LILY ZUBAIDAH RAHIM Recycled Elites and Regime Change Malaysia’s Pakatan Haparan (Alliance of Hope, henceforth Harapan) coalition unexpectedly defeated the Barisan National (National Front, henceforth BN) coalition government in the May 2018 general election. This David and Goliath contest defied the predictions of seasoned political observers and leading opinion polls. Having governed for 61 years, the BN electoral authoritarian coalition had benefitted from the advantages of state resources and entrenched incumbency. The perennial redrawing of

BRYAN TURNER If we ask what makes us happy, one obvious response might be ‘it depends on what you mean by happiness”. In our edited book on Regimes of Happiness (Contreras-Vejar, Jen and Turner, 2019), we approached the problem by talking about ‘regimes of happiness’, namely clusters of ideas that shaped understanding of happiness or well-being in different periods and in different cultures. For example in the ancient world, Aristotle, writing some 400 years before

ANOOSHE MUSHTAQ It is vital for counter terrorism strategies to fight terrorism on the intellectual and ideological front. Islamic State will continue to wreak havoc on the international community through its war in cyberspace, regardless of the gains we make on the battlefield of Iraq and the Levant. For as long as Islamic State continues to disseminate slick, social media content offering Islamic ‘education’ and empowerment to Muslim youth which goes ideologically and intellectually unchallenged

ZAHID SHAHAB AHMED Since the beginning of bilateral ties in 1950, the China–Pakistan relationship has grown significantly. Known as Pakistan’s “all-weather friend,” bilateral economic cooperation has been advanced by the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) agreement, worth $62 billion of Chinese investment in Pakistan. While there is no shortage of literature on the geo-economics and geopolitical implications of the CPEC—considered a “game changer” by Beijing and Islamabad—negligible attention has been devoted to understanding its linkages with

VEDI HADIZ AND INAYA RAKHMANI This article is based on the authors’ project ‘Islamic Morality and Challenges to Democracy: A Study of Urban Lower and Middle Class Responses’. Millions of Muslims descended upon Jakarta in December 2016 and joined with large numbers of the city’s residents in a rally called the ‘Action to Defend Islam’. The demonstrators demanded that then governor of Jakarta Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (better known as ‘Ahok’) be stripped of his governorship

SHAHRAM AKBARZADEH US President Donald Trump’s invitation to meet Iranian President Hassan Rouhani after a week-long exchange of hostile tweets was a surprising turnaround, but Rouhani had no choice but to reject the offer. Since the Trump administration took over, bilateral tensions have been on the rise. Reports of an imminent US strike on Iranian nuclear facilities by anonymous sources in Australia have pushed the risk of confrontation to a new high. In a speech

PAM NILAN In Australia ‘Muslim’ (youth) gangs are said to pose a risk to the public. That claim synthesises media-driven moral panic about young Muslim men in Australia with politically amplified public fear of ‘ethnic’ criminal gangs. Yet the term ‘Muslim’ might not signify anything specifically cultural or religious about ‘gang’ members. Here two examples illustrate the ‘Muslim’ label as chosen, and one example illustrates ascription of ‘Muslim’ by the media and right-wing politicians. Both

Shahram Akbarzadeh caught up with Associate Professor Julian Millie of Monash University for the AAIMS Quarterly. Associate Professor Julian Millie is ARC Future Fellow in the Anthropology program of the Monash Faculty of Arts, and has been studying and researching Indonesian Islam for more than two decades now. His particular focus is on embodied practice, and its social and political meanings. Julian’s major publications include: Splashed by the Saint: Ritual Reading and Islamic sanctity in

HAKAN ÇORUH It should be noted that the affairs of Islam are founded on the following order: Meta-physical principles, akhlaq area, ‘ibadat (Worship), social regulations (law, trading). Moreover, the three principal themes of the Meccan revelations of the Qur’an are “Allah and his unity (tawhid),” “the coming resurrection and judgement,” and “righteous conduct.” Therefore, it should be noted that the concept of akhlaq and its application in daily lives is one of the main themes

IHSAN YILMAZ AND JAMES BARRY Prof Ihsan Yilmaz and Dr James Barry are collaborating on a number of projects, including research on Muslim identity in Australia and on Turkish minorities. In this piece, Prof Yilmaz and Dr Barry showcase their recent research on the Muslim community of Shepparton, Victoria. Most existing research on Muslim communities in Australia focuses on Melbourne and Sydney, and the regional dynamics which foster Muslim communities outside of capital cities are