Islam and the East

Interview with Riz Khan, Al-Jazeera TV, 18 Nov 2009

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=Amitav+Acharya%2C+Riz+Khan&rlz=1R2RNTN_enUS363&aq=f&aqi=&oq=

Islamic movements have been growing in the countries of Southeast Asia for decades.

In the Philippines, the Muslim struggle for independence in the southern region of Mindanao has cost 120,000 lives and displaced millions. Attempts for a peaceful resolution have stalled.

Some of Thailand's 2.2 million Muslims have taken up arms as well, demanding independence for the southern - traditionally Muslim -part of the country.

And in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim country, Islamists lost seats in elections earlier this year, but militant groups continue their bombing attacks against Western targets.

One US politician, Republican senator Christopher Bond, says the region could be a testing ground for the future of Muslim-Western relations. In his new book, The Next Front: Southeast Asia and the Road to Global Peace with Islam, he warns that the US could "end up fighting Islamist radicals on a second front".

He urges the Obama administration to reverse decades of neglect of the region by launching "soft-power" initiatives - diplomatic and economic tools, along with personal outreach.

So what is the state of the Islamic movements in Southeast Asia? And do they pose a threat to the West? Is the branding of the region as a "second front" counterproductive? And can "soft power" initiatives improve relations between the Muslim world and the US?

On Wednesday, Riz speaks with Bond, the vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

Amitav Acharya, the chair of the ASEAN Studies Centre at American University, and previously headed research at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

Robert Hefner, the director of the Institute on Culture, Religion and World Affairs at Boston University, and president of the Association for Asian Studies. Since the mid-1980s, Hefner has conducted research on Muslim culture, politics and education.

This episode of the Riz Khan show can be seen live on Wednesday, November 18, 2009 at 2030GMT with repeats on Thursday at 0030GMT, 0530GMT and 1130GMT.

From: http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/rizkhan/2009/11/20091118103211283864.html


You can watch the full interview in two parts:
Part I: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_pI5VJk1_I&feature=related
Part II: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iObnEy7ths4)