Majid Daneshgar

A Study on the Notions of 'Ali ibn Abi Talib in Malay Popular Culture

While Muslims universally acknowledge ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib as one of the most prominent figures in Islamic history, a number of Malay customs and rituals give him a special status. These customs and rituals point to the historical influence of Sufism, Shi‘ism, or a combination of the two during the process of identity formation among Muslims in the Malay Archipelago. This article will explore the special position given to ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib in traditional Malay martial arts as well as marriage customs, and will show how ideas generated in other parts of the Islamic world – such as the futuwwah tradition – evolved into uniquely Malay forms of religious and cultural expression which transcend sectarian bounds.

Qur'ānic Hermeneutics: Al-Ṭabrisī and the Craft of Commentary

given their own food prohibitions. The last chapter, “Idolaters Who Do Not Engage in Idolatry: Rabbinic Discourse About Muslims, Christians and Wine”, is particularly interesting in illustrating the “hermeneutic other”: Muslims who, while commonly drinking wine, certainly did not offer libations, and Christians, whose ritual use of wine was confined to priests and the Eucharist, were classified as idolaters for purposes of boundary maintenance. The casuistry of the reasoning is also interesting, featuring such scenarios as wine touched by a newly born idolater, and “resident aliens”, those in process of conversion to Judaism. It is interesting to reflect that these doctrines and practices are not only alive in our modern world of culinary promiscuity, but are being reinforced by the resurgence of identity politics, which harden communal boundaries in many locations and contexts.

Islam and the Challenge of Civilization by Abdelwahab Meddeb (trans. Jane Kuntz). New York: Fordham University Press, 2013. 175pp., £24.99, ISBN 9780823251230

This is a well-written and very useful addition to the body of literature on regulation, and is part of Palgrave’s excellent series on public management. The introduction situates the book firmly in the context of ‘the rise of the regulatory state’ (p. 2), taking a thoroughly modern stance on the interface between the state, public regulators and private actors. More importantly, it also argues forcefully for approaching the subject in a more holistic fashion. It challenges the notion of regulation as ‘a technocratic and apolitical process’ (p. 8), and the consequent implication that the ‘exciting’ debates all occur during the preceding legislative phase. Rather, it sets out to expose the many subtle trade-offs, unintended consequences, pressures, problems and remedies that exist in this activity. In short, it encourages the reader to ‘think like a regulator’ (p. 9) – an exercise in which the reader is ably assisted during the remainder of the book. An excellent chapter then lays out four theoretical perspectives on regulation, taking the reader through Stiglerian interest group politics to a more sociological account focusing on ‘ideas and world-views’ (pp. 36–9). From there, the authors deftly cover a series of key theoretical and practical debates: alternatives to command-and-control regulation, difficulties in regulating across borders, and the complexities of managing network industries and handling financial risk. Each chapter explains the complexities of these debates via a series of practical scenarios, and in a refreshing approach Lodge and Wegrich take various examples of regulation, or regulatory shortcomings, and transport them to a fictional realm – ‘Amnesialand’. This alternative reality then suffers a financial crisis, experiences problems in regulating its monopoly water supplier and its prison sector, and so on. The guiding principle (‘thinking like a regulator’) runs through these analytical narratives, helping bring together theory, practical problems and empirical cases. This approach sums up the book’s great strength. For the student of public administration its range and analytical rigour offer very useful entry points into many aspects of regulation. Meanwhile, one can imagine an exasperated professional, wanting to know quite why the regulatory regime she experiences is so ineffective, finding in this book a pithy and engaging explanation; ditto – for the other side of the regulatory fence: the under-resourced and equally exasperated practitioner. For both audiences – the academic and the professional – the fluent tone makes light work of often very complex issues of policy making.

An Approach to Science in the Qurʾān: Re-examination of Ṭanṭāwī Ǧawharī’s Exegesis

The purpose of this analytical study is to re-examine Ṭanṭāwī Ǧawharī’s (1862-1940) so-called scientific exegesis of the Qurʾān. Some academics have praised him, while others critiqued or even called him a dreamer. However, this study takes into account Ṭanṭāwī’s view concerning science and explores his true motives for invoking science. The main purpose for analyzing his view in the course of this article is to further explore his definition of science. Nonetheless, the essential question is: Was science a tool he employed to help comprehend the Qurʾān or a vehicle by which to convey his personal messages? In this regard, two phases will be considered: (a) Ṭanṭāwī and his exegesis; and (b) Ṭanṭāwī’s definition of science in his exegesis, which will be achieved through an investigation of his viewpoints about different Qurʾānic verses.

Singapore Malays: Being Ethnic Minority and Muslim in a Global City-State by Hussin Mutalib. Abingdon: Routledge, 2012. 224pp, £85.00, ISBN 978 0415509633

other political crisis accustomed ‘to economic transformation, intellectual ferment, political mobilisisation and social change’ (p. 148), although it was also sui generis in the sense that it was ‘deliberately induced by the leaders of the regime itself ’ (p. 148). Alice Miller focuses upon the dilemmas of globalisation and governance. She believes that the foremost focus of politics since the mid-1990s has been the problem of improving the communist regime’s ability to adapt to new challenges of governing a rapidly changing economy and society (p. 532). The emergence of public opinion in China and membership of the World Trade Organization has fundamentally transformed the Chinese system. Hu Jintao’s ‘scientific development concept’ and ‘harmonious society’ has strengthened the ‘people-centred’ policies and ensured greater transparency. The book eloquently interprets and analyses sixty years of Chinese politics. Therefore, China watchers, students of International Relations (especially Chinese Studies), policy makers and strategists must study the book to understand the nuances of Chinese politics.

The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought by Gerhard Bowering (ed.). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2013. 656pp., £52.00, ISBN 978 0 691 13484 0

has seen a marked increase in income inequality across the OECD. For Bauman, a long-time sociological observer of the mystifications of marketisation, this discrepancy calls for a critical examination of the naturalised presumptions underpinning the belief that ‘the richness of the few benefits us all’. Besides the introduction and the closing ‘afterthought’, the book’s mere 101 pages are split into three main parts: the first chapter surveys the recent evidence detailing the post-1980s increase in inequality, while the second and third chapters disentangle the legitimating logic behind the trickle-down argument. In particular, Chapter 3 challenges the following four tacitly accepted premises (‘musts’) shaping our understanding of the world: (1) economic growth is the be-all and end-all of socio-political organisation; (2) perpetually rising consumption facilitates the pursuit of happiness; (3) inequality of humans is natural; and (4) rivalry is a condition of social justice. As usual, Bauman’s writing style is engaging and shows him working comfortably and eruditely in the tradition of critical social theory. However, this short book is evidently less analytically ambitious than some of his earlier notable works. Many of the arguments of the book have been treated more extensively elsewhere – for example, his analysis of consumerism. But the novelty lies in Bauman’s attempt to weave together these arguments in one short thematically demarcated book. Also, the section on economic growth is insightful and refreshingly critical in its discussion of the negative externalities of the capitalist growth imperative. Naturally, critics of Bauman will criticise the book for its polemical prose and relatively casual argumentative style. Readers familiar with his wide-ranging scholarship, on the other hand, may calmly and effortlessly read this book to gain insights into the moral and structural logic underpinning the contemporary legitimation of market society and inequality. Despite it being unusually short, Bauman’s book largely succeeds in his main aim: to intellectually upset the naturalised perspective that a linear connection exists between the maximisation of individual economic gains and the maximisation of the welfare of the broader society.

Book Review: Political Theory: The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought:

has seen a marked increase in income inequality across the OECD. For Bauman, a long-time sociological observer of the mystifications of marketisation, this discrepancy calls for a critical examination of the naturalised presumptions underpinning the belief that ‘the richness of the few benefits us all’. Besides the introduction and the closing ‘afterthought’, the book’s mere 101 pages are split into three main parts: the first chapter surveys the recent evidence detailing the post-1980s increase in inequality, while the second and third chapters disentangle the legitimating logic behind the trickle-down argument. In particular, Chapter 3 challenges the following four tacitly accepted premises (‘musts’) shaping our understanding of the world: (1) economic growth is the be-all and end-all of socio-political organisation; (2) perpetually rising consumption facilitates the pursuit of happiness; (3) inequality of humans is natural; and (4) rivalry is a condition of social justice. As usual, Bauman’s writing style is engaging and shows him working comfortably and eruditely in the tradition of critical social theory. However, this short book is evidently less analytically ambitious than some of his earlier notable works. Many of the arguments of the book have been treated more extensively elsewhere – for example, his analysis of consumerism. But the novelty lies in Bauman’s attempt to weave together these arguments in one short thematically demarcated book. Also, the section on economic growth is insightful and refreshingly critical in its discussion of the negative externalities of the capitalist growth imperative. Naturally, critics of Bauman will criticise the book for its polemical prose and relatively casual argumentative style. Readers familiar with his wide-ranging scholarship, on the other hand, may calmly and effortlessly read this book to gain insights into the moral and structural logic underpinning the contemporary legitimation of market society and inequality. Despite it being unusually short, Bauman’s book largely succeeds in his main aim: to intellectually upset the naturalised perspective that a linear connection exists between the maximisation of individual economic gains and the maximisation of the welfare of the broader society.

The Study of Persian Shi'ism in the Malay-Indonesian world: A Review of Literature from the Nineteenth Century onwards

The purpose of this essay is to display the significance of studies relating to the influence of Persian Shi‘ism in Southeast Asia in general, and the Malay Archipelago in particular. With this purpose in mind, a comprehensive bibliography of works published in the ninteenth, twentieth, and early twenty-first centuries (1888–2014) is presented. An attempt is also made to present the influence of Persian Shi‘a figures and elements on the historical and modern Malay Archipelago.

Religion, Politics and Gender in Indonesia: Disputing the Muslim Body by Sonja van Wichelen. Abingdon: Routledge, 2012. 184pp., £85.00, ISBN 978 0415497244

terns of Moscow’s intervention in Central Asia during the perestroika period; (2) the different economic endowments of Central Asian states; and (3) the dissimilar degrees of Islamic revivalism in the region. The interplay between these three issues informs the careful process of tracing the authoritarian ‘chaos’ in Kyrgyzstan (p. 80), ‘violence’ in Uzbekistan (p. 114) and ‘dynasty’ in Kazakhstan. In this context, McGlinchey provides one of the most thoughtful accounts to date of the differences in the post-Soviet trajectories of the Central Asian states. His book demonstrates that it is through a determined contextual examination that a veritable account of the multiple and often contradictory processes underpinning the alterations in social, economic and political dynamics of the region can emerge. It is expected therefore that McGlinchey’s investigation will be welcomed not only by students of Central Asian affairs, but also by all those interested in post-Soviet transitions and comparative politics.

Islam and Politics in South East Asia by Johan Saravanamuttu (ed.). Abingdon: Routledge, 2010. 208pp., £26.95, ISBN 9780415625340

terns of Moscow’s intervention in Central Asia during the perestroika period; (2) the different economic endowments of Central Asian states; and (3) the dissimilar degrees of Islamic revivalism in the region. The interplay between these three issues informs the careful process of tracing the authoritarian ‘chaos’ in Kyrgyzstan (p. 80), ‘violence’ in Uzbekistan (p. 114) and ‘dynasty’ in Kazakhstan. In this context, McGlinchey provides one of the most thoughtful accounts to date of the differences in the post-Soviet trajectories of the Central Asian states. His book demonstrates that it is through a determined contextual examination that a veritable account of the multiple and often contradictory processes underpinning the alterations in social, economic and political dynamics of the region can emerge. It is expected therefore that McGlinchey’s investigation will be welcomed not only by students of Central Asian affairs, but also by all those interested in post-Soviet transitions and comparative politics.