Kamis, November 14, 2024

Regional Jihad: ‘The Lure of Caliphate’ in Indonesia

Rifqi Nurdiansyah
Rifqi Nurdiansyah
Mahasiswa S3 Fakultas Studi Islam di Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia (UIII) dan Dosen Fakultas Syariah IAIN Kerinci, Jambi.
- Advertisement -

Global Jihad is experiencing a significant decline in Southeast Asia,  especially in Indonesia.  Moreover, the  Indonesian government succeeded in suppressing the existence of pan-Islamism groups by not providing space for movement. Since the early 2000s  when Global Jihad spread throughout Indonesia has also experienced serious impacts by experiencing various acts of terror (bomb season). Last, in December 2022, a  bomb terror at a  police station in Bandung, West  Java, a suicide bombing terror that killed one policeman. Police found that the bomber was affiliated with Jama’ah Anshorut Daulah (JAD) (Wamad 2022).

JAD itself is one of the many pan-Islamism groups in Indonesia that consider the Indonesian state of being a thogut government. JAD also shares the same vision and mission as the Global Jihad group, which is rebuilding the Islamic caliphate. The difference is that the JAD group terrorizes the “near enemy”, namely the government of a secular Muslim state that they consider to have gone out of the teachings of Islam. While the Global Jihad group targets attacks against Western countries that it considers “far enemies”.

Although such acts of terror are no longer as frequent as in the early 2000s, their existence can be threatening anytime. In line with this, Quinton Temby, an Expert on the Southeast Asian Jihad movement, said that in Southeast Asia, the trans-local jihad movement centred in three countries Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia (Temby 2017). In a lecture on May 24, 2023, at the Indonesian International Islamic University (IIIU), Temby also explained that Regional Jihad is the term he uses to identify Jihad Movements in Southeast Asia. The local jihadist groups of each country are connected to each other across national borders.

Southeast Asian Regional Jihad as an important part of Global Jihad cannot be ruled out, considering Southeast Asia has two largest Muslim countries, Malaysia and Indonesia. Based on data collected by Schulze, many members of the Local Jihad group from Indonesia and Malaysia migrated to join the Global Jihad-ISIS group in Syria from 2014-2015 (Schulze and Liow 2018). According to Schulze, the Global Jihad group recruitment is conducted online and offline.

Local and trans-local jihadist groups in Southeast Asia have a different complexion from global jihad groups born in Central Asia and the Middle East. This difference is due to different religious cultures. In Southeast Asia, people’s religious culture tends towards moderation, and it is very difficult for pan-Islamism groups to spread the lure of the Islamic caliphate as a solution to modern problem issues.

However, it is undeniable that local jihad groups in Indonesia grow and develop in underground areas (grassroots). They also developed according to the religious model in Indonesia. Schulze calls it a process of glocalization. Global Jihad propaganda process packed with local forms. Local jihadist groups, such as in the Bali bombing case, do not infrequently represent global terror acts.

So far, the Indonesian government has succeeded in suppressing the movement of jihadist groups, and the government has succeeded in identifying jihadist groups in Indonesia. Based on the Sindo news report, five jihadist groups are considered to be still actively operating clandestinely, including the Islamic State of Indonesia (NII), Jama’ah Islamiyah (JI), the Indonesian Mujahideen Council (MMI), Jama’ah Anshorut Tawhid (JAT), Jama’ah Anshorut Khilafah (JAK) which is also affiliated with Jama’ah Anshorut Daulah (JAD) (Syarif 2021).

However, such non-terrorist radical Islamic groups will never disappear from Indonesia. This type of radical Islamic group is necessary for the diversity of religious perspectives of the Muslim community. Moreover, Indonesia is a country with the largest Muslim population in the World (Putri 2023). Of course, this gave rise to a wide variety of different religious practices. Therefore, through the Ministry of Religious Affairs, the Indonesian government always campaigns for Wasathiyyah (Moderate) Islam to become a stronghold for understanding radical Islamic groups. On the other hand, Islamic media in Indonesia continue to spread teachings full of love rather than violence.

Unfortunately, despite various efforts, some Muslim communities in Indonesia still want to enforce Islamic law in political, economic, and social aspects. This is proven by continuing to grow these understandings from establishing the Islamic caliphate in Indonesia, which turned into the jargon “NKRI Bersyariah”. This change is a process of adaptation and negotiation of the Muslim community to the State. Because the form of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia is final, this group hopes that Sharia will become a core part of running the wheels of government in Indonesia.

It seems that the Indonesian government has chosen to let groups that want to uphold Sharia as long as they do not commit harmful acts of terrorism. In fact, this group has yet to be categorized as a local jihadist group. The understanding of Sharia enforcement among the Muslim community in Indonesia is an understanding shared by every individual. Pro-state Muslim groups consider that the Indonesian State is based on Sharia. On the other hand, some groups disagree. Dissenting groups always use Islamic identity politics to symbolize the movement and garner the most votes. Ahead of the 2024 presidential election, there will be momentum for fighting between political interests in the national arena, as has happened before.

- Advertisement -

Bibliography

Daughter, Aulia Pearl Hatia. 2023. “The Country With The Most Muslims In The World, What Number Is RI?” CNBC Indonesia.

Schulze, Kirsten E., and Joseph Chinyong Liow. 2018. “Making Jihadis, Waging Jihad: Transnational and Local Dimensions of the ISIS Phenomenon in Indonesia and Malaysia.” Asian Security: 1-18. http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/87249/.

Sharif, Helmi. 2021. “Here Are 5 Terrorist Groups That Are Still Active in Indonesia.” Sindo News. https://nasional.sindonews.com/read/380478/15/ini-5-kelompok-teroris-yang-masih-aktif-di-indonesia-1617033804 (May 29, 2023).

Temby, Q. 2017. “Jihadists Assemble: The Rise of Militant Islamism in Southeast Asia.” Australian National University. https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/handle/1885/135764.

Wamad, Sudirman. 2022. “Revealed! This is the motive and message carried by the Astana Anyar Police Bomber.” West Java : 1. https://www.detik.com/jabar/berita/d-6473621/terungkap-ini-motif-dan-pesan-yang-dibawa-bomber-polsek-astana-anyar (May 27, 2023).

Rifqi Nurdiansyah
Rifqi Nurdiansyah
Mahasiswa S3 Fakultas Studi Islam di Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia (UIII) dan Dosen Fakultas Syariah IAIN Kerinci, Jambi.
Facebook Comment
- Advertisement -

Log In

Forgot password?

Don't have an account? Register

Forgot password?

Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password.

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.