Crosscurrents: Alternative Voices in Our Changing Times

by Farish A. Noor

This collection of interviews by Dr. Farish A.Noor first appeared in the New Straits Times under the heading of his column Crosscurrents. Written between the years 1998 to 2003, they reflect the concerns of a political scientist from a newly developing country for the plight of the people of the South who were faced with the daunting prospect of trying to carve a place for themselves in a globalised world that was rapidly changing. The author discusses issues ranging from freedom of religion to the growing culture of authoritarianism in many Southern nation-states; racial and ethnic pluralism to the debate over Secularism and Modernity. Thought-provoking and controversial at times, they were an attempt to open the eyes of Malaysians to the intellectual developments taking place in other parts of the world.

115 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Dr. Farish Ahmad Noor (born 15 May 1967 in Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia) is a Malaysian political scientist and historian and is presently a Senior Fellow at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. At the NTU he is part of the research cluster on the contemporary development of trans-national religio-political networks across South and Southeast Asia, where he is studying the phenomenon of Muslim, Christian, Hindu and Buddhist religio-political mobilisation in the public domain.

He was formerly attached to Zentrum Moderner Orient (Centre for Modern Oriental Studies) in Berlin, Germany, Sciences-Po Paris, the Institute for the Study of Muslim Society (ISIMM, Ecole des haute etudes et sciences sociale, EHESS), Paris and the International Institute for the Study of the Muslim World (ISIM), Leiden, Netherlands. Dr. Noor's teaching credits include the Centre for Civilisational Dialogue, University of Malaya, the Institute for Islamic Studies, Free University Berlin, Sunan Kalijaga Islamic University (Jogjakarta), Muhamadiyah University Surakarta and Nanyang Technological University presently.
At NTU/RSIS he teaches two courses: (1) History, Society and Politics of Malaysia and (2) Introduction to Discourse Analysis. The first is part of the RSIS area studies curricula (which also covers Indonesia) while the second is a foundational course in Philosophy of Language, Linguistics and Semiotics with a heavy emphasis on Critical Theory as developed by the Essex School of Discourse Analysis.

He received his BA in Philosophy & Literature from the University of Sussex in 1989, before studying for an MA in Philosophy at the same University in 1990, an MA in South-East Asian Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, before completing his PhD at the University of Essex in 1997 in the field of governance and politics.

Dr Noor also runs a research site www.othermalaysia.org along with Dr Yusseri Yusoff, which looks at the history of Malaysia from an alternative, deconstructive angle and which attempts to demonstrate the constructiveness and contingency behind historical development, particularly of nation-states from the pre-colonial to post-colonial era.

Over the past ten years he has also been researching the phenomenon of transnational and translocal religio-political movements, including missionary movements such as the Tablighi Jama'at and its networks from South to Southeast Asia; as well as the development of religio-politics in South and Southeast Asia, looking at the rise of Muslim, Christian and Hindu political-religious revivalism in particular.

His other interests include antiques and material history, and he has written about the plastic arts of Southeast Asia, focusing on things such as the Indonesian-Malaysian keris to the development of woodcarving and architecture.
Farish has also appeared in the semi-documentary film The Big Durian (film), directed by Amir Muhammad.

Reviews

[Wildan Azhar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Membaca Asia & Islam melalui Lensa Pemikiran Prof Farish A. Noor

Antara perkara utama yang dibincangkan ialah pertembungan antara usaha membawa gagasan Islam progresif dengan kecenderungan untuk terus mengekalkan tradisi lama tanpa penilaian semula. Dalam masa yang sama, Prof. Farish turut mengemukakan usaha mentakrifkan semula konsep Islamis secara lebih seimbang dan kontekstual.

Walaupun terdapat beberapa idea berkaitan Islamis yang tidak sepenuhnya saya persetujui, hujah-hujah yang dibentangkan disusun dengan kemas dan disokong oleh konteks sejarah yang kukuh. Pendekatan ini memperlihatkan bagaimana pemikiran Islam pada awal abad ke-20 berkembang dalam suasana pascakolonial yang kompleks, sekali gus menuntut pembacaan yang lebih kritikal dan tidak bersifat hitam-putih.

Pada akhirnya, karya ini mendorong pembaca untuk berfikir secara lebih terbuka dan matang terhadap perbahasan Islam, sama ada dari sudut tradisi mahupun pembaharuan. Ia bukan sahaja mencabar kefahaman sedia ada, tetapi juga membuka ruang dialog yang lebih luas dalam memahami Islam sebagai satu tradisi pemikiran yang sentiasa bergerak dan berubah mengikut konteks zaman.

[Nissa' · Rating 3 out of 5]

Discussing Islam from a bigger view.