CfP: Sectarianization and Intra-Group Muslim Divisions in Southeast Asia and Beyond (Submission deadline: April 7th, 2022)

Call for Papers for Edited Book Project

Sectarianization and Intra-Group Muslim Divisions in Southeast Asia and Beyond

Co-editor/Co-Covernor: Saleena Saleem (ssaleem@liverpool.ac.uk) and Alexander Arifianto (isalex@ntu.edu.sg)

We are looking for scholars to contribute chapters for our upcoming edited book, which explores themes related to sectarianism and sectarianization processes in Muslim societies across the MENA, South Asia, and Southeast Asian country contexts.

We are specifically looking for scholars who can contribute on the following topics:

1. An examination of sectarianization processes and intra-group Muslim divisions in Southeast Asia or South Asia through a critical decolonial lens. The country focus can be either be comparative across two countries in the Southeast Asian and/or South Asian regions or a case study on a single country context in Southeast Asia or South Asia.
2. Engage with and build on the sectarianization thesis in innovative ways to explicate the emergence of different forms of intra-Muslim divisions and rivalries in Southeast Asia or South Asia.

We welcome papers that demonstrate the workings of multiple structural factors and contextual drivers in the construction of emergent sectarian identities and intra-Muslim rivalries and divisions, which are germane to the country context studied. This may include the politicisation of ethno-religious identities; competition over access to state recognition, positions, and resources; political uncertainty or change; subnational contestations over reinterpretations of religious traditions; and transnational ideological influences.

Some possible questions to reflect on: How is the coloniality of power and knowledge, a key concept in the decolonial school of thought, implicated in examples of sectarianization in Muslim societies over issues of race, religion, gender, or sexuality in particular country contexts? In what possible ways would a decolonial lens enhance our understanding of sectarianization processes in Muslim societies? What aspects of the sectarianization thesis can inform our understanding of the different forms of intra-Muslim divisions and rivalries in Muslim societies, and what are its limitations? What other analytical considerations do we need for a more nuanced understanding of sectarianism and the development of intra-Muslim group contestations in particular country contexts? What are the lessons learned from the politics of identity formation and sectarian politics in particular country contexts that can potentially enrich our understanding of Muslim politics worldwide?

Please send your chapter abstract (not exceeding 400 words) and short author’s biography to us by April 10, 2022. Submit the abstract and direct any queries to the co-editors/covenors "Sectarianization and Intra-Group Muslim Divisions in Southeast Asia and Beyond" book project: Saleena Saleem (ssaleem@liverpool.ac.uk) and Alexander Arifianto (isalex@ntu.edu.sg). We welcome submissions from any social science disciplines (including political science) and from any theoretical or methodological approaches.