IMAN Research (IMAN)

ABOUT
IMAN

Based in Kuala Lumpur, IMAN Research is a think tank which focuses on the domains of protective security, peacebuilding and sustainable development. Research is spearheaded by experts with extensive local and international experience in the areas of prevention/counter violent extremism, ethnic-religious issues, social policy and community resilience and engagement such as participatory approach in urban policy and research and psycho-social intervention with communities in or from conflict zones.

WHAT
WE DO

IMAN seeks to understand a country and a society on a national, regional and global scale, by understanding what makes society tick from the following perspectives of faith, history, social science, psychology, to name a few.

AREAS WE COVER/

SECURITY

IMAN’s foray into security has materialized in publications such as Believing In Extremism: What Drives Our Youths, which investigates how normative beliefs towards violent extremism (NBVE) are triggered within Malaysian youth. Today, IMAN continues to observe developments in Malaysia and the larger Southeast Asian region to explore the implications of good governance on security challenges and extremism.

ECONOMY

In many of IMAN’s projects and research, the need to understand the demographic’s socio-economic landscape influences the political and ethnic environment.

SOCIO-POLITICAL

A nation needs to be understood from the lens of sociology and culture. What is the language and cultural make-up of a people, and how does a country’s politics influence a nation?

OUR PUBLICATIONS

Mixed Feelings: Attitudes of Sabah-based Filipinos to returning to the Philippines

Much has been said about irregular migrants and ‘informal expatriates’ of Sabah, who come from the Philippines. What do they have to say about the

Malaysian Reform Initiative (MARI), Network of Government Reform

IMAN worked with MARI and USAID to map up who among the civil society organisations in Malaysia were most powerful and influential. The results were

THE PANJIALAM MONOGRAPHS

Free (Conditions Apply) — Unraveling the Curtains Over Urban Privilege

As scholar, I’ve always been keen to understand how regular people make sense of the entertainment media they consume. I look at how media piracy’s

We Can’t Talk About the Terrorists: An Ethnography of Silence in the East Coast of Sabah

As an anthropologist, I see my work as necessary in gaining deeper and more insightful perspectives of how communities work and find meaning in their

Malaysia, with or without IS

To date, we have an estimate of 140-150 Malaysians who have joined the war in Syria; around 90 returnees; and more than 30 individuals arrested

ONLINE PRESENCE

OUR MISSION

Our mission is to provide on the ground realities through rigorous academic and informal research, working with academics, journalists, activists and policy makers. The data is then provided to governments, development actors and specialists working in policy.

OUR VISION

We aim to be a regional think tank focusing on society, beliefs and perception, and have regional reach. ASEAN is our playground, while Malaysia is home.