Abstract

Inveterate narratives surrounding contentious social movements and religious ideologies have ossified the ever-widening gulf between Sunnis and Shias, as well as led to the rise of extremist Far Right groups. This presentation will assess how the Sunni-Shia divide at the global level has shaped Southeast Asian regional Muslims, inter- and intra-Muslim relations as well as politics and security in the region. It will also examine the nexus between Islamist militancy and the proliferation of Far Right convictions.

About the Speakers

Dr Gerard Chaliand is an internationally renowned French expert in geopolitics who has published widely on irregular warfare and military strategy. He has a PhD in Politics Sciences from Sorbonne (Paris, France). Dr Chaliand has been a participant-observer in various guerrilla and war zones. His analyses of insurgencies in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East, mostly based on his field experience with insurgent forces, have appeared in more than 20 books and in numerous newspaper articles. He has worked autonomously throughout his career in various different advisory and research positions apart from having spent more than five years as a Visiting Professor in the United States at Harvard, U.C.L.A. and U.C. Berkeley. His books include History of Terrorism from Antiquity to Al-Qaeda. (with A. Blin) University of California Press, 2007; The Art of War in World History, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994; Terrorism, Saqi Books, London: 1987, and Guerrilla Strategy. A Historical Anthology from the “Long March” to Afghanistan, ed. Berkeley, University of California Press, 1982.

Dr Noor Huda Ismail is a counter-terrorism expert and Visiting Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, NTU. He is the Founder of the Institute for International Peace Building in Jakarta, a non-governmental organisation established in 2008 in response to the threat of terrorism. The organisation works with former terrorists to rehabilitate and reintegrate them into society. He has produced documentaries on radicalisation and speaks extensively on counter-terrorism, deradicalisation, and rehabilitation around the world including at TEDx talks. Dr Noor Huda Ismail received his PhD in Politics and International Relations from Monash University.