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Article: Islam: facing two ways with Dr Mahathir.
- Article from:
- Contemporary Review
- Article date:
- January 1, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 Contemporary Review Company Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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PART I
AS Dr Mahathir Mohamed of Malaysia was preparing to hand over the premiership to his 'annointed successor', Abdullah Badawi, in the course of 2003--an event fixed with quaint precision for 31st October, as if to pre-empt prevarication!--academic Malaysia-watchers in several countries were being mustered to contribute to collective assessments of a remarkable man after twenty-two remarkable years at the helm. As these collections of essays find their way into print, one recurring theme that can be anticipated is Mahathir's mobilization of religion as a prop for his at-root-secular modernizing mission for the Malays. Slightly by contrast, I myself was signed ...