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188 David Kloos

Secondly, and more self-re exively, although I am convinced that grounded
research is imperative in understanding these changes, there is also a risk in
glossing over the fact that the tensions between Islamic concepts of femininity
and performances of professionalism are, in themselves, also to some extent
patriarchal constructions, contingent on the steady rise of normative Islam
across the board. e cases I have presented call, and o er material, for a
more comparative approach. I would be curious to learn, for instance, whether
and to what extent these tensions are found in Tunisia, where the rise of the
Islamist party Ennahda has seemed to coincide with the presence of successful,
13
mediagenic, and highly educated women. Such questions point to the need
for ongoing innovation in the study of women in Islamist politics.

Notes
1 I thank all my interlocutors in Malaysia for sharing their thoughts and experiences
with me. Particular gratitude goes to Dr Mariah Mahmud and Siti Zailah Mohd Yuso
for being so generous with their time. My research assistants, Noora fah Salihah Mohd
Noor and Nurulnabillah binti Ahmad Hijazu, were invaluable. In Kelantan, I was lucky
to work together with Zaireeni Azmi, whose insights have contributed to this chapter
in no small way. I thank Shamsul Amri Baharuddin and Kartini Aboo Talib Khalid for
o ering me an a liated fellowship at the Institute of Ethnic Studies, National University
of Malaysia in 2016–17. I am very grateful, nally, to the editors of the volume, Faisal
Hazis and Meredith Weiss, and to the anonymous reviewers for their suggestions.
2 Recent examples include Dr Mariah’s support of protecting unwed women against
domestic violence ( e Star 2017).
3 On women in (radical) Malay nationalism, see, e.g., Aljunied 2013; Ting 2013;
Manderson 1980. Khadijah Sidek was the head of Kaum Ibu, UMNO’s women’s wing,
until she was expelled in 1956 for being too outspoken about the need to advance
women within the party (Manderson 1980: 112–14). She then joined PAS, which she
represented in parliament from 1959 to 1964. She rejoined UMNO in 1972. For a
personal account, see Khatijah Sidek 1995.
4 One of the main exemplars of this outlook was the former Islamic activist and rising
star in UMNO, Anwar Ibrahim, a public intellectual who advocated the Malay language
yet also spoke and wrote in English, and who combined western suit and tie with a black
songkok, a head covering associated with both Islamic modernism and earlier expressions
of Malay and Indonesian nationalism and modernity. On Mahathir’s early formulations
of ‘modern’ Islam, see Noor 2014: 129–30.
5 For a discussion of Dr Lo’ Lo’s career and style of campaigning, see Zaireeni Azmi
2016: 124–9.
6 e resonance is not limited to preaching in Malaysia but encompasses, more generally,
the role of women in the Islamic revival, especially when it comes to mass-mediatized
forms of proselytization (dakwah). See, e.g., Bucar 2017; Jones 2010; McLarney 2015;
van Nieuwkerk 2013.

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