Between Integration and Secession: The Muslim Communities of the Southern Philippines, Southern Thailand, and Western Burma/Myanmar

This volume asks whether Muslim minorities can co-exist within non-Muslim states. Yegar’s new work examines the radicalization of Muslim communities during the nationalist fervour that swept Southeast Asia in the aftermath of World War II. The book traces the theological and political impact of the post-war Islamic renaissance on the creation of Muslim separatist tendencies and heightened religious consciousness. Drawing on archival and secondary sources, Yegar examines three cases of rebellion in Muslim minorities: in the Philippines, in Thailand and in Burma / Myanmar, and the communities’ struggle to define their aims - be it for communal separation, autonomy or independence - and gain the means to achieve them. Far from simple religious revolts or the political reaction of a minority against a majority state, Yegar reveals the continuing dilemma facing Islamic communities struggling to decide whether to live with or apart from the non-Muslim world.