Norshahril Saat is Fellow at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute. In June 2015 he was awarded his doctorate in International, Political and Strategic Studies by the Australian National University (ANU). His research interests are mainly on Southeast Asian politics and contemporary Islamic thought. In 2018 he published three books: The State, Ulama, and Islam in Malaysia and Indonesia; Tradition and Islamic Learning: Singapore Students in the Al-Azhar University; and Islam in Southeast Asia: Negotiating Modernity. His earlier books include Faith, Authority and the Malays: The Ulama in Contemporary Singapore; Majulah! 50 Years of Malay/Muslim Community in Singapore (co-edited with Zainul Abidin Rasheed); and Yusof Ishak: Singapore’s First President. His articles have been published in journals such as the Asian Journal of Social Science, Contemporary Islam: Dynamics of Muslim Life, Review of Indonesian and Malaysian Affairs, and Studia Islamika. He has also published numerous opinion and think pieces, including those in local newspapers such as the Straits Times, Berita Harian and Today; and international newspapers such as the Canberra Times, Bangkok Post and the Jakarta Post.