DOCSLIB.ORG

MUNAJAT-DISSERTATION.Pdf (6.119Mb)

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
MUNAJAT-DISSERTATION.Pdf (6.119Mb) FPI (ISLAMIC DEFENDERS’ FRONT): THE MAKING OF A VIOLENT ISLAMIST MOVEMENT IN THE NEW DEMOCRACY OF INDONESIA A Dissertation by MUNAJAT Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY May 2012 Major Subject: Sociology 1 FPI (Islamic Defenders’ Front): the Making of a Violent Islamist Movement in the New Democracy of Indonesia Copyright 2012 Munajat 2 FPI (ISLAMIC DEFENDERS’ FRONT): THE MAKING OF A VIOLENT ISLAMIST MOVEMENT IN THE NEW DEMOCRACY OF INDONESIA A Dissertation by MUNAJAT Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Approved by: Chair of Committee, William Alex McIntosh Committee Members, Dongxiao Liu Rob Mackin Rola el-Husseini Head of Department, Jane Sell May 2012 Major Subject: Sociology 3 iii ABSTRACT FPI (Islamic Defenders' Front): the Making of a Violent Islamist Movement in the New Democracy of Indonesia. (May 2012) Munajat, B.A., State Islamic University (UIN) Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta, Indonesia; M.S. Leiden University, The Netherlands Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. William Alex McIntosh The current study is aimed at investigating the puzzle of why FPI (Islamic Defenders’ Front) has chosen to adopt violent strategies within the democratic context of Indonesia. Much of literature on social movements suggests that democracy is inherently nonviolent because it allows social movements to use a number of reasonable tactics to pursue their goals. On the contrary, authoritarianism is considered to be the cause of the emergence of violent movements. However, a violent movement is not necessarily absent in the context of democracy. Using the language of Islam, justice and democracy, FPI (Islamic Defender’s Front) conspicuously committed at least 64 cases of violent collective actions from 1998 to 2010. Three levels of analysis are used in order to investigate this social puzzle, namely the level of organization, individual characters and FPI’s violent actions. Combining these three levels of analysis, this study found that the making of the violent Islamist movement (FPI) is complex and interconnected. First, there are at least four social iii iv environments that have led FPI to the adoption of violent means. They are the historical context of Islamist movements in Indonesia (1945-1998), the timing of violence by FPI, social support for FPI’s violent actions and low state capacity. Second, there are at least four factors that relate to individuals and organization of FPI. They are FPI’s encounter with so-called justified violence, FPI’s engagement in violence-prone activities, fundamentalism and FPI’s framing of its violent actions. Combining these factors has made FPI’s violence become more persistent in the new democratic context of Indonesia. Consequently, despite the fact that democracy inhibits political violence, democracy may also allow the use of violent means by social movements. In doing so, democracy opens an opportunity for people, especially elites, to support the cause of violence. Therefore, this can undermine the government’s will to fully suppress the violent movement. In addition, there are other significant factors, other than state repression, that also facilitate violence, such as a movement’s choice to engage in violence-prone activities, low state capacity, a good timing of violence (cultural resources) and a good framing of violence. iv v DEDICATION Dedicated to my wife Annisa, my daughter Leidena and whoever sacrifices her/his time to read this piece of work. v vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my committee chair, Dr. Alex McIntosh and my committee members, Dr. Dongxiao Liu, Dr. Rob Mackin, and Dr. Rola el-Husseini, for their guidance and support throughout the course of this research and my study in Texas A&M University. Thanks also go to my friends, colleagues and the department faculty and staff for making my time at Texas A&M University a great experience. I also want to extend my gratitude to Aminef and Fulbright, which have made me a Fulbright Aggie, to the Department of Sociology Texas A&M, Writing Center Texas A&M, American- Indonesian Cultural & Educational Foundation (AICEF), STAIN Salatiga and Department of Religious Affairs Republic of Indonesia, which provided me with valuable support, resources and assistantship during my study at Texas A&M, and to all my respondents (activists of FPI, Muhammadiyah and NU), who were willing to participate in the current study. Finally, thanks to my mother and father for their encouragement and to my beautiful soul mate and daughter for their patience and love. vi vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................. iii DEDICATION .......................................................................................................... v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................... vi TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................................................................... vii LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................... x LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................... xi CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION................................................................................ 1 II LITERATURE RIVIEW ...................................................................... 6 Political Environment: State-Centered Perspective ....................... 6 Framing Aspect .............................................................................. 10 Characteristics of Individual .......................................................... 12 III THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ....................................................... 19 Qualitative Theoretical Framework .............................................. 19 Political Process Theory ............................................................ 19 Framing Process Theory ............................................................ 22 Quantitative Theoretical Framework ............................................. 23 Fundamentalism ........................................................................ 24 Trust in Government ................................................................. 29 Political Efficacy ....................................................................... 30 Violent Attitudes ....................................................................... 32 Hypotheses ................................................................................. 34 vii viii CHAPTER Page IV METHODOLOGY ............................................................................... 36 Qualitative Methodology ................................................................ 36 Data ........................................................................................... 36 Analysis ..................................................................................... 38 Quantitative Methodology ............................................................. 39 Data ........................................................................................... 39 Analysis: SEM (Structural Equation Modeling) ....................... 43 Model Specification .................................................................. 45 Estimation .................................................................................. 46 Model Evaluation ...................................................................... 49 V ORGANIZATIONAL BACKGROUNDS: HISTORICAL CONTEXT, ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE, IDEOLOGY AND FPI’S ADOPTION OF VIOLENT MEANS ........ 51 Towards Radical Islamist Movements: the Early Tensions of Islam-State Relations in Indonesia .............. 51 The Tensions of State-Islam Relations during the Early Years of Indonesia (1945) and the Sukarno Regime (1945-1966) ....... 52 The Tensions of State-Islam Relations during the Suharto Regime (1967-1998) .................................... 58 The Emergence of New Democracy .............................................. 62 The Birth of FPI (Islamic Defenders’ Front) ................................. 66 Organizational Structure ................................................................ 70 The Demand for the Application of Shari`ah (Islamic Shari`ah) .. 76 AMNM (Amar Ma`ruf Nahi Munkar): Definition and Procedures 80 Jihad, the Extension of AMNM (Amar Ma`ruf Nahi Munkar) ...... 83 Justifying Violence ......................................................................... 87 Moving towards FPI’s Adoption of Violence ................................ 89 VI CHARACTERISTICS OF INDIVIDUAL ACTIVISTS IN RELATION TO VIOLENCE ............................................................... 92 Data Description ............................................................................ 93 Reliability and Validity .................................................................. 95 Preliminary Analysis: Mean Differences of the Observed Variables ................................ 98 Model Results ................................................................................. 102 Summary of Hypothesis Testing .................................................... 109 Conclusion .....................................................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • UC Berkeley UC Berkeley Electronic Theses and Dissertations
    UC Berkeley UC Berkeley Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Ripples, Echoes, and Reverberations: 1965 and Now in Indonesia Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5fv121wm Author Stroud, Martha Publication Date 2015 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Ripples, Echoes, and Reverberations: 1965 and Now in Indonesia by Martha Stroud A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Joint Doctor of Philosophy with University of California, San Francisco in Medical Anthropology in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Nancy Scheper-Hughes, Chair Professor Laura Nader Professor Sharon Kaufman Professor Jeffrey A. Hadler Spring 2015 “Ripples, Echoes, and Reverberations: 1965 and Now in Indonesia” © 2015 Martha Stroud 1 Abstract Ripples, Echoes, and Reverberations: 1965 and Now in Indonesia by Martha Stroud Joint Doctor of Philosophy with University of California, San Francisco in Medical Anthropology University of California, Berkeley Professor Nancy Scheper-Hughes, Chair In Indonesia, during six months in 1965-1966, between half a million and a million people were killed during a purge of suspected Communist Party members after a purported failed coup d’état blamed on the Communist Party. Hundreds of thousands of Indonesians were imprisoned without trial, many for more than a decade. The regime that orchestrated the mass killings and detentions remained in power for over 30 years, suppressing public discussion of these events. It was not until 1998 that Indonesians were finally “free” to discuss this tragic chapter of Indonesian history. In this dissertation, I investigate how Indonesians perceive and describe the relationship between the past and the present when it comes to the events of 1965-1966 and their aftermath.
    [Show full text]
  • Reconciliation As Ritual: Comparative Perspectives on Innovation and Performance in Processes of Reconciliation
    Reconciliation as ritual: comparative perspectives on innovation and performance in processes of reconciliation ROXANA WATERSON In the past three decades, extraordinary developments have taken place in a number of countries making a transition from authoritarian regimes to democratic governments.1 This has given rise to the emergent field of study of transitional justice.2 As for the best means of achieving such transitions, debates are still vigorous about the relative merits of truth and reconciliation commissions (TRCs) versus criminal proceedings, whether in the context of the International Criminal Court at The Hague or of hybrid national/international special courts such as the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) in Phnom Penh, which is currently trying five former high-ranking members of the Khmer Rouge. TRCs are relatively new political and legal phenomena. Patricia Hayner lists 21 truth commissions formed since 1974—the most successful of which to date appear to have been those in Chile and South Africa.3 She provides an excellent analysis of how these commissions have differed from one another and what they have achieved. Still, many urgent questions remain about how best to ensure the efficacy of the process.4 1 An earlier version of this article was presented in the Seminar Series at the Centre for Cross-Cultural Research, Research School of the Humanities, The Australian National University, Canberra, on 26 October 2007. I am grateful to the audience on that occasion for their feedback and especially to Rosanne Kennedy and to the journal’s two anonymous readers for their further editorial suggestions.
    [Show full text]
  • Submission to the Inquiry Regarding
    Submission to the Inquiry regarding: Agreement between Australia and the Republic of Indonesia on the Framework for Security Cooperation (signed Mataram, Lombok, 13 November 2006, referred to here as ‘the Lombok Treaty’). Abstract: Good relations between Australia and Indonesia are desirable, but not at any cost. In particular, there needs to be clear recognition that Australia and Indonesia are at different stages of political development and have different political priorities. Further, there are implications in the treaty for the diminution of the status of Australian citizens by potentially or actually exposing them to considerations that fall outside the Australian legal framework. These matters need to be addressed, clarified and dealt with according to Australian law and common expectations in relation to UN 1948 Articles 19, 20 and 21. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Keeping in mind the desirability of all countries to maintain constructive relations, and the relevance of Indonesia to Australia as its biggest proximate neighbor, it is worth noting that the preamble to the Lombok Treaty, while not itself binding, over- compliments the internal organization of the signatory countries. It implies that the term ‘democratic’ has equal and consistent meaning across its range of variations (Collier and Levitsky 1997 note there are 550 sub-types), in particular between Australia and Indonesia. The literature on democracies and democratization demonstrates there is a fundamental difference between ‘substantive’ (see Grugel 2002:6) and ‘procedural’ democracies (Schumpter 1976, Burton, Gunther and Higley 1992:1). While Australian democracy can be criticized for failing in some, perhaps many, respects (I think we should all be careful not to engage in the often unwarranted ‘politics of self- congratulation’), it generally conforms to the ‘substantive’ description.
    [Show full text]
  • Islamic State Or State Islam? Fifty Years of State-Islam Relations in Indonesia”, In: Ingrid Wessel (Hrsg.), Indonesien Am Ende Des 20
    “Islamic state or state Islam? Fifty years of state-Islam relations in Indonesia”, in: Ingrid Wessel (Hrsg.), Indonesien am Ende des 20. Jahrhunderts. Hamburg: Abera-Verlag, 1996, pp. 19-34. ISLAMIC STATE OR STATE ISLAM ISLAMIC STATE OR STATE ISLAM? FIFTY YEARS OF STATE-ISLAM RELATIONS IN INDONESIA Martin van Bruinessen In what appeared like a dramatic reversal of previous policies towards organised Islam, President Soeharto in December 1990 gave his personal endorsement to the establishment of the Association of Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals (Ikatan Cendekiawan Muslim Se-Indonesia, ICMI), a body in which former regime critics, associated with the banned Muslim party Masyumi, played leading roles. Led by the man who believes himself to be Soeharto's preferrred candidate for succession, technology minister B.J. Habibie, ICMI remained in the limelight and pioneered various activities of symbolic importance to many Muslims. It established an Islamic (i.e., interest-free) bank and a Muslim quality newspaper that was meant to break the hold of the leading Christian-owned newspapers on the reading public.[1] In the new government, established after the 1992 elections, the Christian ministers who had long controlled the economic ministries were replaced by Muslims with ICMI connections. There was a notable decline of influence of Christians in the higher echelons of the intelligence services and the armed forces. Even five years after the birth of ICMI, there has not yet emerged a consensus -- neither among outsiders nor among ICMI activists
    [Show full text]
  • Political Imprisonment in Indonesia Today
    Tapol bulletin no, 113, October 1992 This is the Published version of the following publication UNSPECIFIED (1992) Tapol bulletin no, 113, October 1992. Tapol bulletin (113). pp. 1-24. ISSN 1356-1154 The publisher’s official version can be found at Note that access to this version may require subscription. Downloaded from VU Research Repository https://vuir.vu.edu.au/26083/ The Indonesia Human Rights Campaign TAPOL Bulletin No. 113 October 1992 Political imprisonment in Indonesia today "How many political prisoners are there in Indonesia?" A question frequently asked and impossible to answer with accuracy. An Indonesian non-government organisation (NGO) estimates that ·there ·are currently at least 2, 000 tapol (for tahanan politik meaning political prisoner). Many believe it could be far more. The government does not recognise the existence of Java), details on tapol are patchy. In East Timor and West political prisoners and feels no compunction to make Papua, often only the name of the prisoner is known. In information available. In the past few years, groups in Java, details including date of and reason for arrest, length Indonesia have been making concerted attempts to list the of sentence and supposed release date may be available. Of political prisoners by visiting the major prisons throughout course, by section 7 of the Minimum Rules details of all the archipelago. The lists are not complete, but they do prisoners should be registered on arrival. enable an analysis of a cross section of political prisoners The justification for the incarceration of twenty six names in the country. appearing on the lists are unknown and NGOs have been While numbers of tapol do show the main areas of human unable to contact them on prison visits.
    [Show full text]
  • Indonesian Politics in Crisis
    Indonesian Politics in Crisis NORDIC INSTITUTE OF ASIAN STUDIES Recent and forthcoming studies of contemporary Asia Børge Bakken (ed.): Migration in China Sven Cederroth: Basket Case or Poverty Alleviation? Bangladesh Approaches the Twenty-First Century Dang Phong and Melanie Beresford: Authority Relations and Economic Decision-Making in Vietnam Mason C. Hoadley (ed.): Southeast Asian-Centred Economies or Economics? Ruth McVey (ed.): Money and Power in Provincial Thailand Cecilia Milwertz: Beijing Women Organizing for Change Elisabeth Özdalga: The Veiling Issue, Official Secularism and Popular Islam in Modern Turkey Erik Paul: Australia in Southeast Asia. Regionalisation and Democracy Ian Reader: A Poisonous Cocktail? Aum Shinrikyo’s Path to Violence Robert Thörlind: Development, Decentralization and Democracy. Exploring Social Capital and Politicization in the Bengal Region INDONESIAN POLITICS IN CRISIS The Long Fall of Suharto 1996–98 Stefan Eklöf NIAS Nordic Institute of Asian Studies Studies in Contemporary Asia series, no. 1 (series editor: Robert Cribb, University of Queensland) First published 1999 by NIAS Publishing Nordic Institute of Asian Studies (NIAS) Leifsgade 33, 2300 Copenhagen S, Denmark Tel: (+45) 3254 8844 • Fax: (+45) 3296 2530 E-mail: [email protected] Online: http://nias.ku.dk/books/ Typesetting by the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies Printed and bound in Great Britain by TJ International Limited, Padstow, Cornwall © Stefan Eklöf 1999 British Library Catalogue in Publication Data Eklof, Stefan Indonesian politics
    [Show full text]
  • Production of Militancy in Indonesia: Between Coercion and Persuasion by Paul J
    PERSPECTIVES ON TERRORISM Volume 9, Issue 5 Countering the (Re-) Production of Militancy in Indonesia: between Coercion and Persuasion by Paul J. Carnegie Abstract In the early 2000s, Indonesia witnessed a proliferation of Islamist paramilitary groups and terror activity in the wake of Suharto’s downfall. Having said this, over the years since Suharto’s downfall, the dire threat predictions have largely failed to materialize at least strategically. This outcome raises some interesting questions about the ways in which Indonesian policy responded to the security threat posed by Islamist militancy. Drawing on Temby’s thesis about Darul Islam and Negara Islam Indonesia and combining this with Colombijn and Lindblad’s concept of ‘reservoirs of violence’, the following article argues that countering the conditioning factors underlying militancy and the legacy of different ‘imagined de-colonizations’ is critical for degrading militant threats (especially Islamist ones) in Indonesia. Persistent and excessive punitive action by the state is counter- productive in the long run. It runs too high a risk of antagonizing and further polarizing oppositional segments of the population. That in turn perpetuates a ‘ghettoized’ sense of enmity and alienation amongst them towards the state and wider society. By situating localized responses to the problem in historical context, the following underscores the importance of preventative persuasion measures for limiting the reproduction of militancy in Indonesia. Keywords: counter terrorism policy; Indonesia; imagined communities; Islamism; militancy; postcolonial state. Introduction Militancy in Indonesia is not new if we take that to mean combative and aggressive action in support of a cause.[1] This is of no great surprise given the archipelago’s size, diversity and history.
    [Show full text]
  • SECULAR, RELIGIOUS and SUPERNATURAL – an EASTERN INDONESIAN CATHOLIC EXPERIENCE of FEAR (Autoethnographic Reflections On
    SECULAR, RELIGIOUS AND SUPERNATURAL – AN EASTERN INDONESIAN CATHOLIC EXPERIENCE OF FEAR (Autoethnographic Reflections on the Reading of a New Order-Era Propaganda Text) Justin Laba Wejak Submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2017 Faculty of Arts The University of Melbourne Abstract This thesis examines an Eastern Indonesian Catholic experience of fear by analysing how a New Order-era propaganda text dealing with the political upheavals of 1965- 66 triggers and maintains fear in one Eastern Indonesian Catholic reader – myself. It uses the methodology of autoethnography to examine the fears that I myself experienced in 2004 when encountering a 1967 Catholic propaganda text entitled, ‘Dari Madiun ke Lubang Buaya, dari Lubang Buaya ke…?’ [From Madiun to the Crocodile Hole, from the Crocodile Hole to...?]). By analysing my own experience of fear in reading the text, I argue that the Eastern Indonesian Catholic experience of fear involves three interlocking dimensions – secular, religious and supernatural. These three forms of fear are experienced simultaneously by the reader (myself). The From Madiun text is primarily a secular narrative of the 1965-66 events, but the reader brings his culturally-conditioned religious and supernatural fears when reading it. I argue that supernatural fear is the most unspoken but most powerful form of fear that I experienced when reading the text, and this reflects my membership of the Lamaholot community in which supernatural fear is pervasive. The thesis contends that in relation to 1965, the Catholic Church’s propaganda created an explicit secular fear of communists, an implicit religious fear of Muslims, and a hidden supernatural fear of ghosts.
    [Show full text]
  • Jihadists Assemble: the Rise of Militant Islamism in Southeast Asia
    JIHADISTS ASSEMBLE: THE RISE OF MILITANT ISLAMISM IN SOUTHEAST ASIA Quinton Temby A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of the Australian National University Department of Political & Social Change Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs College of Asia & the Pacific Australian National University © Copyright Quinton Temby All Rights Reserved July 2017 I certify that this dissertation is my own original work. To the best of my knowledge, it contains no material that has been accepted for the award of a degree or diploma in any university and contains no material previously published by another person, except where due reference is made in the text of the dissertation. Quinton Temby ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The preparation of this thesis has left me indebted to many people. It would not have been possible at all without the generous support of my primary supervisor, Associate Professor Greg Fealy, who encouraged my curiosity for this topic from the outset and who expertly guided and challenged me throughout the long process of research and writing. On my supervisory panel, I was privileged to have Professor Ed Aspinall and Professor Robert Cribb, whose critical feedback and scholarly example has been an object lesson. For help and guidance in ways impossible to count or measure, much less repay, I am grateful to Sidney Jones. In both Canberra and Jakarta, I enjoyed the support of Associate Professor Marcus Mietzner. For persistently challenging me to think regionally, I owe much of the vision of this thesis to Dr Kit Collier. In Indonesia, above all I would like to thank Sita W.
    [Show full text]
  • 1965 and Now in Indonesia by Martha Stroud a Dissertation Submitted In
    Ripples, Echoes, and Reverberations: 1965 and Now in Indonesia by Martha Stroud A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Joint Doctor of Philosophy with University of California, San Francisco in Medical Anthropology in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Nancy Scheper-Hughes, Chair Professor Laura Nader Professor Sharon Kaufman Professor Jeffrey A. Hadler Spring 2015 “Ripples, Echoes, and Reverberations: 1965 and Now in Indonesia” © 2015 Martha Stroud 1 Abstract Ripples, Echoes, and Reverberations: 1965 and Now in Indonesia by Martha Stroud Joint Doctor of Philosophy with University of California, San Francisco in Medical Anthropology University of California, Berkeley Professor Nancy Scheper-Hughes, Chair In Indonesia, during six months in 1965-1966, between half a million and a million people were killed during a purge of suspected Communist Party members after a purported failed coup d’état blamed on the Communist Party. Hundreds of thousands of Indonesians were imprisoned without trial, many for more than a decade. The regime that orchestrated the mass killings and detentions remained in power for over 30 years, suppressing public discussion of these events. It was not until 1998 that Indonesians were finally “free” to discuss this tragic chapter of Indonesian history. In this dissertation, I investigate how Indonesians perceive and describe the relationship between the past and the present when it comes to the events of 1965-1966 and their aftermath. Do the killings and detentions still emerge in and influence daily life today? If so, how? The experiences, interactions, and conversations I had and the interviews I conducted during two years of fieldwork, primarily in Yogyakarta on the island of Java, shape the form and focus of this dissertation.
    [Show full text]
  • Human Rights in Indonesia
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Wageningen University & Research Publications Hum Rights Rev (2010) 11:373–399 DOI 10.1007/s12142-009-0143-1 Defensive Enforcement: Human Rights in Indonesia Irene Istiningsih Hadiprayitno Published online: 6 October 2009 # The Author(s) 2009. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com Abstract The objective of the article is to examine the human rights enforcement in Indonesian legal and political system. This is done by studying the legal basis of human rights, the process of proliferation of human rights discourse, and the actual controversies of human rights enforcement. The study has the effect of highlighting some of the immense deficits in ensuring that violations are treated under judicial procedure and the protection of human rights is available and accessible for victims. The author inevitably came into a conclusion that the openness of legal and political arenas for human rights discourses is not followed with a tangible impact on the entitlement positions of the people. The problems of the weak institutions and the unenthusiastic enforcement show that, in Indonesia, human rights are formally adopted as a political strategy to avoid substantial implementation. Keywords Human rights enforcement . Politics of human rights in Indonesia Introduction After the collapse of the New Order regime in 1998, the transition of government left the Indonesians with simultaneous challenges of economic, social, and political changes. Reformasi total or total reform was demanded along with the weakening of military control, the awakening of civil society organizations, and appreciation for the rule of law and human rights.
    [Show full text]
  • Genealogies of Islamic Radicalism in Post-Suharto Indonesia", South East Asia Research Vol
    "Genealogies of Islamic radicalism in post-Suharto Indonesia", South East Asia Research vol. 10, no. 2 (2002), 117-154. Genealogies of Islamic radicalism in post-Suharto Indonesia Genealogies of Islamic Radicalism in post-Suharto Indonesia[1] Martin van Bruinessen (ISIM and Utrecht University) The emergence of violent Muslim vigilante groups employing a jihadist discourse and mobilizing followers for jihad in regions where there have been inter-religious conflicts, such as the Moluccas or the Poso district in Central Sulawesi, is one of the most conspicuous new phenomena in contemporary Indonesian Islam. During the twenty-month presidency of Abdurrahman Wahid, such groups often gained control of the streets, and the army and police appeared unable, or unwilling, to contain them. Against the president’s express orders, groups of jihad fighters could leave the island of Java for the Moluccas without being checked by police or army; upon arrival in the Moluccas they were even given modern weapons by certain military officers sympathetic to their cause. There is almost a consensus among Indonesian political observers that all inter-ethnic and inter-religious violence of the past few years was provoked by power struggles between rival elite factions, or deliberately fomented by certain factions with the aim of destabilizing Wahid’s (and now Megawati’s) government. There is no doubt that inter-elite rivalry is a major destabilizing factor and that most of the violence is financed by military and civilian interest groups, but this does not mean that the radical groups carrying out violence are simply puppets, tools in the hands of unscrupulous political manipulators.
    [Show full text]