Language And Islam In Asia And Beyond: Cultural And Identity Dynamics

This open access volume explores the various interplays between language and religion, with a particular focus on Islam and Muslim communities. With topics ranging from how conflicting religious values and secular viewpoints have impacted language use, shaped language policies and informed pedagogies, to the reciprocity between language, education, and religion in the shaping of Muslim identity, the book collates interdisciplinary perspectives with examples from different parts of the Muslim world. In doing so, the book provides insights into the ways Islam and the diverse languages and cultures of the Muslim constituencies intertwine. Despite the burgeoning push for secularism and the growing popularity of English as the world’s lingua franca, the authors show that the Arabic language remains central to Islam and forms the bedrock of everyday Islamic expression. The book also discusses the respective conflicts and collaborations between tradition and modernity in Islamic teaching and values. Relevant to scholars and students in Islamic studies, education, Asian cultural landscapes, and Asian and Middle Eastern languages, this is a seminal work that establishes an intersection between applied linguistics and religious studies in the Muslim world.

Salbrina Sharbawi received her doctorate in Applied Linguistics from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (PhD 2009). She is currently Senior Assistant Professor of English Studies at Universiti Brunei Darussalam, where she teaches at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Her research focuses primarily on socio-phonetics and World Englishes, particularly the pronunciation of the English variety spoken in Brunei. Her work has culminated in a series of publications, including ‘Brunei English: A New Variety in a Multilingual Society’ (2024), the first monograph to offer a detailed linguistic analysis of the English language situation in Brunei. She has also published papers documenting the dynamic development of contemporary Brunei English and its socio-cultural implications, including those tied to religion.

Zayani Zainal Abidin is a PhD candidate in Applied Linguistics at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Universiti Brunei Darussalam. Her research interests include corpus linguistics, discourse analysis, pragmatics, and World Englishes, with a particular focus on emerging grammatical patterns and language variation in Brunei English and other Asian Englishes. Zayani has co-authored studies examining the intersections of language use, social interaction, identity, and religiosity in the Bruneian context. She is also involved in the development of the Corpus of Brunei English.

Nur Amali Aminnuddin is Lecturer at the Sultan Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Centre for Islamic Studies, Universiti Brunei Darussalam. With a background in political science, psychology, and Brunei studies, he has published research on work ethics, discrimination, education, personality, and behaviour. His research interests revolve around the psychology of religion, social psychology, and behavioural sciences. Islam is a central theme in his work, and his current research focuses on Muslims, religiosity, and society.

Majdey Zawawi holds a PhD in Islamic Governance from the Institute of Policy Studies, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, and is among the first scholars worldwide to graduate with this degree and specialisation. His diverse experiences enable him to adopt a broad range of approaches in analysing Islamic Governance and Muslim politics. While his primary research centres on Islamic Governance, he is also keen on interdisciplinary research traversing multiple disciplines. His expertise lies in employing Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah as an analytical framework to assess Muslim societal power dynamics.