Nafsu buas: the politics of imagined lust in Malaysia

‘Animalistic lust’ (nafsu buas) is a common spice in Malay tales of adulterous wives, transgender paramours, and homosexual men and women. ‘Animalistic’ or ‘buas‘ here is a blanket term for all that is unbridled and transgressive. Though derived from the Arabic word to mean ’soul’, ‘nafsu‘ is often accompanied with pejorative connotations, and it is [...]

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The Brass Crescent Awards and Superior Scribbler Award!

This is what not blogging for the last couple of weeks gives me – a Brass Crescent Award nomination and a Superior Scribbler Award (thank you again Tanglad for this honour)! My infant blog has been nominated for the ‘Best Asian Blog‘, and if you would like to vote for *me* (I’m up against the [...]

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I know I’m not supermodel material, but please objectify me too! aka my feminist rage against naked calendars

A few nights ago I sat down in a brainstorming session with a group of very eager female Oxford undergrads where we talked about the next Ladyfest Oxford programme next May and about who was going to organise what. You might be pleased to know that yours truly has volunteered to organise a workshop on [...]

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A fatwa against yoga? and how would this reflect on Muslims?

Originally posted on The Other Malaysia and Farish Noor’s Facebook notes!
Since I became an activist at the age of nineteen, I have spent more than two decades of my life defending Muslims and the image of Islam. During my twenty-two years of living in Europe, I must have attended hundreds of conferences, seminars, public [...]

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OBAMA wins! To the U.S.: Well done! Anyone else feels just as happy (or exhausted after staying up so late being glued to the TV) as I am?

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