'Ideological Conflicts' Between the Indonesian Government and the Indonesian Muslim Radicals

Abstract

As in other many countries, Indonesia has recently suffered the dangerous scourge of terrorism. What the Indonesian government considers to be radicals are Muslim 'mujahidin' (fighters) who could use violence to achieve their objectives (not all of them commit acts of violence). The government often calls them 'terrorists' (a term which has become highly discredited in the Indonesian media and worldwide). These also include those who aid them, or withhold information about them. A major method employed by the government to curb terrorism has been the establishment of the so-called 'deradicalisation' and 'counter-radicalisation' (preventing people from becoming radical) programmes organized by its anti-terrorism agency known as BNPT. However, unlike in some other countries where radicalization is harshly treated including verbally, the Indonesian Government is careful not to ban the expression of radical views, perhaps fearing that suppressing these views could taint its democratic image. So, the radicals are quite free to publish books and articles especially on the Internet to promote their ideology and counter the opposite ideology (that of the government and its supporters). Drawing on an empirical analysis of the documents released by Indonesian radicals and the Indonesian Government, this paper presents an analysis of the 'Ideological conflicts' between the authorities and attempts to counter these attempts on the part of the radical groups and their supporters. This topic is important to understanding the state of the relationship between the Indonesian Government and the radical groups and shed some light on the prospect of radicalisation in Indonesia.