Pursuing ideological passion in Islamic radical group’s insurgency: a case study of Negara Islam Indonesia

This study seeks to investigate the ideological passion of those who join a religion-based insurgency group. Religion-based insurgencies continue to exist even after being dispersed, whereas region-based insurgencies typically end after government defeat. Having an ideological hatred for the state’s ideology is the primary motivation for insurgents to fight tenaciously for their movement. This study focuses on the ideological passion formation process in the context of the Indonesian Muslim insurgency known as Negara Islam Indonesia. (NII). NII is a religion-based insurgency in Indonesia that continues to operate clandestinely and is the progenitor of radical movements such as Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia. Using a qualitative approach and a case study procedure, the method was applied. The participants included 21 former NII members. Using thematic analysis, the data was examined. Previous research on religion-based insurgency focused primarily on the role of extremist religious ideology as the movement’s foundation. However, it remains unclear as to how ideology influences the selection of an insurgency strategy and the desire to continue the movement. Formation of ideological passions may cast light on the dynamics of religious insurgency. The findings indicate that the ideological passion of religion-based insurgency is comprised of five primary themes. These five themes are rumination, ideology valuation, movement dedication, social interactions, and ideology internalization. This study highlights the role of ideological passion in the formation of insurgencies. This ideological passion can also play a significant role in the disengagement procedure of insurgents, which includes social interactions and internalization

Multicultural Quality of Life: experiences of a South Australian Muslim community amid the COVID-19 pandemic

Muslims have a strong sense of obligation in which Islam informs their ways of life. As a religious minority within Australia, these obligatory practices may not be well understood by mainstream policy, health, and welfare services. This mixed-method, cross-sectional study assessed the self-reported quality of life (QoL), worldviews, and subjective experiences of religiosity and/or cultural identity of adults from a Muslim community affiliated with the Adelaide Mosque, metropolitan South Australia. Data were collected during the COVID-19 pandemic using the Multicultural Quality of Life Index (MQLI) and focus group discussions. Survey results (n = 98) showed women had lower MQLI scores than men did, and married participants had better MQLI scores than not-married did. Focus group participants (n = 18) reported feeling overwhelmed and isolated due to social distancing requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic, compounded by a lack of available ‘Muslim-friendly’ social support services. While results do not represent all Muslim perspectives in Australia, they reveal a dialogic interchange between gender and matrimonial differences, and cultural variances that may exist in the concept of wellbeing. Greater opportunities for social support integrating Muslim religiosity and culture in multicultural practice, in discrete and mainstream services, would benefit this South Australian community

The changing piety and spirituality: a new trend of Islamic urbanism in Yogyakarta and Surakarta

The prevalence of urban spiritualism is on the rise among residents of major cities.One observable manifestation of urban spiritualism is the growing number ofdiverse social recitation gatherings. The present research looks into four distinctprofiles of assemblies that have emerged in the urban areas of Yogyakarta andSurakarta. The four assemblies comprise Muslim United and Teras Dakwah. InSurakarta, it is worth noting the presence of two prominent organisations, namelyMajelis Ar-Raudhah, established by Habib Novel Alaydrus, and Majelis BusytanulAsyiqin, founded by Habib Syech Assegaf. This study elucidates the techniquesemployed by the aforementioned four assemblies to disseminate moderatereligious knowledge within urban circles, as well as their respective reactions tothe evolving spiritual dynamics observed within urban communities. The presentstudy employs a qualitative methodology, specifically a field study approach. Thefindings of this study suggest a shift in the dominance of religious authority amongrenowned ustadz and habaib figures. By endorsing the dissemination of widelyrecognised da’wah conducted by these prominent individuals, it contributesto the enhancement of religious literacy among urban populations. The studyfindings also interpret the santrinisation and piety activities observed in urbancommunities as a tangible expression of the veracity of religious teachings

Islamic state utopia: investigating khilafatul muslimin movement in contemporary Indonesia

This article aims to explore the contemporary Islamic state establishment movement in Indonesia namely Khilafatul Muslimin. Even though the Islamic state is strictly forbidden in Indonesia by the national constitution, such movements have been endless for a long time in the country. The phenomenon of Khilafatul Muslimin, which has recently emerged and surfaced in the realm of politics and religion in the country, indicates that some Muslims want to establish a Khilafah state under Islamic law. Utilizing qualitative methods with the library and documents research in a thorough and depth analysis, this article is designed to excavate and identify the anatomy of the Khilafatul Muslimin as the Islamic state movements, which were familiar to the archipelago since its independence. The study reveals that unlike the past similar movements, which mostly ended in the discourse, this organization has built a set of an Islamic state hierarchy and bureaucracy with complete personals. In addition, Khilafatul Muslimin linked its network to those radical-global Islamic state movements like the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), which, in turn, challenges Pancasila as the national ideology. However, interestingly, the root of Khilafatul Muslimin is closely related to Darul Islam (DI) and Negara Islam Indonesia (NII, Indonesian Islamic State), the past and utopian Islamic state movement in a huge multicultural Indonesian society. This research will benefit the policymakers in Indonesia to treat other Islamic movements equitably, while still keeping the country in harmony. For further study, it will be fruitful to involve broader methods in gathering data to have more comprehensive results

Sectarian tensions, islamophobia, and decolonization: comparing Jasser Auda’s and Jonathan Brown’s analysis of the hadiths concerning Aisha’s marital age

The ongoing debate surrounding the hadiths on Aisha’s age of marriage has givenrise to two main positions among Muslim scholars, namely: the rejectors, thosewho reject the hadiths’ validity and propose the view that Aisha got married atan older age, and the defenders, those who defend them as valid hadiths andaccept that Aisha consummated her marriage at the early age of nine years old. Inthis study, we examine this issue through the opposing arguments offered by twocontemporary Muslim scholars: Jasser Auda, who represents the view of hadithrejectors, and Jonathan Brown, who represents those who accept the validity of thehadiths. These two scholars have been chosen to represent these two standpointsmainly because of their novel and distinctive theoretical contributions to theongoing debate. Entangled in this debate is the issue of whether pre-modernreality can be assessed by using modern norms. We employ critical analysis onthe epistemological and methodological aspects surrounding the two scholars’interpretations of the hadiths of Aisha’s age of marriage. We argue that threesignificant features distinguish Auda and Brown’s dispositions. These are: first,their different conceptions of the interplay between politics, knowledge, andmemory; second, their differing epistemological approaches to hadith science;and third, their opposing assumptions about the universality of modern norms

From separation between state and religion to religion-freeing state: the changing faces of secularism in Turkey

From the very beginning, the establishment of modern Turkey adhered to thesecularisation process, namely to separate the state from religious influence.Although religion has been marginalised, Islam remained a major societal force inTurkey. This scenario raises some questions: What is the idea of Turkish secularism?How can religion possess influence in the context of Turkey as a secular state?What is the form and orientation of secularism in Turkey? Therefore, this studyaims to answer these questions by scrutinising the idea, history, and orientation ofsecularism in Turkey. To fulfil this objective, we scrutinised documents and previousstudies related to Turkish secularism. Then, the idea of Turkish secularism was critically and chronologically analysed from the early time it was implemented upto the present time to assume its orientation. In the early time, Turkish secularismdid not solely separate the state from religion, but perceived that the state shouldcontrol religion as well. Its assertive nature has forced the emergence of a moreliberal version of secularism, which treats the idea of separation between the state and religion according to the notion of democracy, and hence, freed religion from the strict, tutelary state. Secularism in Turkey under the present regime is differentfrom before, as religious (Islamic) manifestation is increasingly visible in publicspaces even though the state remains secular. We argue that the present Turkishsecularism can become a “model” for other Muslim countries that are still dealingwith the conflict regarding the religion-state relationship

Crowdfunding for inter-faith peace: youth, networked social movement, and muslim philanthropy NGOs in contemporary Indonesia

This study examines the involvement of Indonesian youth and Muslimphilanthropy NGOs in the promotion of inter-faith harmony throughcrowdfunding. Crowdfunding or online fundraising has been rapidly growing inIndonesia. It has been used to respond to various issues, among which is religiousviolence. Oftentimes, when radical acts happened in Indonesia, people turnedto crowdfunding to express inter-faith solidarity and support. This study drawsfrom the concept of networked social movement to explain the characteristicsof crowdfunding campaigns for inter-faith harmony. This concept highlightscontemporary online movements that are spontaneous, leaderless, and temporalin nature which is distinct from the well-organized movements commonly studiedby scholars. This study employs digital ethnography on campaigns that respondedto religious violence in the largest crowdfunding platform in Indonesia, Kitabisa,which is complemented by interviews with the campaign initiators and Muslimphilanthropy NGOs. This article argues that the characteristics of network social movement fit with the current youth generation that is assumed to be sociallyapathetic and more immersed in developing themselves and consuming media.Nevertheless, despite the spontaneous and temporal tenets, the youth’s inter-faithmovements were able to mobilize a significant number of donations and attractMuslim NGOs that were often perceived to be sectarian to support the inter-faithcampaigns. The findings of this study contribute to the studies on Indonesianyouth, Islamic philanthropy, and the state of inter-faith relations in Indonesia,which was argued to be experiencing a conservative turn

Cultural capital, Islamism, and political distrust in Indonesia General Election: an ethnicity-based community engaged in Islamic Defenders Front (FPI)

Although there have been many studies investigating Islamist movements andtheir views concerning the relationship between Islam and politics, very rarestudies examining the ways particular ethnicity-based Islamist group invent andrevitalize their cultural capital in dealing with Islamism. Based on the case of therole of FPI (the Islamic Defenders Front) group in Jakarta rejecting the resultof Pemilu 2019 (Indonesian General Election), this study aims to investigatethe way a young Batavian community that is engaged in the FPI (a semi radicalIslamist organization) interpret their Batavian values and tradition in dealing with Islamism. This research uses a case study approach that investigates culturalcapital and its influence to a young Batavian community joining the FPI. Thisstudy relies more on in-depth interviews with the members as well as observation.Based on the fieldwork this article shows that tension in national political levelin Pemilu 2019 which polarized society had encouraged these young Batavians tobe engaged in an organization connecting them to wider Islamic groups. Insteadof Muhammadiyah or Nahdatul Ulama (NU), their cultural capital is moresupportive encouraging them to be engaged with the Islamic Defenders Front(FPI). Through this engagement in FPI and participation in political distrustrejecting the result of Pemilu 2019 they were not only involved with nationalissues, but also local issues dealing with their domination as an indigenous groupliving in an urban area

Islamism without commotion: the religious transformation of Tuak Kampong in West Lombok

The Islamic revival movement is often considered a threat to other religious groups. Many studies on the issues have presented the dark sides of religion, wherein Islamic movements often turned into political ones leading to religion-based fundamentalism, violence, and terrorism. The current research explicates the process and characteristics of Islamism in a democratic climate by investigating a case of religious transformation in a traditional kampong formerly known for producing tuak in West Lombok. The Islamic movement, or to be precise, purification, is recently quite prevalent in the area. It relates to the early history of Islamization in Lombok, which pitted Islam against Hinduism and other local traditions. Such confluences generated rules and regional Islamic variants that are often considered heretic. Qualitative data for this study was gathered through observations, desk study, and interviews. This research found that the Islamization process observed in the tuak kampong displays unique characteristics different from those that commonly portray Islamic movements. Islamization in West Lombok was carried out without any commotion due to its non-coercive, outward-looking, and rational factors. These attributes are apparent in the three processes of transformation, the first is non-coercive cultural transformation through education and awareness, the second refers to structural change achieved through legal arrangement, and the third is rational transformation through community empowerment programs

Muhammadiyah, Sufism, and the quest for ‘authentic’ Islamic spirituality

This current paper explores and analyzes the trend of Sufism discourses and practices among Indonesian Muslim modernist-reformer organizations with special reference to the Muhammadiyah movement. The public tends to categorize Muhammadiyah as an anti-Sufism movement. A close study, however, shows that the existence of Sufism discourse and practices is a clear religious phenomenon among its individual figures and members, although organizationally Muhammadiyah does not recognize the existence of Sufi orders (tarekat). Based on the data collected from subjective-ethnographic notes of the organization’s programs and activities as well as literature studies of the organization documents, this study implements Stephen Katz’s philosophical model. It shows that Muhammadiyah is searching for Islamic spirituality by promoting the authenticity of tasawuf aspects, namely tauh}id or monotheism and akhlaq al-karimah or noble characters as reflected in the concept of ih}san. In this regard, Sufism is defined as a system of values and spirituality, not involved in a particular Sufi order. Muhammadiyah interprets Sufism as ethical values and ethos to do virtuous actions in society