A’an Suryana – författare

This book analyses the response of the Indonesian state to violence against Ahmadiyah and Shi’a minority communities by foregrounding the close connections between state officials and vigilante groups, which influenced the way the post-Soeharto democratic Indonesian governments addressed the problem of violence against religious minorities.

Arguing that the violence stemmed in part from the state officials’ close connection with vigilante groups, and a general tendency for the authorities to forge mutual and material interests with such groups, the author demonstrates that vigilante groups were able to perpetrate violence against the minority congregations with a significant degree of impunity. While the Indonesian state has become far more democratic, accountable, and decentralized since 1998, the violence against Ahmadiyah and Shi’a communities shows a state that is still unwilling in assisting or allowing minority groups to practice their religion. The research undertaken for this book draws upon a lengthy period of ethnographic fieldwork in the communities of West Java and East Java. Research material includes in-depth interviews with community and religious leaders, state officials and security forces, and other prominent politicians.

A novel approach to the problem of Islam, violence, and the state in Indonesia, the book will be of interest to researchers studying Southeast Asian Politics, Islam and Politics, Conflict Resolution, State and Violence, and Terrorism and Political Violence.

This book analyses the response of the Indonesian state to violence against Ahmadiyah and Shi’a minority communities by foregrounding the close connections between state officials and vigilante groups, which influenced the way the post-Soeharto democratic Indonesian governments addressed the problem of violence against religious minorities.

Arguing that the violence stemmed in part from the state officials’ close connection with vigilante groups, and a general tendency for the authorities to forge mutual and material interests with such groups, the author demonstrates that vigilante groups were able to perpetrate violence against the minority congregations with a significant degree of impunity. While the Indonesian state has become far more democratic, accountable, and decentralized since 1998, the violence against Ahmadiyah and Shi’a communities shows a state that is still unwilling in assisting or allowing minority groups to practice their religion. The research undertaken for this book draws upon a lengthy period of ethnographic fieldwork in the communities of West Java and East Java. Research material includes in-depth interviews with community and religious leaders, state officials and security forces, and other prominent politicians.

A novel approach to the problem of Islam, violence, and the state in Indonesia, the book will be of interest to researchers studying Southeast Asian Politics, Islam and Politics, Conflict Resolution, State and Violence, and Terrorism and Political Violence.

What are trending Islamic ideas in Southeast Asia; how are they transmitted and who transmits them? These are questions that linger among the minds of policymakers, diplomats and scholars interested in Islam in Southeast Asia. Trending Islam maps and discusses key personalities, groups or institutions that influence Muslims in the region. This book dedicates more space to discuss the role of the Internet in disseminating religious discourses. Internet’s role, in particular the use of social media either to advance interpretations of Islamic ideas or to gain influence in the public sphere, is becoming more significant as it allows information to spread faster and wider. While not discounting traditional issues such as extremism and terrorism, matters that continue to affect many people’s lives in the region, the book delves into the interaction between violent and non-violent extremism and the liberal and progressive responses to them. Trending Islam covers the transmission of Islam in several countries and some case studies.

"This timely and important volume brings together scholars providing nuanced analyses of the current dynamics of Islam in Southeast Asia. This volume guides readers through the complexities of Muslims’ evolving engagement with global modernity by exploring different aspects of Islam in the region. In addition to chapters devoted to understanding major actors and institutions, this volume also examines the transmission of Islamic ideas; assesses how multiple actors from diverse backgrounds, competing for Islamic interpretation and expression, are impacted by the Internet and social media; and discusses the paradoxes of established Muslim organizations and state-sponsored da’wah groups. A must-read for whoever is interested in Southeast Asian Islam!"--Noorhaidi Hasan, Professor in Islam and Politics at Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia of Jakarta and Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University of Yogyakarta