Letter From the Editor

Dear Readers,

Welcome to the September 2017 issue of The Diplomat Magazine.

In this month’s issue we delve into tragedy, fear, and passion, taking a look at issues of identity, culture, and relations between people and their governments. Across Asia’s Muslim-majority states, from Indonesia to Pakistan to Malaysia, government and religious leaders are wrestling with issues of Islamic identity at once ancient and born anew in the age of the Internet. Meanwhile, in China, a country where most activists operate under a cloud of fear, environmentalists have managed to do what most other Chinese activists in have not: depoliticize the very act of activism.

In September 2016, the governor of Jakarta – a “double minority,” ethnically Chinese and Christian – referenced a Quranic verse in a speech. An edited video of the speech went viral, with fundamentalist Islamic groups calling for his jailing for blasphemy. As Sebastian Strangio explores is this month’s cover story, the campaign and ultimate jailing of Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, better known by his nickname “Ahok,” revealed a current which has perhaps always existed beneath the surface of tolerant, pluralistic Indonesia: The contested politics at play in defining Islamic identity.

Then we turn to China’s environmental activists. In a country hardly known for activism, China’s “greens” have succeeded not only in publicizing environmental issues – like pollution – but generating a broad network of independent NGOs. Fengshi Wu, an associate professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) in Singapore, explains that China’s environmentalists have managed to depoliticize the very process of activism, enabling success in a state that rarely brokers dissent. But gaps remain, particularly when it comes to climate change and issues of climate justice.

Next Alhan Fakhr, an independent journalist, addresses a mystery: who killed Amjad Sabri, a renowned Sufi singer assassinated in Karachi in June 2016. The killing exposed a darker undercurrent at play in Pakistan. It may not matter who killed Sabri, Fakhr writes, as all pillars of the state – from the government to political parties, law enforcement to the military – are complicit in perpetuating an atmosphere of fear.

Lastly, journalist Cristina Maza takes us to Malaysia and reviews how Kuala Lumpur is managing the specter of terrorism. As the Islamic State loses territory in Iraq and Syria, the government of Malaysia, like many others, fears that fighters will return home and bring the war with them. Meanwhile, the country’s politics have pushed conservatism to the forefront.

We hope you enjoy these stories and the many others awaiting you in the following pages.

Sincerely,
Catherine Putz