Iran and The Nusantara

What does the nation of Iran and the Nusantara region have in common? Plenty, according to the participants of the conference, Iran and the Malay World: Historical and Contemporary Relations, and the Future, held in October 2022 in Kuala Lumpur, which discussed the linked history, contemporary ties, and future prospects in the Iran-Nusantara relationship.

Over two days, scholars from independent research centres, AsiaWE and Bait al-Amanah, teamed up with higher education institutions University of Nottingham Malaysia, University of Malaya and the National University of Singapore to discuss past ties, current developments, and projections and hopes for future cooperation between Iran and nations in the Nusantara.

The essays in this book contain the conference speakers’ findings on a wide range of topics that cover science and technological cooperation, political relevance amidst demographic changes, as well as art and cultural history, and the long and robust history of the exchange of ideas and philosophies, artistic inspiration, and religious debates. These essays invite a more collaborative worldview, one which sees nation aligned in goals and visions working closely together to bring about a world that better reflects the people living in it: diverse, equitable, cooperative yet autonomous.