Title:
Jejak Kafilah: Pengaruh Radikalisme Timur Tengah di Indonesia
Original Title:
Joining the Caravan?: The Middle East, Islamism and Indonesia
Authors:
Greg Fealy and Anthony Bubalo
Translator:
Akh. Muzakki
Publisher:
Mizan, Bandung
Published:
April 1, 2007
Pages:
202

Recently, radicalism has become a general trend in the Muslim world, including in Indonesia. This tendency is not a suddenly occurring phenomenon. It was born in a political, economic, and socio-cultural situation, a situation considered by supporters of the radical Islamic movement to sideline Muslims.

Politically, radical Islamic groups feel not only have Muslims not benefited by the system, but that they have also suffered injustice. They feel the economic situation is no better as they believe the economic interests of Muslims have not been protected, in fact have been ignored and sidelined. Further, in the socio-cultural context, the Islamic community is increasingly losing its orientation because of the increasing strength of the invasion of Western culture. Social ties that were once strong and united Muslim groups have now become weak because of the failure to preserve Islamic culture.

It is in such an atmosphere that radical Islam has emerged as an opposing force. Their resistance appeared in the form of opposing those groups who threaten their existence or identity, something upon which they have staked their lives. They struggle to fulfill their desires and aspirations, which are largely focused on problems of every day life, such as problems concerning family or other social institutions. They struggle with a set of specific values, or a distinct identity, which has been both inherited from the past and mixed with new constructions.

For that they also struggle to fight against their enemy, which might emerge in the form of communities, or social-religious norms, that they consider deviational. Finally, they also claim that their struggle is in the name of God or other such ideologies.

In the Indonesian case, as is explained in the book originally titled ‘Joining the Caravan?: The Middle East, Islamism and Indonesia’ which is the product of the research undertaken by the two Australian academics, Greg Fealy and Anthony Bubalo, the influence of religion and politics from the Middle East in Indonesia is not a new thing in history. According to them, since Islam entered the archipelago, the relationship between the societies in Indonesia and the Middle East has been very close.

This kind of transmission was made possible because of the Middle East’s position as the center and reference point for Muslims. Indonesians always visit countries with holy cities and centers of knowledge both to go on the Hajj, to visit other sacred places, or to study. These activities have produced a variety of networks, networks of ulama, networks for dakwah (religious propagation), and networks for political movements.

In addition, the political context in Indonesia is also another reason for the emergence of radical Islam. There are similarities between the radical Islamic movements in Indonesia and the Middle East. As illustrated in this book, radical Islamic movements in the Middle East can be classified into three categories.

First, are those movements which occur in countries whose governments are authoritarian like Iraq and Syria. Al-Mujahidin in Iraq opposes Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship, while al-Ikhwan in Syria opposes Hafidh al-Asad’s regime.

Secondly, are those movements which occur in areas under foreign occupation, like in Palestine. The fundamentalism in Palestine, which manifests itself in extreme forms of violence, is a reaction to the political violence of Israel.

Third, are radical movements born in countries whose government policies are viewed as being controlled too much by the West, such as Egypt and pre-revolutionary Iran. The emergence of Ikhwanul Muslimin (The Muslim Brotherhood) in Egypt can not be separated from mass sentiment opposing pro-western government policies and the tendency to marginalize the role of religious leaders.

From these three categories, the first and the third can be found in Indonesia, both before and after the New Order. From the beginning of its birth, the New Order’s attitude towards Muslims followed the system of policy making that was applied by the Dutch: tolerance and friendship towards Islam as it is in social and religious groups. But, this attitude immediately became strict and harsh when Islam began to show signs of becoming a political power which could challenge the New Order’s authority.

Although the emergence of radical Islamic movements was fragmented across a variety of organisations, there are a number of indicators that differentiate these groups from mainstream Muslims in Indonesia. These indicators include a very literal understanding of Islamic teachings, a very strong belief that Islam is the only solution to overcoming the many crises of the country, an untiring struggle for implementation of Islamic law, resistance to groups with different understandings and beliefs, as well as refusal and hatred nearly without reserve of anything smelling of the West.

Then people ask: why, in the middle of the majority of Muslims who are moderate (primarily NU and Muhammadiyah), did a terrorist group of Muslims emerge? According to this book, the explanation incorporates several factors with many complex dimensions. The major change in the Muslim world, which the international community is often not aware of, is that the large majority of Muslims in the world are no longer concentrated in the Middle East (p. 84).

This book is intended as an intellectual contribution to further enrich the debate concerning the role played by Islamist groups in contemporary international politics. The focus of this book is framed in several perceptions and misperceptions, most importantly the tendency to see Islamism at this time as a monolithic ideological movement which has spread from the central point of the Middle East to Muslim countries all over the world.

This book’s analysis is aimed at a number of major changes which have occurred, both in the Muslim world as well as in the western perception of the Muslim world. Evident changes have already taken shape as a result of the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, where Al-Qaeda is increasingly considered as an ideology rather than an organisation. The research looks into how far this ideology or world view has already spread, and also explains how the situation stands in regards to possibilities of future terrorist attacks.

This book concludes that from all forms of contemporary Islamism, the influence of Ikhwanul Muslimin in Indonesia has the longest history. According to the authors, while successfully exporting Middle Eastern Islamist and neo-fundamentalist ideas to Indonesia, almost all of these ideas have undergone mediation or modification. The ideas of gradualist Hasan Al-Banna, for example, are more often used in comparison to the ideas of revolutionary Sayyid Quthb and those carrying on his radical ideas (p. 109).

What cannot be omitted is that, in connection with the above mentioned influence, this book of 202 pages also touches on the phenomena of the success of the Prosperous Justice Party (Partai Keadilan Sejahtera - PKS) on the Indonesian political stage, and also of Jemaah Islamiyah, which is often connected with a series of terrorist attacks.

Finally, in the middle of the mainstream tendency to paint Islamism as a united front with transnational dimensions, this book discredits such naive perceptions by showing the diversity and local dimensions of Islamism throughout history.

(Jawa Pos, Friday, July 13, 2008)