New Books in Islamic Studies Nurhaizatul Jamil, "Faithful Transformations: Islamic Self-Help in Contemporary Singapore" (U Illinois Press, 2025)
Apr 10, 2026
Nurhaizatul Jamil, Associate Professor of Global South Studies and author, discusses Islamic self-help practices among young Malay Muslim women in Singapore. She explores how seminars teach gratitude, patience, and piety amid state racialization and neoliberal pressures. Conversation covers gender and religious authority, pedagogies of self-improvement, romantic aspirations, and limits of self-help during COVID-19.
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Serendipitous Fieldwork Discovery
- Jamil recounts discovering Islamic self-help seminars serendipitously after being denied access to madrasas and attending classes during summer visits to Singapore.
- The seminars merged Al-Azhar-style theology with American pop psychology and multimedia pedagogies, prompting her long-term fieldwork.
Pious Formation Under Racial Capitalism
- Jamil argues that Islamic pious formation must be analyzed through racial capitalism, showing how Malay Muslim subjects are racialized and pressured to 'become' to meet dominant norms.
- She ties this to Singapore's minoritization, citing scholars like Junaid Rana and how racializing Islam shapes aspirations and disciplinary self-improvement.
Historical Roots Of Malay Minoritization
- Chapter 1 historicizes Malay Muslim minoritization in Singapore, linking colonial racial disciplining and state policies to present-day perceptions of cultural deficiency.
- Jamil uses census data showing Malays' low university representation to explain why class-aspirational women seek self-help.
