The Reflowering of Malaysian Islam: Modern Religious Radicals and Their Roots

The so-called "dakwah movement" or Islamic revival which sprung up in Malaysia during the 1970s has been the centre of much interest and speculation as well as the subject of many articles, both journalistic and academic. But it is only now that a book-length study has appeared. Judith Nagata, a Canadian anthropologist, spent about a year in Malaysia in 1979-80 collecting material for this study. The book is quite comprehensive with chapters on the traditional rural ulamas and their schools, the emergence of urban dakwah organisations, the government response to dakwah activities, as well as discussion of hypotheses which see the revivalist Islam alternatively as expression of Malayness or class interest.

University of British Columbia Press. 1984. 282 pages. Hardback.