Unholy War: Violent Extremism in Marawi and Its Impacts on Muslim Communities in Indonesia

Religious radicalism in the form of violent extremism is against the principles of human rights and democracy. Religious radicalism also opposes the existence of the modern state of Indonesia and, arguably, also of other Southeast Asian countries. The global political commitment initiated by the United Nations, namely Responsibility to Protect, states that several countries in Southeast Asia, such as the Philippines, are at high risk of atrocities. Civilians in Marawi in the Philippines have experienced atrocities carried out by the Maute family-led militant group backed by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). In 2017, for more than five months, the restoration of regional security and stability in Marawi by the Philippine security apparatus caused many casualties. This study aimed to identify, map and analyze the narrative structure of the goals and backgrounds of the actors involved in the Marawi case and its impacts on Muslim communities in Indonesia. The research focused on a narrative analysis that united various factors contributing to violent religious extremism. This study employed a narrative perspective that was multidimensional, consisting of the narratives of marginalization, invitation, symbolic violence, and violent extremism. It demonstrated that the narrative of marginalization and calls for Jihad served as the basis of solidarity among the members of the Maute militant group in Marawi. The narrative aimed at solidarity for jihad in Marawi had more influence on groups belonging to ISIS, such as Jamaah Ansharut Tauhid (JAT), Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), and East Indonesia Mujahideen (MIT). Keywords: violent extremism, radicalism, terrorism, Marawi, the Philippines, Indonesi

No Dating No Cry: The Anti-Dating Activism of the `Indonesia Without Dating' Movement

The growing manifestation of Islamic teachings in post-Suharto Indonesia is reflected in the emergence of Islamic revivalist movements that have such religio-political aspirations as the domestic application of sharia-based laws and the re-establishment of the caliphate. However, the extent to which these movements interpret, implement, and frame this sharia varies from one movement to another. This paper examines one of these movements, the primary goal of which is to mobilize public support, particularly of youths in Indonesia, against dating. This movement is called the Indonesia Tanpa Pacaran or Indonesia Without Dating (ITP). It is a form of cultural activism that is centered on the issues of dating, which is framed as a by-product of Western modernity. Dating is thus not only labelled as forbidden in Islam; the movement also challenges its common practice among youths and attempts to offer guidance to them on the perceived ideal Islamic-based relations between unmarried male and female youths. Employing the perspective of framing in social movements, this paper shows that the ITP’s anti-dating activism is an inextricable part of its larger religio-political goal of implementing sharia in the country. Furthermore, the paper also demonstrates the strong connection between ITP and the already banned Islamic revivalist movement that calls for the re-establishment of the caliphate — Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI). Keywords: Islamic activism, anti-dating movement, social movement, sharia, the caliphate, Indonesi

Islamic Revivalism in Indonesia: The Caliphate, Sharia, NKRI, Democracy, and the Nation-State

This research examines Indonesian Islamic revivalist movements’ perspectives on the concepts of the nation-state and democracy. The Islamic revivalist movements studied in this research include Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI), Front Pembela Islam (FPI), Majelis Mujahidin Indonesia (MMI), and Forum Umat Islam (FUI). Following the fall of the authoritarian Suharto’s regime in 1998, Indonesia witnessed an escalation of Islamic activism whose goals revolve around the implementation of Sharia (Islamic law) and, to a certain extent, the reestablishment of a caliphate (transnational Islamic state). To this end, revivalist movements have been staging frequent mass protests, mainly addressing Indonesian government policies that are deemed un-Islamic. Some of the protests have ended violently, which implies that their Sharia and Islamic state goals have become a source of conflict in Indonesian society. This research suggests that this violent activism stems from different versions of the concept of the nation-state and democracy, which disagree with broadly accepted definitions. This research was conducted against this backdrop to analyze each movements’ perspectives on the concept of nation-state and democracy and argues that, despite each movement advocating the implementation of Sharia, their understandings of the concepts of the nation-state and democracy differ

Mendamaikan syariah dan NKRI : strategi mobilisasi dan retorika gerakan islam revivalis Forum Umat Islam (FUI)

Buku ini memotret dan menganalisis sejarah, ideologi, strategi retorika dan mobilisasi gerakan Islam revivalis bernama Forum Umat Islam (FUI) yang berdiri sejak tahun 2005. Penelitian yang dilakukan terhadap FUI ini sekaligus juga berarti penelitian mengenai gerakan Islam revivalis lain seperti Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI), Front Pembela Islam (FPI), Majelis Mujahidin Indonesia (MMI), dan beberapa gerakan Islam pengusung aspirasi syariah lainnya di Indonesia. Hal ini disebabkan karena FUI adalah gerakan payung atau koalisi yang mencoba merangkul beragam gerakan atau organisasi Islam. Kehadiran buku mengenai FUI ini diharapkan dapat mengisi kesenjangan penelitian (research gap) di dalam kajian gerakan Islam revivalis pada khususnya dan kajian politik Islam di Indonesia pada umumnya. Buku ini juga diharapkan dapat menambah wacana, keilmuan, dan informasi yang berguna bagi semua kalangan, baik itu kalangan akademisi dan peneliti, khususnya di bidang sosial, politik, humaniora, dan studi Islam, maupun para pembuat kebijakan serta masyarakat umum

Mendamaikan syariah dan NKRI : strategi mobilisasi dan retorika gerakan islam revivalis forum umat islam (FUI)

Buku ini memotret dan menganalisis sejarah, ideologi, strategi retorika dan mobilisasi gerakan Islam revivalis bernama Forum Umat Islam (FUI) yang berdiri sejak tahun 2005. Penelitian yang dilakukan terhadap FUI ini sekaligus juga berarti penelitian mengenai gerakan Islam revivalis lain seperti Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI), Front Pembela Islam (FPI), Majelis Mujahidin Indonesia (MMI), dan beberapa gerakan Islam pengusung aspirasi syariah lainnya di Indonesia. Hal ini disebabkan karena FUI adalah gerakan payung atau koalisi yang mencoba merangkul beragam gerakan atau organisasi Islam. Kehadiran buku mengenai FUI ini diharapkan dapat mengisi kesenjangan penelitian (research gap) di dalam kajian gerakan Islam revivalis pada khususnya dan kajian politik Islam di Indonesia pada umumnya.Buku ini juga diharapkan dapat menambah wacana, keilmuan, dan informasi yang berguna bagi semua kalangan, baik itu kalangan akademisi dan peneliti, khususnya di bidang sosial, politik, humaniora, dan studi Islam, maupun para pembuat kebijakan serta masyarakat umum.xxii, 228 hlm.: 23 c

Islamic Activism: The Socio-Political Dynamics of the Indonesian Forum of Islamic Society (FUI)

Since the collapse of the authoritarian Suharto regime in 1998, Indonesia has witnessed an escalation in theactivism of Islamic revivalist movements whose goals revolve around the implementation of sharia (Islamic law) suchas HTI (Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia or the Liberation Party of Indonesia), FPI (Fron Pembela Islam or Islamic DefendersFront), and MMI (Majelis Mujahidin Indonesia or the Council of Indonesian Holy Warriors). These movements havesince continuously voiced their pro-sharia agenda through a variety of collective actions such as mass protests, publicgatherings, and media statements. With a view to enhancing co-ordination and communication among Islamicrevivalist movements in Indonesia, these movements established an umbrella movement called FUI (Forum UmatIslam or Forum of Islamic Society) in 2005, which has also been actively engaged in social movement activities.Unfortunately, unlike the other Islamic revivalist movements that emerged immediately after the fall of theSuharto regime mentioned above, there has been no scholarly research on FUI. This thesis, therefore, aims to answerthe following primary research question: "How did FUI emerge and how does it mobilise organisational resources andframe its ideologies?" In an attempt to better account for this research question, the thesis employs the perspectives ofsocial movements: political opportunity structure, mobilising structures, and framing.This thesis primarily argues that given differences in terms of ideologies and strategies on the part of Islamicmovements and organisations in Indonesia, the emergence of FUI was a result of a perceived need to solidify the pro-shariaagenda of these movements and organisations. As an umbrella movement, FUI heavily relies on its majormember movements in order to actively engage in collective action. As a result, FUl's ideologies, organisationalresources, and strategies are not immune to the influence of its major member movements. In the beginning of itsactivism (betvveen 2005 and 2008), FUI largely relied on its organisational resources from HTI. However, when HTIsevered ties with FUI in the mid of 2008, FUI has since shifted its reliance on organisation resources to FPI.The thesis demonstrates that this shift is also characterised by the consolidation of FUl's ideologies, whichunlike HTI that displays its trans-national political orientation through the re-establishment of the caliphate, emphasisethe need to respect the basic philosophy of the Republic of Indonesia - Pancasila - in its efforts to implementsharia. This is done through, for instance, re-interpreting principles and values embodied in the Pancasila and theConstitution of the Republic of Indonesia in such a way as to justify its pro-sharia agenda

The Repatriation of Foreign Terrorist Fighters in Indonesia: Its Dilemma and Debates

ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) has expanded its movement to Southeast Asia, including Indonesia which once got attacked by terrorist as the country becomes terrorists' preferred place to travel and execute their plans in conflict zones. To tackle this problem, Indonesian government had issued a policy to avoid negative implications upon the return of Indonesian nationals linked to terrorism from abroad (Foreign Terrorist Fighters or FTF). The government was considering whether or not to repatriate FTF since this plan remains a debatable issue in Indonesia. The government was concerned with the possibility of them recruiting new members. On the other side, humanity becomes the opposite reason leading to the acceptance of the extremist repatriation policy. Due to the urgency of the rampant terrorist threats and the consequences, the Indonesian government has decided to implement the repatriation policy. The government ended up refusing the repatriation of Indonesian nationals linked to terrorism abroad to protect the national security. This article elaborates the radicalization mechanism, terrorist recruitment process based on the national security theory. This study also explains the urgent situation and condition that made the government apply refusal against repatriation. There are still considerable challenges regarding the repatriation policy that need to be addressed such as relevant infrastructure and effective regulations