MAP - New Publications

Many segments of Indonesian Islam today have been directly influenced by Egyptian interpretations of Islam, which is predominantly colored by al-Azhar institutions. This article explores individual and institutional links between al-Azhar and several local Islamic institutions in Indonesia, notably those in South Sulawesi.

This article aims to put a spotlight on the status of Judaism in China and the actors who promote its agendas. It discusses Chinese and Israeli attempts to promote Judaism within China. And it shows that Chinese authorities, owing to domestic and foreign policy considerations, appear committed to leaving the status of the Jewish religion within the country unchanged.

The launching of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the Middle Corridor have provided wider scope and greater potential for China, now the world’s second-largest economy and Turkey, a G20 member, to develop more extensive bilateral trade and investment ties and further advance their respective regional and global aspirations. This article examines the headway that China and Turkey have made and the roadblocks that they have encountered in enhancing their economic relations.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Oman in April 2017 injected some much-needed vitality into the bilateral relationship. Since then, India-Oman cooperation has intensified, particularly in the defense and security spheres.

Historically, most countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have approached disaster risk management focusing on post-disaster relief and recovery activities. Governments across the region are trying to change that, and recent years have seen the establishment of a number of national-level disaster risk management units, early warning systems, preparedness plans, and national risk assessments. It is in this regard that the MENA region can draw lessons from the Indian experience of implementing the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR).

China is currently deploying a policy of industrial transfer in the Middle East. This is an external trade and industry policy, a transplanting of domestic economic institutions in external geographies. The financing of this China geo-industrial policy will reshape the Central Asia-Middle East-Africa trade and production nexus in the coming decade.

Are the principles of tolerance and pluralism that underpin progressive visions of political community under threat? In this essay, the authors discuss the rising tide of Islamophobia and anti-immigrant sentiment in Germany, East Asia, and elsewhere.