Islam and Popular Culture in Indonesia and Malaysia

<p>Home to approximately one-fifth of the world’s Muslim population Indonesia and Malaysia are often overlooked or misrepresented in media discourses about Islam. Islam is a religion but there is also a popular culture or popular cultures of Islam that are mass mediated commercialized pleasure-filled humorous and representative of large segments of society. During the last forty years popular forms of Islam targeted largely towards urbanized youth have played a key role in the Islamisation of Indonesia and Malaysia. This book focuses on these forms and the accompanying practices of production circulation marketing and consumption of Islam. Dispelling the notion that Islam is monolithic militaristic and primarily Middle Eastern the book emphasizes its dynamic contested and performative nature in contemporary South East Asia. Written by leading scholars alongside media figures such as Rhoma Irama and Ishadi SK the case studies although not focused on theology <em>per se</em> illuminate how Muslims (and non-Muslims) in Indonesia and Malaysia make sense of their lives within an increasingly pervasive culture of Islamic images texts film songs and narratives. </p>