The Asian Muslim Action Network (AMAN) is pleased to announce the seventh round of the research fellowship program, Islam in Southeast Asia: View from within. The fellowship grants will be awarded for innovative research on issues concerning economic, socio-political and cultural changes taking place in the diverse Muslim communities of Southeast Asia, especially as they relate to modernization and globalization.

Themes

• Islam and Popular Culture:  This research theme seeks to understand the various areas of popular culture within Muslim societies. The perspectives and points of view of the so-called common folk is no less important than those of the elite and are expressed in a variety of ways that is collectively referred to as popular culture. There is a need to provide an understanding of the various definitions of popular culture and the debates that have been taking place within Muslim societies on the relationship between Islam and popular culture. This research theme encompasses five aspects of popular culture: popular music, popular literature, popular art, sports and leisure, cuisine, and the new media. Another important consideration is the manner in which Islamic rituals and practices have been influenced by popular culture. Popular culture is a vast area for research. It is expected that researchers will focus on just one or two aspects of popular culture. These dimensions of popular culture also include specifically Islamic activities such as listening to Muslim radio programmes or attendance of the maulid.
• Southeast Asian Islam in the World Order:  Muslim communities are not immunes to globalization process. New forms of political and economic integration on a global scale and the resulting social transformation have created new opportunities as well as challenges for Muslims in the region. Among these challenges posed by a network of economic, political, military and cultural elite that make up today’s global hegemony . This research theme seeks to analyze global hegemony in terms of its impact on Muslim communities in Southeast Asia, in economic, political and cultural terms and document the varieties of response to global hegemony from the region.
• Transnational Muslim ideologies and identity politics lization:  For more than thirty years, sociologist, political scientist and journalist, have been concerned with the phenomenon of “Islamic fundamentalism” or “Islamism” because of the predominance of security concerns, the attention has been on the operations of so-called Islamist groups, including those deemed extremist. In these studies, two major issues have been neglected. One is the Muslim-self understanding of extremism. In other words, how do Muslims understand and define extremism? The other neglected issue is the spectrum of contemporary Muslim ideologies that are not extremist. There are sometimes collectively referred to as traditionalist Islam. This research theme explores how Muslim ideologies and identities in Southeast Asia are formed and shaped. The clash of identities within Muslim societies and the ways in which Muslims have been confronting extremism.
• Islam and Changing Gender Realities:   Rapidly evolving social, cultural and economic processes are leading to unprecedented changes in the societal roles of men and women. Muslim communities in Southeast Asia are being confronted with a diversity of values and lifestyles expressing multiple definitions of gender roles and relationships not always in line with dominant values. This research area encourages researchers to examine how gender roles in both the public and private sphere are changing for Muslims in Southeast Asia and relate those changes to current theological and political debates For example, research can include Muslims who have pushed the glass ceiling (in spite of gender bias) in their endeavors to serve the ummah, whether in historical or contemporary times; also institutions (e.g. family) or movements (e.g. feminism, fundamentalism) that have made change possible or that perpetuate the status quo.
• Islam Values, Economic Activities and Social Responsibilities:   Studies in this area should examine how Islamic values and institutions can provide alternative economic options to those perceived as condradictory to Qur'anic principles such as riba. Area of focus could include identifying how Islamic economic values work in a modern business environment, analysis of indigenous entrepreneurial models that have been or can be utilized for local level empowerment and/ or studies of the lives of entrepreneurs and the ways Islamic values shape and are re-shaped by their economic activities and social responsibilities.
• Confronting Environmental Degradation using Islamic Values:   Religious values have a great affect on the relationship between humans and the environment. Now that the world seems to be facing environmental degradation at alarming levels, it has become all the more urgent for Muslims to rethink their theories and perspectives on practices that work towards saving rather than destroying the environment. This in turn requires that Islamic religious principles that have a bearing on the environment are clearly articulated and transformed into policy and programmes. For example, how can debates surrounding halal-haram issues be made more relevant to the environment? How can these issues be brought into Muslim religious education and public discourse so that people are sufficiently conscientized about the ecologically-friendly attitude of Islam. This research theme aims to discuss such issues as well as document on-going attempts in the Muslim world to re-align the sensibilities of Muslims with the environment.

Eligibility

Candidates must be nationals of Southeast Asian countries, hold at least a Bachelor degree and should not be over 40 years of age.
Candidates may work in different sectors including academia, media, and non-governmental organizations. Candidate must be highly motivated to deepen their understanding of Islam in the region.
Women are strongly encouraged to apply.

Fellowship Value

The fellowship consists of an average research grant of $5,000 to cover all research costs for a maximum period of six months in the original country of researcher, and funded participation in mentoring workshops.
The Secretariat will arrange for editing, publication and distribution of the report in a "work in progress" series.

Application Procedure

To apply for this fellowship program, candidates need to submit a complete research proposal. Proposed research projects should include sufficient details so that it can be judged for its merit and feasibility.
The candidates can download the application form as a MS Word document. Applications by e-mail are also accepted.

Programme Advisory Board

Dr. Carmen Abubakar
Institute of Islamic Studies,
University of the Philippines, Diliman, Q.C.
Metro Manila, Philippines.

Dr. Azyumardi Azra
Universitas Islam Negeri (UIN), Syarif Hidayatullah
Jakarta, Indonesia.

M. Abdus Sabur
Asian Muslim Action Network &
Asian Resource Foundation, Bangkok, Thailand

Dr. Chaiwat Satha-Anand
Faculty of Political Science,
Thammasat University, Bangkok, Thailand

Dr. Alan Feinstein
The Rockefeller Foundation, Bangkok, Thailand

Assoc. Prof. Syed Farid Alatas
Department of Malay Studies
National University of Singapore

Program Management

The fellowship program is managed by the AMAN secretariat, which is housed at the Asian Resource Foundation (ARF) in Bangkok, Thailand.
AMAN was established in 1990 with the goal of building understanding and solidarity among Muslims and with other faith communities in Asia towards people's empowerment, human rights, justice and peace. AMAN's Council consists of eleven members representing various Asian countries, with Dr. Asghar Ali Engineer of the center for study of society and secularism, India as chairman.
Financial support to the fellowship program is provided by the Rockefeller Foundation, Southeast Asia Regional Office Bangkok, Thailand.

Secretariat

Dwi Rubiyanti Kholifah - Program Coordinator
Contact Address
Islam in Southeast Asia: A View from Within
Research Fellowship Programme
AMAN/ARF
House 1562/113, Soi 1/1
Mooban Pibul, Pracharaj Road,
Bangkok 10800, Thailand
Tel: 66-2-9130196,
Fax: 66-2-9130197
E-mail: \n This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it