Having read the review of my book 'Islam Embedded' by Aloycious Greene, I find myself in the unenviable position of having to defend not only my academic work, but my reputation as well. The reviewer's personal jibes at me I shall leave aside, as I have grown accustomed to personal attacks by now, and have been more than able and willing to sharpen my pen against those whose political positions/statements I have objected to in the past.

All is fair in love and politics, so to speak. Needless to say that the comments about the 'verbose', 'pedestrian' and 'clichd' flavour of my work shall remain unanswered here, as I do not think they merit a reply.

One is, however, forced to respond to the pointedly ambiguous question that was raised by the reviewer when he asked 'what is Farish's game?' This, coming as it does at a time when Malaysian politics and political discourse is replete with conspiracy theories and slander, is what upset this writer the most albeit for five minutes and forced him to quit his desk in search of coffee and a cigarette in the caf next door.

It would seem as if these days it is impossible to write about anything remotely linked to politics in Malaysia without having to pass through this trial by fire. "What is your 'game'?", one is asked repeatedly. The jaded Malaysian public, depoliticised as a result of the mind-numbing effects of the tabloid media, seems sated with the perennial shadow-play of Malaysian politics; and consequently sees (and expects) 'games' to be played everywhere and all the time. It is no longer possible for academics to write without be accused of having hidden agendas and/or being party to certain political/sectarian interests and this 'review' demonstrates precisely such a conspiratorial mindset at work.

This pervasive culture of suspicion has been made all the worse by the actual goings-on in the corridors of power in this country. Political commentary in Malaysia today can only be understood as such if we read it as being political in nature rather than in its focus of analysis.

Living as we do in a country where popular bestsellers include landmark literary accomplishments such as Shahnon Ahmad's 'SHIT', 'Muntah' and 'Anjing' and Ibrahim Ali's 'Babi'; or political hagiographies such as 'Crossing the Waves' (the biography of Ibrahim Ali) and such like, it is understandable that some Malaysians find any book of more than 50 pages a laborious read.

But for an academic like myself, reading is precisely what the Malaysian public needs to do now, more than ever. On more than one occasion I have received unsolicited 'advice' from people who have asked me to 'make my articles easier to read', or to 'remove the footnotes'. At the risk of sounding patronisingly arrogant, I state once again my belief that the Malaysian public is capable of understanding complex political issues and deserves to be treated like adults, not children.

If I were to write a book on the history of Malaysia for infants, then I would probably adopt a simpler comic-book format, with plenty of colourful images. But I am writing with adult Malaysians in mind, and it has always been my conviction that the Malaysian public deserves a public discourse that matches their intellect which I obviously rate highly, and certainly much higher than some politicians in this country.

My decision to write a book on the history of PAS was based on the same conviction that PAS was a legitimate and worthy subject of serious political analysis and commentary. It was for that reason that I chose to write a book that covered much of its history, trying to accommodate as much information as possible on the subject and locating PAS not only within the current of Malaysian history but also the history of the Asian region and the international community. PAS deserves such a big fat book, including the footnotes, indexes and bibliography that some people might object to. And I believe that the Malaysian public does as well.

No 'problem' with PAS

Contrary to the title of the review (which may or may not have been the original title suggested by the reviewer), there is no 'problem' with PAS. The ideological position taken by PAS and the discursive shifts occasioned by the changes in its leadership may appear problematic to some, but PAS - as a political party has to be recognised for what it is: the most successful opposition party in the country's history that has managed to develop itself, maintain its internal cohesion and sense of purpose, and to expand its party-political support network better and longer than any other oppositional party in the country. Seen from the point of view of a political scientist, PAS is indeed an organisation that deserves serious scholarly study even if it comes in the form of a big fat book.

Here I would like to relate some of the circumstances behind the writing of this book on PAS. 'Islam Embedded' began as a monograph on the history of PAS that I began just before the 1999 elections. At that time, a number of Malaysian academics were canvassed by the press both local and international about PAS's prospects at the 1999 elections.

I was one of those who argued that PAS would win big at the upcoming elections in December that year. Having had to fend off a myriad of enquiries on the matter, I began writing a monograph on PAS that should have been no more than 50 pages long. (Perhaps this would have been more to the satisfaction of some).

In the course of doing so, the results of the election were known and it did come to pass that PAS won control of both Kelantan and Terengganu and nearly came to power in Kedah as well. The work on the monograph was intensified as I dug deeper into the history of PAS, looking for the critical moments in the party's history that might explain how such a party could become so powerful and influential in the country.

The findings were, as I expected, perfectly banal and commonsensical: PAS had developed its party-political machinery through sheer hard work and the ability to compromise and adapt over time, tapping into the aspirations of its constituents (while shaping them in turn), adjusting itself to the realities of the day; while keeping its ear constantly to the ground.

This may strike some, such as the reviewer, as being "so obvious and shallow, so pedestrian and clichd", but there is no denying the fact that PAS's success spectacular though it seemed then was the result of such humdrum effort undertaken with determination. No, there was no divine intervention; and no, there were no spurious connections with militant networks or what today is sometimes labeled 'militant radical Islam'. Indeed, it is the mundaneness of PAS which is most striking, and this was and is how the party has managed to embed Islam in the very fabric of Malaysian social and political life. One should not expect special effects or ideological pyrotechnics where there isn't any.

Mundane political realities aside, it cannot be discounted that PAS has played a more than significant role in the political development of Malaysia, despite the reviewer's own negative perception of the party that slips through his 'review' of the book. For a start it should be noted that PAS has remained, from the outset, within the parameters of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia and has served as a counter-balancing force to Umno on more than one occasion.

During the crisis of May 1969, which led to the communal riots that took places in cities like Kuala Lumpur, PAS then under the leadership of Dr Burhanuddin al-Helmy did not contribute to the worsening tensions between the racial communities of the country. This is a factor that many Malaysians of today's generation have forgotten. It should also be remembered that when the anti-communist counter-insurgency was at its height in the 1960s. PAS also under Burhanuddin al-Helmy resisted the temptation to join in the chorus of anti-Chinese demonisation that was bandied about openly.

PAS's own religious sectarianism aside, it remained (with the exception of the fateful 'Asri years' period) a party that has tried to foreground the interests of the nation as a whole, albeit seen through the lens of religious communitarianism. This tradition was maintained right up to the time of its late president Fadzil Noor, who condemned the racist attacks of the Indonesian Chinese community in places like Glodok, Jakarta, at the peak of the economic crisis of 1997-98.

A difficult book

Writing a book about PAS was never going to be an easy task. What saved the book and its author was the intervention of Alijah Gordon and the Malaysian Sociological Research Institute (now the Malaysian Social Research Institute, MSRI).

The original length of the book was 1,600 pages, which would have meant four volumes in all. In the course of its writing a number of events intervened in the progress of the project that was to alter our lives. In 2002, I was one of those accused of 'insulting Islam' by conservative groups like the PUM. PAS later lent its support to the demonisation campaign and its late president Ustaz Fadzil Noor denounced me in Parliament. In the pages of the party's official newspaper were articles accusing me of blasphemy, as well as my photograph. One of the articles was even authored by none other than the president of the Keadilan party, PAS's ally.

At that point, I felt as if my world had collapsed and was under such overwhelming pressure that it was almost impossible to continue with my research. To add to the burdens of the MSRI, its director Alijah Gordon fell gravely ill and passed away just as the book was nearing its final stages. For those of us who worked closely with her Lia, Khairy and myself this was a tragedy beyond our reckoning.

During my last meeting with Alijah, as she lay dying on her bed in the office of MSRI, I showed her the cover of the book and the final proofs and photos that would go into it. I swore to her that the book would be completed and we would try to live up to the standards that she had set for herself and the institute.

Anonymous critics such as the reviewer may find comfort in the fact that their blanket criticisms are hurled from a safe position, hiding behind the curtain of obscurity. But they are not party to the labour, sacrifice and commitment that goes into the academic process here in Malaysia, where academics have to live under the constant threat of restrictive laws, the culture of abuse and slander as well as the realities of underfunded and unsupported research.

Despite its skeleton staff and overpowering commitments, the MSRI has always been an activist-oriented institute that has tried to show that academic output can have a positive social impact. Working on a tight budget the MSRI has donated its books to schools, libraries and universities from its inception and has demonstrated its social and political commitment through its campaigns on issues such as Palestine.

The reviewer, however, peppers his review with underhanded tit-bits of uninspired wisdom when he suggests that the book should be smaller, shorter and cheaper. It should be pointed out that the MSRI is in fact losing money with every book sold. The book was never meant to be a 'popular' work of pulp fiction or 'pop' history, despite the reviewer's obvious low estimation of its worth.

Its hefty price at the shops is due to the inflated profits of the booksellers, rather than MSRI itself. Should anyone be interested in getting the book at its lower price, they should obviously approach the institution themselves a pretty commonsensical idea, which may not sit very well with the reviewer's disdain of such 'commonsensical clichd' notions.

As for its size and style, it should be pointed out to the reviewer that the book is clearly divided into two sections, the first of which looks at the history of PAS and the second which states clearly the author's stand on issues pertaining to political religion. This may strike the reviewer as 'sermonising', though it should be pointed out that the notion of a completely disinterested writing is both fallacious and ultimately hypocritical.

One cannot be indifferent to a party like PAS any more than one can be dispassionate about a personality like Dr Mahathir Mohamad: the challenge is to appreciate the party for what it has achieved, and to still state one's position in relation to it clearly.