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The historical development of Jihadi Islamist thought in Indonesia
Greg Barton
Introduction
Claims that Indonesia represents “the second front” in the struggle against jihadi
terrorism are very much exaggerated; the threats in South Asia, the Horn of
Africa, and the Middle East are in fact much more serious than those in
Indonesia. Indeed, the character and influence of Islamic thought and social
movements in Indonesia have long been misunderstood. Indonesian society is
dominated by moderate civil-sphere organizations; supports many of the world’s
leading progressive Islamic intellectuals, NGOs, and educational institutions;
1
and has firmly embraced secular, liberal democracy. At the same time, however,
Indonesia is more “Islamic” than many commentators recognize, and is no less
influenced by modernist-cum-Salafi reformism and radical Islamism than any
other large Islamic nation. In fact, social surveys report a surprisingly high level
of apparent support for radical Islamic positions, and in the past three legislative
elections, around 10 percent of voters have chosen to support radical Islamist
parties—a higher percentage than in Pakistan. 2 Furthermore, the long history
1
On progressive Islamic thought in Indonesia see Greg Barton, “The Origins of Islamic
Liberalism in Indonesia and its Contribution to Democratisation”, in Democracy in Asia ed.
Michelle Schmigelow (New York: St Martins Press, 1997); Greg Barton, “Neo-Modernism: A Vital
Synthesis of Traditionalism and Modernism in Indonesian Islam,” Studia Islamika 2, no. 3 (1995):
1–75; and Greg Barton, “Indonesia’s Nurcholish Madjid and Abdurrahman Wahid as Intellectual
Ulama: The Meeting of Islamic Traditionalism and Modernism in Neo-Modernist Thought,” Islam
and Christian-Muslim Relations 8, no. 3 (October 1997): 323–50.
2
On Islamic politics in Indonesia refer to: Greg Barton, “Islam and Politics in the New
Indonesia”, in Islam in Asia: Changing Political Realities, ed. Jason F Issacson and Colin Rubenstein
(eds) (New Jersey: Transaction Press, 2001; Greg Barton, “The Prospects for Islam”, in Indonesia
Today: Challenges of History, ed. Grayson Lloyd and Shannon Smith (Singapore: Institute of
Southeast Asian Studies, 2001): 244-55; Greg Barton, “Islam, Islamism and Politics in Post-
Soeharto Indonesia,” in Islam and Politics in Indonesia, ed. Damien Kingsbury (Melbourne:
Monash University Press, 2004); Greg Barton, “Islam and Democratic Transition in Indonesia”, in
Religious Organizations and Democratization: Case Studies from Contemporary Asia, ed. Deborah A.
Brown and Tun-jen Cheng (New York: M.E. Sharpe, 2006): 221-41; Greg Fealy, ‘Islamic Politics:
A Rising or Declining Force?’ in Indonesia: the uncertain transition, ed. Damien Kingsbury and
Arief Budiman (Bathurst, NSW: Crawford House Publishing, 2001; Greg Fealy, “Parties and
Parliament: Serving Whose Interests?” in Indonesia Today: Challenges of History, ed. Grayson Lloyd
and Shannon Smith (Singapore: ISEAS, 2001); and Bachtiar Effendy Islam and the State in Indonesia
(Singapore: ISEAS, 2003): and Greg Barton, ‘Indonesia’ in Barry Rubin (ed.) Global Survey of
Islamism, (New York: M.E. Sharpe, Inc. 2009).
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