Malaysia: Islamist civilizational populism

• Main Author: Mohamad Shukri, Syaza Farhana
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Palgrave Macmillan 2023
• Subjects: JQ1758 Public Administration -Religious Aspects - Islam; JQ715 Politics and Government in Malaysia
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/106957/1/106957_Malaysia%20Islamist%20civilizational%20populism.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/106957/; https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-99-4262-6_6

This chapter demonstrates, via the use of process tracing, that civilizationism is successful in uniting the majority Muslim people in the polarized country of Malaysia, and when existing policies have failed to foster national unity. As a result, the chapter shows, Malay-Muslims have sought a community beyond Malaysia’s borders. Equally, and with the emergence of Islamist politics worldwide, the chapter demonstrates that it has become much easier for Malay-Muslim populist politicians to emphasize the struggle of Muslims over that of their own co-nationalists for domestic political gain.