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INDONESIA:
Islam, Globalisation And "Religious" Conflict
By Anak Agung Banyu Perwita
Introduction
“The rise of Islam as a political force cannot
be studied in isolation as a regional or localised phenomenon;
rather, it has a positive correlation with the political
events and changes taking place globally”
The above quotation clearly shows that the revival of
political Islam cannot be separated from its internal
dynamics as well as its cultural and political interaction
with the non-Muslim world. The phenomenon of the (re)
emergence of radical Islam in certain countries e.g.
Middle East, was the product of both internal and external
power struggles. Furthermore, it was also a product of
an ‘unequal’ relationship between Islam and
the Western world.
Another example of this power struggle was the Iranian
revolution which, to some extent, could be viewed both
as a power struggle within the Muslim community and,
between the Muslim and WesternWorlds (mainly the US),
particularly as “a struggle which seeks to rearrange
the nature of material economic life on a structural
political life”.
The main purpose of this paper is to discuss the changing
nature of the international system in which Islam emerges
as a new global political force. It also discusses its
linkages with the ‘religious’ conflict in
Indonesia.
The (re) emergence of the Radical Islamist Movements
in the Globalized era.
The most prominent feature of international politics
in the late 1980s was the collapse of the Soviet Union
resulting in the end of the Cold war era. In the post
Cold War era, the global political structure and dynamics
of international relations changed dramatically. The
bipolar system was swept away and the ideological conflict
between the US and USSR (now Russia) disappeared. A post
Cold War era has emerged and globalisation with all of
its variants has become the major theme. This new era
has diminished the power of state-centric political and
military rivalries to dominate international relations5.
More specifically, this era has enabled the emergence
of societal factors e.g. cultural and religious, as a
new mainstream in global interactions. Religion, in particular,
is seen to pose serious threat to international relations6.
To borrow the words of Juergensmeyer, the global interactions
are now marked by “the resurgence of parochial
identities based on ethnic and religious allegiances”7.
In this context, the revival of radical Islam has become
a significant ideological force in the Third world, particularly
in the Muslim world. The rise of many Islamist movements,
such as: the Muslim brotherhood Ikhwan al-Muslimin),
Al-Qaeda, emerged in the wake of specific social and
political crises in many Muslim world. In Indonesia,
the emergence of adical Islamist movements were marked
by the establishment of Komite Solidaritas Islam untuk
Dunia Islam (KISDI or Indonesian Committee for Solidarity
with the Islamic World), Front Pembela Islam (FPI or
Front to Defend Islam), Majelis Mujahidin and Laskar
Jihad (Jihad Troops). They are not only the other
side of the globalisation phenomenon but they are also
a result of it. The most fascinating aspect of the revival
of radical Islam was that the movement borrowed categories
and rhetorical strategies from Western movements which
were propelled by the development of information technology.
Islamic revivalists e.g. Mir Zohair Husain can be categorised
into four broad frameworks:
- Fundamentalists
- Traditionalists
- Modernists
- Pragmatists
However, Fundamentalists are often perceived by the West
as the only type of revivalist. In the words of Holton
(1998), the revival of political Islam could be interpreted
either as “deglobalising trends towards localism
and regionalism, or as a reglobalising movement challenging
the credentials of Western approaches to globalization”
The Islamic revolu-tion in Iran, to a very large extent,
has been viewed as a significant example of the Islamic
revival. The implications extend far beyond Iran’s
border where it has also invigorated the Islamic political
struggle in many parts of the Muslim world such as Asia,
the Middle East and North Africa. Thus, the political
Islam in this respect is simultaneously global, regional,
national, and locally specified.
Although the Islamic revival is manifested differently
in each Islamic country, certain common themes and characteristics
are discernible. As Andrew Tan pointed out, a fundamental
tenet is that society should be organized on the basis
of Al Quran and the Sunnah (the way of the Prophet).
He further argued that: “Islamic revivalism is
a result of the Muslim world’s disillusionment
with Western civilization and its search for an alternative
model that would allow for the development of Islamic
society organized according to the teachings of Al-Quran.
The revivalism is also a reaction against modern Western-style
capitalist development”.
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