Islamic Modernities in Southeast Asia. Exploring Indonesian Popular and Visual Culture, by Leonie Schmidt

In Islamic Modernities in Southeast Asia, Leonie Schmidt provides a thorough analysis of contemporary Islamic-themed popular and visual cultures, mainly in Indonesia. This book is an essential read for those who wish to understand multiple modernities unfolding in post-1998 Indonesia (the Reformasi era). By using the term Islamic, she refers to any ‘cultural practices that are considered bernafaskan Islam (“to breath Islam”), which means that these cultural forms are inspired by Islam or that they connote Islam thematically’ (p. 5). This book focuses on the intersection between modernity, Islam, identity, and popular and visual cultures in contemporary Indonesia.