OF CO-OPTATION AND RESISTANCE: RELIGION AND THE STATE IN MALAYSIA AND SOUTHERN THAILAND

Abstract

This dissertation investigates the relationship(s) between the state and Islam in Malaysia and Southern Thailand. I focus on the role of the ulama (the Islamic religious scholars), and address two central questions: 1) under what conditions do the religious elites oppose or cooperate with the state, and 2) what are the consequences of the ensuing relationships between the ulama and the state? I postulate a two-part argument. First, the ulama decide to resist, be co-opted by, or remain neutral to, the state, in accordance with their political opportunity structures. The wider the political opportunity structures, the more room the ulama have to manoeuvre, and the more influence they can exert on political outcomes. Second, the interactions between the ulama and the state redefine the contours of the ‘state’ and even ‘Islam’ itself. In Malaysia, the political opportunity structures enable the ulama to drive the phenomenon of rising conservatism. In Southern Thailand, where the political opportunity structures are more inhibiting for the ulama, it is them who have modified their understandings of ‘Islam’.