Norshahril Saat

Research Interest
Government and Politics in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore; Political Islam in Southeast Asia; Approaches in Comparative Politics

Researcher’s Profile

In 2015, Dr Norshahril Saat was awarded a PhD in International, Political and Strategic Studies by the Australian National University (ANU). He received a BA (Hons) in Political Science and MA in Malay Studies from the National University of Singapore. He was a recipient of the following scholarships and awards: NUS MA Scholar (2008), Tun Dato’ Sir Cheng Lock Tan ISEAS MA Scholar (2008), MUIS PhD Scholar (2012), and Syed Isa Semait Scholar (2015). In 2017, the MOE-SSRC awarded him a grant (SSRTG) to study the Singapore’s Islamic Studies Graduates. Dr Norshahril is currently a member of the Editorial Committee for the journal SOJOURN. He also sits as volunteer on numerous advisory boards, including as the Chairman of Malay Heritage Foundation (MHF)

 

Current Research

• Muslim Social and Political Trends
• Youth and Civic Engagement
• The Future of multiculturalism in Southeast Asia

 

National and Community Positions (Selected)

• Chairman Malay Heritage Foundation (CLG under MCCY)
• Board Member, National Library Board (NLB)
• Member, Political Films Consultative Committee (PFCC)
• Member, Malay Community Oral History Committee (MCOHC)

 

Selected Publications

Books

• Norshahril Saat, Azhar Ibrahim and Noor Aisha Abdul Rahman. Reaching for the Crescent: Aspirations of Singapore Islamic Studies Graduates and the Challenges(Singapore: ISEAS, 2021)
• Norshahril Saat. 2018. The State, Ulama and Islam in Indonesia and Malaysia. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press. (Revised edition republished by ISEAS)
• Norshahril Saat. 2018. Tradition and Islamic learning : Singaporean students in Al-Azhar. Singapore : ISEAS.
• Norshahril Saat. 2015. Yusof Ishak : Singapore’s First President. Singapore: ISEAS Publishing.
• Norshahril Saat. 2015. Faith, Authority and the Malays : The Ulama In Contemporary Singapore. Singapore : The Malay Heritage Foundation and Select Publishing.

Edited Books

• Norshahril Saat, A’an Suryana, and Mohd Faizal Musa. Trending Islam: Cases from Southeast Asia. (Singapore: ISEAS, 2023)
• Norshahril Saat and Ahmad Najib Burhani (ed). The New Santri : Challenges to Traditional Religious Authority in Indonesia. (Singapore : ISEAS, 2020)
• Norshahril Saat and Azhar Ibrahim Alwee (ed). Alternative Voices in Muslim Southeast Asia : Discourse and Struggles (Singapore : ISEAS, 2020)
• Zainul Abidin, Wan Hussin, and Norshahril (ed). 2019. Beyond Bicentennial : Perspectives on Malays. Singapore, World Scientific Press
• Norshahril Saat. (ed). 2018. Islam in Southeast Asia : Negotiating Modernity. Singapore : ISEAS
• Norshahril Saat (ed). Fulfilling the Trust : 50 years of shaping Muslim religious life in Singapore. Singapore : World Scientific Press and MUIS.
• Zainul Abidin Rasheed and Norshahril Saat (ed). 2016. Majulah ! 50 Years of Malay/Muslim Community in Singapore. Singapore : World Scientific Press.

Monographs

• Syafiq Hasyim and Norshahril Saat. 2020. Indonesia’s Ministry of Religious Affairs under Joko Widodo. Trends No 13. Singapore. ISEAS.
• Terence Chong, Lee Hock Guan, Norshahril Saat and Serina Rahman. The 2017 Johor Survey : Selected Findings. Trends No 20. Singapore: ISEAS.
• Norshahril Saat. 2017. Traditionalist Response to Wahhabi/Salafism in Batam. Trends, no 7. Singapore : ISEAS.
• Norshahril Saat. 2017. Johor Remains The Bastion of Kaum Tua. Trends, no1. Singapore : ISEAS

Journal Articles

• Norshahril Saat. 2023. The Impact of Non-Violent Muslim Extremism : Reflections on Indonesia and Malaysia. Muslim Politics Review 2 (1) : 21-39
• Norshahril Saat. 2022. ‘Managing Islam in Singapore : A Strong and Resilient State’ Studia Islamika, Vol 29 (2). 213-240,
• Norshahril Saat. 2019. Norshahril Saat. ‘Malay women leaders in Malaysia : The Unthinkable ?’ Hawwa : Journal of Women of the Middle East and Islamic World (2019) 1-25
• Norshahril Saat. 2016. Theologians ‘moralising’ Indonesia? The case of post-New Order Ulama Council of Indonesia (MUI). Asian Journal of Social Science 44, 546-570.
• Norshahril Saat. 2016. Singapore beyond ethnicity : Rethinking the Group Representative Constituency Scheme. The Round Table. The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs.
• Norshahril Saat. 2014. ‘The Ulama, Thought-Styles, and the Islamic state debate in contemporary Malaysia.’ Studia Islamika. Vol 21, no 1, 47-76
• Norshahril Saat. 2012. ‘Countering Utopianism: Alatas and the resurgence of the 1970s’. Review of Indonesian and Malaysian Affairs (RIMA) volume 46, no 1, 105-126.
• Norshahril Saat. 2012. ‘Islamising Malayness: Ulama Discourse and Authority in Contemporary Malaysia’ In Contemporary Islam: Dynamics of Muslim Life. Volume 6 Number 2, 135-153, Springer. (Published Online: September 2011)

Book Chapters

• Norshahril Saat. Colonialism and Studying the Malays. In Zainul Abidin, Wan Hussin, and Norshahril (ed), Beyond Bicentennial: Perspective on Malays. Singapore: World Scientific Press. Pp 3-20.
• Norshahril Saat. 2020. “Rising Conservatism in the Singapore Malay-Muslim Community: Worrying Times Ahead? In Terence Chong (ed), Navigating Differences: Integration in Singapore. Singapore: ISEAS
• Norshahril Saat. 2020. Mainstreaming Alternative Islamic Voices in Malaysia. In Norshahril Saat and Azhar Ibrahim (eds), Alternative Voice in Muslim Southeast Asia: Discourse and Struggles. Singapore: ISEAS
• Norshahril Saat. 2020. The Politics of Islamic Discourse in Malaysia. In Norshahril Saat and Azhar Ibrahim (eds), Alternative Voice in Muslim Southeast Asia: Discourse and Struggles. Singapore: ISEAS
• Norshahril Saat. 2019. Kelantan. PAS settles in on the balcony of Mecca. In Francis Hutchinson and Lee Hwok Aun. The Defeat of Barisan Nasional: Missed Signs or late surges? Singapore: ISEAS. Pp.342-364
• Norshahril Saat. 2018. Singapore’s Multiculturalism: An asset for nation building, in Bilveer S and S Vasoo (ed). Critical Issues in Asset Building in Singapore’s development Singapore: World Scientific Press.
• Norshahril Saat. 2018. Competing Discourses Among Malaysian Muftis: Still a Case of Arabization? In Norshahril Saat. (ed). 2018. Islam in Southeast Asia : Negotiating Modernity. Pp. 35-62. Singapore : ISEAS
• Norshahril Saat. 2018. Johor and Traditionalist Islam: What This Means for Malaysia. In Southeast Asian Affairs 2018. (ed) Malcolm Cook and Daljit Singh, 187-200, Singapore: ISEAS.
• Norshahril Saat. 2014. ‘‘Deviant’ Muslims: The Plight of Shias in Contemporary Malaysia’ in Religious Diversity in Muslim-Majority states in Southeast Asia: Areas of Toleration and conflict (ed) Bernhard Platzdasch and Johan Saravanamuttu, 359-278, Singapore: ISEAS.
• Norshahril Saat. 2012. ‘Muslims and the Construction of the ‘Other’: Dominant responses towards alternative religious discourses in Contemporary Malay society’ in Pluralism in Malaysia and Singapore: Essays on Issues and Challenges (ed) Sharifah Zaleha Syed Hassan and Ong Puay Liu, 73-90. Selangor: University Kebangsaan Malaysia.
• Norshahril Saat. 2010. The State Ulama and Religiosity: Rethinking Islamization of Contemporary Malaysia. In Secularization, Religion, and The State UTCP Booklet 17 (ed) Haneda Masashi, 131-141. Tokyo: The University of Tokyo Centre For Philosophy. (Indexed by Google Scholar: 3)
• Norshahril Saat. 2010. Re-negotiating the Muslim Public Sphere: New Media and the re-construction of the Ulama’s Authority in Contemporary Malaysia’ In Portrayal of Islam in the Media (ed) Mazni et al, 191-209. Malaysia: USIM
• Norshahril Saat. 2010. Rethinking The Islamization Agenda In Contemporary Malaysia: Bediuzaman Said Nursi’s Contribution to the Debate on Islam, Knowledge, And Development’. Knowledge, Faith, Morality And The Future Of Humanity. 375-387. Istanbul: Baski-Cilt. (Conference Publication)
• Norshahril Saat. 2010. Towards A ‘Normative’ Islam: Globalised Islam And Its Implication On Local Traditions. Knowledge, Faith, Morality And The Future Of Humanity. 591-594. Istanbul: Baski-Cilt. (Conference Publication)

Book Reviews in Journals

• Norshahril Saat, Pradana Boy Zulian and Nur Amali Ibrahim. SOJOURN SYMPOSIUM. On Improvisational Islam: Indonesia Youth in a Time of Possibility. Sojourn Vol 36/2 (July 2021)
• Norshahril Saat. 2019. Book Review. Mahathir’s Islam: Mahathir Mohamad on Religion and Modernity in Malaysia. By Sven Schottmann. Sojourn. Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia. Vol 34. 2019
• Norshahril Saat. 2019. Book review. Living Sharia: Law and Practice in Malaysia. By Timothy P Daniels. The United States of America: University of Washington Press. 2017. 280 pp. TRT World Research Centre.
• Norshahril Saat. 2017. Book review. Hamka’s Great Story: A Master Writer’s Vision of Islam for Modern Indonesia. By James R Rush. Wisconsin: The University of Wisconsin Press, 2016. Xix+286pp. Sojourn. Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia Vol32, No 3 (2017). Pp754-756.
• Norshahril Saat. 2017. Book Review. Rebranding Islam : Piety, Prosperity, and a self-help Guru. By James Hoesterey. Sojourn. Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia Vol32, No2. 2 (2017). Pp430-431.
• Norshahril Saat. 2014. Book Review. Gender and Islam in Southeast Asia: Women’s Rights Movements, Religious Resurgence and Local Traditions. Edited by Susanne Schröter. Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2013, 335. Sojourn. Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia Vol 29, No2 (2014) pp. 501-502.
• Norshahril Saat. 2010. Book Review. Indonesia and the Muslim World: Islam and Secularism in the foreign Policy of Soeharto and beyond. By Anak Agung Bayu Perwita. Copenhagen: Nordic Institute of Asian Studies. Journal of Southeast Asian Studies Volume 41 Issue 3. Pp 558-560. October.

ISEAS Perspectives, Opinion pieces and ISEAS Commentaries

• Since 2011, he has also published 200 opinion and think pieces in ISEAS Perspectives, Fulcrum, including those in local newspapers such as the Straits Times, Berita Harian, Berita Mediacorp and Today; and international newspapers such as the South China Morning Post, Stars Insight, Channel News Asia, Canberra Times, Bangkok Post and the Jakarta Post.