically with how Islamic education survives and persists in a milieu where Muslims are the minority. It analyses the nature of present-day Islamic education in both places from a historical perspective, looking at both the pre- and post-independence eras through the prism of centre-periphery relations. The chapter shows how the Islamic schools in Nusa Tenggara Timur and Sarawak have managed to persevere since the colonial era until the present day. It discusses the socio-political dynamics between Muslims and Christians in the pre-independence period and describes the post-independence period when party politics became part of the inter-communal dynamics. The chapter looks at how effectively the policies of the respective national ministries are implemented at the local level. Locally recruited staff of the local office of the ministry can also shift into the opposition mode and become staunch cheerleaders and executors of central government policies while paying scant attention to the influence of local culture.
