The Muslim communities of Southeast Asia have long been regarded as among the more moderate of the Islamic world.
The world’s largest Muslim nation, Indonesia, sits alongside the smaller but dynamic Muslim communities of Malaysia and Brunei, as well as the sizeable Muslim minorities in Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines. Together these nations are home to around 250 million Muslims.
The region has been largely spared from the tormented conflicts of the Arab world. But the temperature is rising. One of the key bones of contention relates to an increasing push for the implementation of aspects of Shari’a law.
