SENIOR Faculty Fellow 2000-01
Michael G. Peletz (Far Eastern Studies and Anthropology)
Colgate University
Sacred Texts, Contested States:
Islamic Courts and Modernity in Malaysia
This project entails both a continuation of my previous research
and writing on Malaysia from the 19th century to the present, and
the preparation of a new book focusing primarily on contemporary
Malaysia. The main objectives of the project are to analyze data
collected during two lengthy periods of research (1978 to 1980,
and 1987 to 1988) and two shorter visits (in 1993 and 1998); and
to complete a book that will describe and interpret the culture
and political economy of Malaysia's Islamic courts, with particular
reference to how the courts are implicated in projects of modernity
and quests for authenticity and sovereignty in present-day Malaysia.
The specific goals are: to document and explain the ways in which
religious leaders and agencies of the state endeavor to use the
courts to enhance certain forms of legitimacy and social control;
and to examine how litigants, court personnel, and other relevant
social actors conceptualize human rights and utilize the courts
to manage disputes and otherwise pursue their variously defined
(sometimes mutually contradictory) agendas. The broader objectives
are to address issues in the comparative and theoretical literature
concerning Islam, modernity, and civil society.
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