Politics of Religion in South and Southeast Asia

Ishtiaq Ahmed is a Visiting Research Professor at the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS), National University of Singapore and a Professor of Political Science at Stockholm University, Sweden. His previous publications include ‘The Concept of an Islamic State: An Analysis of the Ideological Controversy in Pakistan’ (1987) and ‘State Nation and Ethnicity in Contemporary South Asia’ (1996).

"[N]o public or university library must be without this book. It presents balanced, impartial and unbiased analyses by academics of the first order." - Reginald Massey; Confluence (www.confluence.org.uk), August 2011"[T]his book is a rich source of useful information and an excellent analysis of the role of religion in politics in the context of South and South East Asia. It has been very competently edited by a scholar who has deep insight into the politics of this region. I recommend this book as a milestone of research on South Asia to scholars of this region as well as the lay reader." - Tariq Rahman; Newsline Magazine, February 2012"[A] timely addition to debates on secularism and the space and place for religion in politics and public sphere in two regions of Asia where the medium of religion has always been a significant one for politics... Ishtiaq Ahmed has succeeded in highlighting that the rise of religion in politics and public affairs is inconsistent with rights and dignity that plurality offers to humanity. The volume succinctly brings out that the use of religion by any section of the political universe could lead to the use of the religious medium and language by most, if not all." - Ajay K. Mehra; Mainstream Weekly, Vol L No 12, March 10, 2012

• Preface Tan Tai Yong 1. The Politics of Religion in South and Southeast Asia Ishtiaq Ahmed 2. Religion as a Political Ideology in South Asia Ali Riaz 3. Islamism beyond the Islamic Heartland: The Case Study of Bangladesh Taj Hashmi 4. Secular versus Hindu Nation-Building: Dalit, Adivasi, Muslim and Christian Experiences in India Ishtiaq Ahmed 5. Sikh Politics and the Indo-Pak Relationship Tridivesh Singh Maini 6. Religious Nationalism and Minorities in Pakistan: Constitutional and Legal Bases of Discrimination Ishtiaq Ahmed 7. Women under Islamic Law in Pakistan Ishtiaq Ahmed 8. Religion as a Political Ideology in Southeast Asia Bilveer Singh 9. Political Islam in Indonesia Noorhaidi Hasan 10. Religion and Politics in the Philippines Raymund Jose G. Quilop 11. Creating the Muslim Majority in Plural Malaysia: Undermining Minority and Women’s Rights Maznah Mohamad 12. Keeping Politics and Religion Separate in the Public Square: Managed Pluralism and the Regulatory State in Singapore Eugene Tan 13. Transnational Religious-Political Movements: Negotiating Hindutva in the Diaspora Rajesh Rai 14. Negotiating Rights through Transnational Puritan Networks Tahmina Rashid