My research explores the nature of Islamic education systems in Indonesia and Malaysia and the different approaches taken by the states in both countries to manage them. By employing the theoretical models provided by the state-in-society and historical institutionalism approaches, I argue that the post-colonial state in Malaysia has been more successful in centralizing its control over Islamic education than the post-colonial state in Indonesia due to three factors: the ideological makeup of the state institutions that oversee Islamic education; the patterns of Islamization in the society that necessitate varied responses from the states; and control of resources of the central government that influence center-periphery relations. In short, Islamic education in Malaysia is much more centralized while in Indonesia it is much more decentralized and autonomous.

About the Speaker

Azmil Tayeb is a PhD candidate in the Department of Political and Social Change, College of Asia and the Pacific, ANU, and a lecturer in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the Universiti Sains Malaysia in Penang, Malaysia.