Tag: Malay Islam
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Pustaka Al-Azhar: Preserving Patani’s Islamic Intellectual Heritage Through Jawi Manuscripts and Traditional Knowledge
During a journey from Songkhla to Kota Bharu on June 15, 2026, Prof. Kamaruzzaman Bustamam Ahmad visited Pustaka Al-Azhar, a small Islamic bookstore in Southern Thailand. What appeared to be an ordinary bookstore revealed a deeper story about the survival of Patani’s intellectual tradition. This essay explores how Arabic and Jawi books continue to preserve…
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Muslim Zone in Southeast Asia: Islam, Ethno-Religious Conflict, and the Politics of Terrorism
This essay examines Southeast Asia as a “Muslim Zone” where Islam, Malay identity, colonial history, and the modern nation-state intersect in complex ways. Rather than reducing conflicts in Mindanao, Southern Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia to terrorism, the essay argues that these struggles must be read through deeper historical layers: Islamic kingdoms, colonial intervention, ethnic identity,…