Jan A Ali

Islamic Revivalism: The Case of the Tablighi Jamaat

Islamic revivalism is a social phenomenon in Muslim societies and has been its permanent feature. Historically, like hurricanes, which come and go unannounced, the Islamic revival movements have appeared and disappeared from human consciousness for decades, if not for centuries now. In the contemporary period, one particular Islamic revival movement, the Tablighi Jamaat, has entered into our consciousness and is gradually gaining prominence as a new force for Muslim reformation and spiritual elevation. The Tablighi Jamaat is only the latest in a string of Islamic political and revival movements going back to the eighteenth century. This paper essentially attempts to examine the Tablighi Jamaat in the context of Islamic revivalism and seeks to understand the break from worldliness to piety and spirituality as a means for salvation and success in both the worlds—here and Hereafter. Importantly, it tries to shed light on how, through tabligh (preaching) work, new relationships and moral bonds are forged between tablighis (preachers) in an attempt to achieve new Muslim identity and solidarity. In order to better understand Islamic revival movements, in particular the Tablighi Jamaat, it is critical to first explore the fundamental structures of Muslim societies prior to the modern period and identify the ways in which Muslims themselves have articulated the continuous political and cultural struggles in their own societies. This historical background is important because it takes us back to the fundamental structures of the pristine Muslim societies and shows that they continue to be essential for comprehending contemporary events in the modern world.

Islam and Muslims in Fiji

This paper provides an elementary understanding of Islam in Fiji and describes the basic conditions in which Muslims struggled to establish their faith. Tracing the arrival of Islam in Fiji between 1879 and 1916, the paper examines its subsequent establishment as a religion in the islands and the later breakdown of the indentured labour system, leading to the settling of Muslim labourers in Fiji. The paper examines how ethnicity and sectarianism in India influenced the initial shaping of Islam in Fiji. It argues that the arrival of Islam in Fiji is an incidental result of the indentured system and its evolution is accompanied by a steady shift from syncreticism to Islamic refinement.

Can you use community policing for counter terrorism? Evidence from NSW, Australia

A contested question in the international policing literature is whether it is possible to undertake effective anti-terrorism community policing. The NSW Police Force’s Counter Radicalisation Strategy involved a community engagement initiative that used community liaison officers, mostly working with Sydney Muslim communities. This study reviews the success of this initiative, drawing on data from a survey of Sydney Muslims. The community engagement initiative was found to have direct contact with the community, it was public, and it involved aspects of partnership and relations of depth. For these reasons, the initiative was within the community policing paradigm. There was strong community awareness of the programme, and a majority saw it as successful. There remained pockets of community suspicion and critique, which require attention. The respondents recommended an enhancement of the community policing aspects: more (and wider) contact, visibility and partnership. The findings affirm the utility of community policing for counter-terror work.

Muslim students' religious and cultural experiences in the micro-publics of university campuses in NSW, Australia

ABSTRACT Although there is much research about the growing ethnic and religious diversity on university campuses across the world, relatively little is known about the religious and cultural experiences of Muslim students on university campuses in Australia. We focus upon the micro-publics of university campuses to investigate these experiences. We draw upon an analysis of a survey that was completed by 324 Muslim students who were studying at universities in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Our analysis points to the diversity of the Muslim student population and their commitment to diversity on campus. In these ostensibly secular environments, religiosity was not curtailed. Discrimination was reported within an education setting, and there were concerns about haram activity (alcohol consumption). Despite the divisive power of religious belief there was broad acceptance of sharing space. A pro-diversity sensibility has emerged within these post-secular micro-publics.

Muslim Schools in Australia: Development and Transition

Islamic education is underpinned by the inseparability of knowledge and the sacred. With this Islamic ethos, Muslim schools emerged in Australia to give Muslim children access to empowering forms of knowledge, to refine their religious identity and to inculcate in them Islamic moral and ethical comportment. However, the global pervasiveness of neo-liberalism as an economic philosophy brought about fundamental changes to the way Muslim schools operate and empower their students with knowledge. Muslim communities have seen schools transform and transition from a Utopian Muslim School Model to a Corporate Muslim School Model.