Religion & Society

     The Muslim communities of Southeast Asia have long been regarded as among the more moderate of the Islamic world. The world’s largest Muslim nation, Indonesia sits alongside the smaller but dynamic Muslim communities of Malaysia and Brunei, as well as the sizeable Muslim minorities in Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines. Together these nations are home to around 250 million Muslims.      The region has been largely spared from the tormented conflicts of the Arab world. But the temperature is rising in Muslim Southeast Asia, with increasingly bitter debates and, at times, violent conflicts between competing factions of Muslims. One of the key bones of contention relates to an increasing push for the implementation of aspects of Sharia law. Brunei      On May 1, 2014, the Sultan of Brunei enacted Sharia legal codes in his kingdom, one of the wealthiest countries in the world with its vast oil reserves. This step was taken i...

   Stereotyping the world of Islam is a fruitless task; such is its internal diversity. Nowadays sectarian conflict is tearing apart Muslim populations in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. While some Muslims pursue a vision of a forward-thinking, rationalist faith, others look backwards to what they see as a pristine age when Muhammad established the first Islamic community in Medina.    For the latter group, the Hadith, or prophetic traditions, are crucial in realising their vision, enabling Muslims who want to model their lives on that of their prophet to do so. These traditions record tens of thousands of short reports about Muhammad’s actions, attitudes, concerns, preferences, and prejudices.    Read literally, the Hadith reports can take Muslims in many directions: to compassion for widows and orphans, to patriarchal attitudes towards women, to disdain for religious minorities, and to military jihad for the cause of Islam. Read on here .