Beasiswa The Asian Muslim Action Network (AMAN)

Islam in Southeast Asia

Research Fellowship Programme for Young Muslim Scholars
The Asian Muslim Action Network (AMAN) is pleased to announce the fifthround of the research fellowship program, Islam in Southeast Asia: Viewfrom within.
The fellowship grants will be awarded for innovative research on issuesconcerning economic, socio-political and cultural changes takingplace in the diverse Muslim communities of Southeast Asia,especially as they relate to modernization and globalization.

Themes Popular Islam
"Popular Islam" focuses on encouraging researchers to examine ways inwhich Islamic beliefs and practices reach all believers and arereflected through various means of religious. communication such asstudying Khutbah in local mosques, reading Islamic booklets, and/ orlistening to Muslim radio programs. The question of how Islam can shapeand influence, while at the same time is being shaped by, the lives ofordinary Southeast Asian Muslims in various local contexts is just oneaspect of this topic that could be analyzed.

Globalization and Identity Politics

Muslim communities in Southeast Asia are not immune from globalizationprocesses. New forms of economic and political integration on a worldscale and the accelerated flows of goods, people and information acrossthe globe all create new opportunities and challenges for Muslims inthe region. The interaction of global and regional forces with localprocesses has been perceived both as a threat to Muslim identities andas beneficial to the development of a new transnational Islam. Thisresearch theme seeks to explore how Muslim identities in Southeast Asiaare formed and shaped by regional and globalizing forces.

Islam and Changing Gender Realities

Rapidly evolvingsocial, cultural and economic processes are leading to unprecedentedchanges in the societal roles of men and women. Muslim communities inSoutheast Asia are being confronted with a diversity of values andlifestyles expressing multiple definitions of gender roles andrelationships not always in line with dominant values. This researcharea encourages researchers to examine how gender roles in both the public and private sphere are changing for Muslims in Southeast Asiaand relate those changes to current theological and political debates.

Islam Values, Economic Activities and Social Responsibilities

Studies in this area should examine how Islamic values and institutions canprovide alternative economic options to those perceived ascondradictory to Qur'anic principles such as riba. Area of focus couldinclude identifying how Islamic economic values work in a modernbusiness environment, analysis of indigenous entrepreneurial modelsthat have been or can be utilized for local level empowerment and/ orstudies of the lives of entrepreneurs and the ways Islamic values shapeand are re-shaped by their economic activities and socialresponsibilities.

Eligibility

Candidates must be nationals of SoutheastAsian countries, hold at least a Bachelor's degree and should not beover 40 years of age.
Candidates may work in different sectors including academia, media, andnon-governmental organizations. Candidate must be highly motivated todeepen their understanding of Islam in the region.
Women are strongly encouraged to apply.

Fellowship Value

The fellowship consists of an averageresearch grant of $5,000 to cover all research costs for a maximumperiod of six months, and funded participation in mentoring workshops.
The Secretariat will arrange for editing, publication and distribution of the report in a "work in progress" series.

Application Procedure
To apply for this fellowship program, candidates need to submit acomplete research proposal. Proposed research projects should includesufficient details so that it can be judged for its merit andfeasibility.
The candidates can download the application form from our website as aMS Word document. Applications by e-mail are also accepted.
The closing date for application submission is 30 November 2006.

Selection

Final selections will be made by the Advisory board.

Programme Advisory Board

Dr. Carmen AbubakarInstitute of Islamic Studies,University of the Philippines, Diliman, Q.C.Metro Manila, Philippines.
Dr. Azyumardi AzraUniversitas Islam Negeri (UIN), Syarif HidayatullahJakarta, Indonesia.
Dr. Suzaina KadirLee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore,Singapore
Lies Marcoes Natsir, MAThe Asia Foundation, Jakarta, Indonesia
M. Abdus SaburAsian Muslim Action Network &Asian Resource Foundation, Bangkok, Thailand
Dr. Chaiwat Satha-AnandFaculty of Political Science,Thammasat University, Bangkok, Thailand
Dr. Rosalia SciortinoThe Rockefeller Foundation, Bangkok, Thailand
Dr. Shamsul A.B.Institute of Malay World and Civilization (ATMA) Universiti Kebangsaan, MalaysiaProgram Management
The fellowship program is managed by the AMAN secretariat, which is housed at the Asian Resource Foundation (ARF) in Bangkok, Thailand.
AMAN was established in 1990 with the goal of building understanding and solidarity among Muslims and with other faith communities in Asia towards people's empowerment, human rights, justice and peace. AMAN's Council consists of eleven members representing various Asian countries, with Dr. Asghar Ali Engineer of the center for study of society and secularism, India as chairman.
Financial support to the fellowship program is provided by the Rockefeller Foundation, Southeast Asia Regional Office Bangkok, Thailand.Secretariat
Dwi Rubiyanti Kholifah - Program CoordinatorContact Address
Islam in Southeast Asia: A View from WithinResearch Fellowship Programme
AMAN/ARFHouse 1562/113, Soi 1/1Mooban Pibul, Pracharaj Road,Bangkok 10800, Thailand
Tel: 66-2-9130196,Fax: 66-2-9130197E-mail: aman @ arf-asia.orgWebsite: http://www.arf-asia.org/aman