Social Justice and Islam in Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia Center

Monday October 29, 2007
3:30-5:00pm (with reception immediately to follow)
Simpson Center Conference Room (Comm 202)

The Graduate School, Southeast Asia Center (Jackson School of International Studies), Department of Anthropology, Department of Sociology, and Department of Comparative Literature

Chandra Muzaffar is one of Malaysia's most prominent human rights activists. He is president of the International Movement for a Just World and author of many books including Human Rights & the New World Order and Muslims, Dialogue, Terror.

In addition to his writings on civilizational dialogue, he has also published extensively on religion, human rights, Malaysian politics, and international relations. He has authored or edited 18 books and written more than 500 articles in English and Malay in various local and international journals.

In 1977 Chandra Muzaffar founded a multiethnic social reform group called Aliran Kesedaran Negara (ALIRAN; National Consciousness Movement), which sought to raise public awareness of issues pertaining to democracy and ethnic relations in Malaysia. Today, he is the president of an international NGO, the International Movement for a Just World (JUST), which is concerned with challenges to social justice and human dignity in global politics. JUST also attempts to develop guiding ideas on a just and compassionate civilization based upon shared universal spiritual and moral values. He also sits on the boards of a number of other international NGOs concerned with social justice and civilizational dialogue.

Among the academic awards Chandra Muzaffar has received is the Harry J. Benda Prize for distinguished scholarship on Southeast Asia from the Association of Asian Studies, North America