GLOBAL – IN SOUTHEAST ASIA JIHAD
DIIS · Danish Institute for International Studies Southeast Asia has been called a second front for Islamic State following the The Danish Institute for International Studies is a leading recent pushback in Syria and Iraq. It is a new theatre for the Islamic State (IS) public institute for independent research and analysis of movement, whereas al-Qaeda (AQ) has been present in the region since the Examining the expansion of Islamic State and al-Qaeda international affairs. We conduct and communicate turn of the century. Through four studies, this book specifically zooms in on multidisciplinary research on globalisation, security, the presence of IS and AQ activity in selected countries in Southeast Asia, development and foreign policy. DIIS aims to use our namely the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. research results to influence the agenda in research, policy and public debate, and we put great effort into Looking into the four cases it appears that this region has the potential to informing policymakers and the public of our results and teach us something about how local insurgencies, democratic transitions, their possible applications. nationalist struggles, and polarised debates about the state and religion all Defence and Security Studies at DIIS matter for explaining the occurrence of transnational jihad. Most interestingly, This publication is part of the Defence and Security the book raises the question of why some local conflicts in the region escalate Studies at DIIS. The aim of these studies is to provide and are redefined as part of a global ideological battle, while others maintain multidisciplinary in-depth knowledge on topics that are a local focal point. central for Danish defence and security policy, both current and long-term. The design and the conclusions Based on field trips, interviews as well as secondary materials, the four of the research under the Defence and Security Studies authors contribute to an understanding of why transnational jihadist are entirely independent. Conclusions do not reflect the movements like al-Qaeda and IS, with their regional and global agendas, find views of the ministries or any other government agency space in the local milieus of the Southeast Asian states. Most importantly, involved, nor do they constitute an official DIIS position. the volume seeks to contribute comparative insight into the question of why Additional information about DIIS and our Defence and GLOBAL JIHAD Islamic State and al-Qaeda can gain a foothold in new places, and what Security Studies can be found at www.diis.dk exactly the global-local dynamics are. One of the points that this volume makes is that while strategic decision-making and expansionist ambitions IN SOUTHEAST ASIA from their core leadership have a role to play, local contexts and conflicts are Examining the expansion of the Islamic State and al-Qaeda also important for the appeal of transnational jihadist movements.
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DIIS· DANISH INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES Østbanegade 117 DK-2100 Copenhagen Denmark www.diis.dk Edited by Mona Kanwal Sheikh GLOBAL JIHAD IN SOUTHEAST ASIA Examining the expansion of the Islamic State and al-Qaeda
Mona Kanwal Sheikh Lars Erslev Andersen Nicholas Chan Hara Shintaro Table of contents
The traction of transnational jihad in Southeast Asia 7 Mona Kanwal Sheikh
Transnational jihadism in the Philippines 19 Lars Erslev Andersen
Islamic State and al-Qaeda in a thriving Indonesian democracy 39 Mona Kanwal Sheikh
From Jemaah Islamiyah to Islamic State in Malaysia 59 Nicholas Chan
The risks of transnational jihadism in Thailand 81 Hara Shintaro
Biographies 97
This book is published by DIIS as part of the Defence and Security Studies
DIIS · Danish Institute for International Studies Østbanegade 117, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark Tel: +45 32 69 87 87 E-mail: [email protected] www.diis.dk
Layout: Lone Ravnkilde Printed in Denmark by Tarm Bogtryk a/s
ISBN 978-87-7605-973-6 (print) ISBN 978-87-7605-975-0 (pdf)
DIIS publications can be downloaded free of charge or ordered from www.diis.dk
© Copenhagen 2019, the authors and DIIS THE TRACTION OF TRANSNATIONAL JIHAD IN SOUTHEAST ASIA o
By Mona Kanwal Sheikh r r
In 2019, five years after the caliphate was declared, the Islamic State movement