The task of nation building has posed an enormous challenge for postcolonial Muslim leaders, especially for those committed to the creation of a nation based on Islamic rules, norms and visions. Conventional wisdom holds that the discrepancy between a "parochial" national framework -- based on religion -- and the modern reality of a nation-state framework is too great to be reconciled. The key issue here is how the Islamic rules of public organisation and governance can accommodate a multi-religious condition, one which is widespread in postcolonial nation-states.  Publication:  Pacific Affairs, Sep 22, 2002.  Hamayotsu, Kikue.