Publications
*Please see a note on citations below.
Monographs
Halal Intimacy: Love, Marriage, and Polygyny in Contemporary Malaysia, Berghahn Books. [Manuscript in preparation]
Single-Authored Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
2022: “Between Intention & Implementation: Recent Legal Reforms on Child Marriage in Contemporary Malaysia”, Journal of Legal Anthropology, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 1-23. [Open access]
2021: “Chasing Fate & Fortune in the Borderland: Cross-Border Marriage and Migration at the Malaysian-Thai Frontier”, Archipel, vol. 102, pp. 155-186. [Open access]
2021: “Nikah Express: Malay Polygyny & Marriage-Making at the Malaysian-Thai Border”, Asian Studies Review, vol. 45, no. 4, pp. 635-655.
2020: “Intimacy Under Surveillance: Illicit Sexuality, Moral Policing, and the State in Contemporary Malaysia”, Hawwa: Journal of Women of the Middle East & the Islamic World, Special Issue on Gender & Judging in Muslim Courts, edited by Monika Lindbekk & Susanne Dahlgren, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 325-356. [Open access]
Book Chapter
2018: “The Unhappy Polygamist: Desire & (Dis)satisfaction in Malay Polygamy”, in Friendship and Happiness: A Global Perspective, eds. T. Delaney & T. Madigan, Vernon Press, Wilmington, pp. 163-169.
Theses
2017: Halal Intimacy: Love, Marriage & Polygamy in Contemporary Malaysia, PhD Thesis in Social Anthropology, University of Cambridge.
2012: One Man, Many Wives: Polygamy in Contemporary Malaysia as a Patriarchal Institution, BA (Honours) Thesis in Anthropology, University of Western Australia.
Online Publications
“Polygamy in a Time of Pandemic: Hard Times Ahead”, Canopy Forum, Center for the Study of Law & Religion, Emory University, published 30 June 2020.
“The Changing Face of Polygamy in Contemporary Malaysia”, Woolf Institute Blog, published 13 February 2019.
General Publications
2010: “One Man, Many Wives: Digging Out Polygamy’s Skeletons from the Closet”, The Peacock, March Edition, University of Western Australia Arts Union, Perth.
*A quick note on citation: Malays typically follow a patronymic system, meaning that we take our father’s names and do not have a “family name”. For this reason, please use my personal names in in-text citations (eg. Nurul Huda, 2021). In the bibliography, please cite my full name (Nurul Huda Mohd Razif, 2021), or simply initialize my last two names (Nurul Huda MR, 2021).
Seminars & Workshops
Invited Seminar Presentations
2021
“Holding Marriage Hostage: Male Guardianship in Muslim Women’s Marriage Application in Contemporary Malaysia”, Program on Law & Society in the Muslim World, Harvard Law School, 18 February 2021.
“Calculated Love: Matrimonial Assets in Malay Polygyny”, Anthropologie Comparative des Sociétés et Cultures Musulmanes, Laboratoire Anthropologie Sociale, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, Paris, 19 January 2021.
2020
“Intimacy on the Move: Cross-Border Marriage & Migration at the Malaysian-Thai Frontier”, Seminaire Général du CASE, Centre Asie du Sud-Est, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, Paris, 17 December 2020.
“Division of Inheritance & Matrimonial Assets in Malay Polygyny”, Program on Law on Society in the Muslim World, Harvard Law School, Cambridge, 16 April 2020 [postponed due to Covid-19].
“Marrying Married Men: Polygyny in Law & Practice in Contemporary Malaysia”, Boston University, 10 April 2020 [delivered in recorded video format due to Covid-19].
“Calculated Love: Shari’ah Legal Interventions in Economic Disputes in Malay Polygyny”, Ethnographic Forum for the Study of Religion, Emory University, Atlanta, 1 April 2020 [postponed due to Covid-19].
“Intimacy Under Surveillance: Moral Policing & the State in Contemporary Malaysia”, Program in Islamic Law, Harvard Law School, Cambridge, 4 March 2020.
“Between Desire & Destiny: Jodoh & Decision-Making in Malay Polygyny”, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, 10 January 2020.
2019
“The Death of a Polygamist & its Aftermath in a Malaysian Shariah Court”, Department of Social Anthropology Senior Seminar, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, 1 March 2019.
“Property Division Within Malay Polygamy in Malaysian Shariah Courts”, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle, 4 February 2019.
“Polygamy for the Masses: Cross-Border Marriage, the Islamic Bureaucracy, and the State in Contemporary Malaysia”, Woolf Institute, Cambridge, 18 January 2019.
2018
“Out of the Darkness and Into the Light: Islam & Liberalism Under “New Malaysia””, in “Malaysia in Transition: Towards A “Brighter Future”?” Workshop, The Oriental Institute of Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, 31 October 2018.
“Nikah Express: Polygyny & Marriage-Making at the Malaysian-Thai Border”, Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian & Caribbean Studies (KITLV), Leiden, 25 October 2018.
“24 Hours in Thailand: Express Marriages at the Malaysian-Thai Border”, International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS), Leiden, 23 October 2018.
2017
“Permission to Love (Again): Malay Polygamous Marriages at the Malaysian-Thai Border”, Grad Talk, Queens’ College, University of Cambridge, 13 March 2017.
Conference & Workshop Papers
2019
“Female Power & Supernatural Politics in Malay Polygamy”, in “Politics & the Supernatural in Asia” Workshop, Pembroke College, University of Cambridge, 11 October.
“Of Wives & Witches: Sorcery in Malay Polygyny”, 11th International Convention of Asia Scholars (ICAS), International Institute for Asian Studies, Leiden, 16-19 July.
“Risky Romance: Illicit Intimacy & Moral Policing in Contemporary Malaysia”, 9th Religion in Society Conference, Religion in Society Research Network, Granada, 25-26 April. [Also a recipient of the Emerging Scholar Award at this conference.]
“Halalizing the Haram: Illicit Intimacy in an Islamized State in Contemporary Malaysia”, in “Bureaucratizing Diversity in Muslim Southeast Asia & Beyond” Workshop, Harvard Law School Islamic Legal Studies Program: Law & Social Change, Harvard University, Cambridge MA, 4-5 April.
“Obedient Wives & Rebellious Citizens: Dismantling Gender Equality Through Islamic Fundamentalism in Malaysia”, in Strictly Observant Religion, Gender, and the State Conference, Woolf Institute, Cambridge, 25-26 March.
2018
“Loose Laws & Questionable Morals: Moral Policing & Eloped Marriages at the Malaysian-Thai Border”, in “Criminalizing & Emancipatory Trends in Family Law in Indonesia & Other Muslim-Majority Countries” Workshop, Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian & Caribbean Studies (KITLV), Leiden, 15-16 November.
“Marrying Married Men: Polygyny & Changing Conjugal Aspirations of Modern Malay Women”, in “Marriage & Modernity in Comparative Perspective” Workshop, University of Hamburg, 27 October.
“The Human Rights of Women in Marriage”, Global Human Rights Teach-Out, organized by Leiden University & Coursera, Leiden & The Hague, 17-20 October.
“There and Back Again: Mobility & Multilocality in Malay Polygamy”, Malaysia-Singapore Research Conference, University of Cambridge, 07 April.
2017
“Intimate Within Limits: Cross-Border Marriage & the State in Contemporary Malaysia”, AAS/ASA/ASAANZ Annual Conference, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, 14 December.
“The Unhappy Polygamist: Desire & (Dis)satisfaction in Malay Polygamy”, Pandisciplinary Network on Friendship & Happiness Conference, Waterford, 13 June.
2016
“Punishing the Passionate: Intimacy Under Surveillance & Cross-Border Marriage in Contemporary Malaysia”, EASA Biennial Conference, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, 22 July.
Nurul Huda Mohd. Razif 