We were in a little village somewhere south of this country and it was night time. During the day, the village would be described as pretty; all the houses there had existed since the early 19th century. The gardens were neat and compact, and flowers and trees planted in them were lush. This is a Malaysia long gone.
The village we visited for our field work is renowned among the authorities, and has a rich history of Islamic movements. They, the community, had been demonised and terrorised by the authorities and the surrounding neighbourhoods for being Salafis for generations. The harassment by the surrounding neighbourhood and local authority figures has been non-stop as the village did not adhere to the Sunni Islam practised by others.
Herein lies the conundrum: being a strict, observant Muslim does not make a person a radical or terrorist.