Speaker: Dr Syed Farid Alatas, Associate Professor of Sociology, National University of Singapore (NUS)

Extremism among Muslims today has several causes. Some causes have to do with extra-religious factors such as geo-politics, economic underdevelopment, and authoritarianism. However, there are other factors that specifically relate to the sphere of ideology where there is a strong degree of religious influence. For example, there are orientations among specific schools of thought or sects that are by definition extremist. This presentation looks at the role of myths in supporting and propagating an extremist orientation among Muslims. The presentation adopts a definition of extremism that is related to exclusivism and provides examples of myths in Islamic history that function to perpetuate such extremism.

Dr Syed Farid Alatas, is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the National University of Singapore (NUS). He also headed the Department of Malay Studies at NUS from 2007 to 2013. He lectured at the University of Malaya in the Department of Southeast Asian Studies prior to joining NUS. His areas of interest are historical sociology, the sociology of social science, the sociology of religion and inter-religious dialogue. Among his recent books are Alternative Discourse in Asian Social Science: Responses to Eurocentrism (Sage, 2006),Ibn Khaldun and few others.

We look forward to your participation in this seminar. Confirmation of your attendance is greatly appreciated.  For further information please call 8921- 4169 or 8921-5855.