ABSTRACT
This book is an attempt to show that the nature of Muslim politics in Southeast Asia is evolving although its dynamics are dovetailed with political Islam as both a global phenomenon and as something domestically constructed. In the whole of Southeast Asia, Muslims make up 40 percent of the region’s total population. In order of distribution, Indonesia has the largest Muslim majority of 88 percent, followed by Brunei with 67 percent, and Malaysia with 60 percent (Fealy and Hooker 2006: 7). Although Brunei is the second largest Muslim-majority state its politics is clearly muted by the dominance of a monarchy, as well as the very small number of about a quarter million of Muslims. Malaysia is the third most significant Muslim majority state but there is a huge numerical difference between its Muslim population of 14 million as compared to the 189 million of Indonesia.Other countries in SoutheastAsia,with the exception of the Indochinese states and Myanmar, have significant and politically engaged Muslim minorities. The largest Muslim minority is in the state of Singapore (15%), followed by Philippines (5%) and Thailand (4.6%). However, Muslims in Philippines number four million people as compared to only half a million in Singapore. Just on the basis of demography, Muslim engagement within each state already hints of its particularity and diversity. So what then defines or impinges on Muslim politics in each of these states? Would it be the proportion, absolute numbers, the majority-minority balance or the nature of the state and its policies and politics of Islamization?
