Globalization, modernization and colonialism have played a pivotal role in the social transformation of Southeast Asian societies. The essays in this volume examine three aspects of this transformation: social change and development, the role of intellectuals, religion and cultural values. The volume honours the distinguished Malaysian sociologist Syed Hussein Alatas and his seminal contributions to the sociology of Southeast Asian societies. They have been written by his present and former colleagues, friends andstudents. Their contributions, reflect, complement and extend the influence of...

Suicide bombing has become a weapon of choice among terrorist groups because of its lethality and ability to cause mayhem and fear. But who carries out these acts, and what motivates them? By undertaking analysis of the information in the most comprehensive suicide terrorism database in the world, Life as a Weapon seeks to question and in turn undermine the common perception that the psychopathology of suicide bombers and their religious beliefs are the principal causes.

Instead, the book presents a cocktail of motivations that drive suicide bombers, and explains how their...

In an age when the Western world is preoccupied with worries about weapons of mass destruction in terrorist hands, terrorists across many parts of the globe are using a more basic device as a weapon - life itself. Suicide bombing has become a weapon of choice among terrorist groups because of its lethality and unrivalled ability to cause mayhem and fear, but what is the real driving force behind these attacks? For the first time, Suicide Bombings analyses concrete data from The Suicide Terrorism Database at Flinders University, Australia, to explain what motivates the perpetrators. The...

The central focus of this volume is to explore and highlight the nexus between the ideology of Islam and social and cultural milieus with the aim of reconceptualising the sacred as a socially constructed reality and not a transcendental supernatural phenomenon. From this perspective, human agency and society become the main focus for shaping, perpetuating and institutionalising religious beliefs, ideas and practices, opening up space for empirical and sociological analyses of religious phenomena.
The seven essays in this volume seek to explore and examine some of the key debates in...

Research shows that Indian Muslims experience higher levels of development and equity deficits. Indian Muslims are also predicted to become the largest Muslim population in the world by 2050. This increase in numbers might exacerbate their relative deprivation, creating a disjunction between India's constitutional promises of "equality of opportunity" for citizens of a secular democracy-including for minorities-and the existential reality. This will create social and political conditions that could undermine the stability of the country's democracy and make Indian Muslims a security threat,...

Research shows that Indian Muslims experience higher levels of development and equity deficits. Indian Muslims are also predicted to become the largest Muslim population in the world by 2050. This increase in numbers might exacerbate their relative deprivation, creating a disjunction between India's constitutional promises of "equality of opportunity" for citizens of a secular democracy-including for minorities-and the existential reality. This will create social and political conditions that could undermine the stability of the country's democracy and make Indian Muslims a security threat,...