Reimagining Islam: Salafi Networks in Muslim Southeast Asia

FAIN: RZ-51470-12

Arizona State University (Tempe, AZ 85281-3670)
Mark Woodward (Project Director: December 2011 to February 2020)

The preparation for publication of a book examining Salafist (revivalist) Islamic movements in Southeast Asia. (36 months)

Salafism is a revivalist current in Sunni Islam that seeks to establish its visions of the Islam of the Prophet Muhammad and his companions as religious, social and political realities. Salafism is the driving force behind movements ranging from al Qaeda to quietist groups living in social isolation. The term Salafi is politicized and contested in academic, Muslim, and policy discourse. We seek to clarify this discourse through a focus on Southeast Asia, a region that contains the most populous Muslim country in the world and where Salafism is enormously influential. Through a combination of historical and ethnographic methods, we will produce the first comprehensive and comparative study of Salafism as a regional Southeast Asian discourse system. By examining the emergence of ideologies and theologies that stress the global nature of religious identities while denying the salience of culture, we will also deepen understanding of the global dynamics of religiously-inflected conflict.

Associated Products

Islam Nusantara: A Symbolic and Semantic Analyses (Article)
Title: Islam Nusantara: A Symbolic and Semantic Analyses
Author: Woodward, Mark R.
Abstract: This paper presents a semantic and symbolic analysis of the concept and presentation of the concept of Islam Nusantara and the ways in which it evokes meaning and emotion to counter trans-national violent extremist movements including al-Qaeda and ISIS, based on Salafi-Wahhabi ideologies. It is based on a frame based content analysis of religious and political themes ofIslam Nusantra. I focus primarily on two films produced by Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) to promote this concept: the near feature length (83 minutes)The Blessing of Islam Nusantara (Oceans of Revelation: Islam as a Blessing for All Creation) and the much shorter (8 minutes) Launching the Film The Blessing Islam Nusantara. The first draws on elements of Sufism, Javanese and to a lesser extent other Indonesian cultures to construct a vision of Islam directly countering that of both violent and non-violent Salafi-Wahhabi extremists. The second promotes the film and Ansor’s (the NU youth organization) potential for combatting violent extremism. Theoretically, I rely on insights by Goffman’s observations concerning the ways in which semantic frames, and more specifically reframing, can alter dominance hierarchies in discourse systems and Sperber’s demonstration that symbolization is a cognitive process that evokes as well as communicates meaning and emotion.
Year: 2018
Primary URL: http://jurnallektur.kemenag.go.id/index.php/heritage/article/view/398
Primary URL Description: Direct link to article
Secondary URL: http://jurnallektur.kemenag.go.id/index.php/heritage/index
Secondary URL Description: Link to journal home page
Access Model: Open Access
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Heritage of Islam Nusantara: International Journal of Religious Literature and Heritage
Publisher: Center for Research and Development of Religious Literature and Heritage

Sectarianism, Culture and Politics (Article)
Title: Sectarianism, Culture and Politics
Author: Woodward, Mark R.
Abstract: The 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election revealed the persistence of ethnicity, culture and religion as factors in Indonesian politics. Despite polls indicating a nearly even contest, challenger Anies Baswedan defeated incumbent Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (Ahok) by a margin of 58 to 42 per cent. Most reports stress religion and ethnicity as the primary issues in the campaign and social media mobilisation strategies. Other issues have received less attention: Ahok’s disregard for norms of Indonesian/Javanese political culture; the intensity and semantics of anti-Ahok hate speech; and the emergence of a conservative coalition defining Islam in exclusivist political terms. In this article, I will argue that this coalition transcends the modernist-Salafi/traditional-Sufi division that has, until now, been fundamental to Indonesian Muslim politics.
Year: 2018
Primary URL: http://www.insideindonesia.org/sectarianism-culture-and-politics
Primary URL Description: direct link to article
Secondary URL: http://www.insideindonesia.org
Secondary URL Description: Link to magazine home page
Access Model: Open Access; refereed submissions
Format: Magazine
Periodical Title: Inside Indonesia
Publisher: Indonesian Resources and Information Program (IRIP)

Middle Path Islam (Article)
Title: Middle Path Islam
Author: Woodward, Mark R.
Abstract: In recent decades, the growing influence of transnational Salafi movements has been a matter of great concern in Indonesia. Salafi movements insist on literal interpretations of Islamic texts and argue that cultural traditions other than those of Saudi Wahhabis are not authentically Muslim. Such claims threaten to disrupt the delicate balance of inter-religious and inter-cultural tolerance on which many Indonesians have come to depend. Salafi movements are also frequently blamed for the recent growth in violent jihadist sensibilities within Indonesia’s Muslim population. In response, many Islamic organisations have developed ideologies and symbols with which they might counter Salafist influences. Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Indonesia’s largest Islamic organisation, now promotes what it calls ‘Islam of the Archipelago’, emphasising traditional Sufi religious teachings and a strong commitment to Javanese culture. By contrast, Muhammadiyah, the nation’s second-largest Islamic organisation, places universal human values and global engagement at the heart of its ‘Cosmopolitan Islam’. ‘Islam of the Archipelago’ and ‘Cosmopolitan Islam’ have attracted much attention in the Indonesian and international press. But As’adiyah members feel that neither vision is quite right for Indonesia’s Buginese population, over six million in number. This article examines how they used their 2017 convention to explore, articulate and strengthen an alternative vision – Islam Wasathiyah, or ‘Middle-Path Islam’ – that might counter the influence of extremism within this particular ethnic group.
Year: 2018
Primary URL: http://www.insideindonesia.org/middle-path-islam
Primary URL Description: direct link to article
Secondary URL: http://www.insideindonesia.org
Secondary URL Description: Link to magazine home page
Access Model: Open Access
Format: Magazine
Periodical Title: Inside Indonesia
Publisher: Indonesian Resources and Information Program (IRIP)

Resisting Salafism and the Arabization of Indonesian Islam: A Contemporary Indonesian Didactic Tale by Komaruddin Hidayat (Article)
Title: Resisting Salafism and the Arabization of Indonesian Islam: A Contemporary Indonesian Didactic Tale by Komaruddin Hidayat
Author: Woodward, Mark R.
Abstract: Adopting Arabic clothing styles and in other ways mimicking Saudi Arabian cultural practice is one of the defining characteristics of the Indonesian tarbiyah (Islamic education) movement and the more general influence of Saudi Arabian Wahhabism and other forms of Middle Eastern style Salafism that has emerged in Indonesia since the early 1980s. This paper includes a translation of and extended commentary on a short story by Professor Komaruddin Hidayat of Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University in Jakarta that is highly critical of this trend. This is a counter narrative that references two Indonesian national heroes: Kyai Hasyim Asy’ari (1875–1947) one of the founders of Nhadlatul Ulama, the country’s largest Muslim organization and Mohammad Hatta (1902–1980), the first Vice-president. Professor Hidayat uses a short story to make the point that Islamic authenticity need not be based on the emulation of Saudi Arabian cultural practices and that Islam, Indonesian cultures, and nationalism are entirely compatible.
Year: 2017
Primary URL: https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs11562-017-0388-4.pdf
Primary URL Description: link to pdf
Secondary URL: https://link.springer.com/journal/11562
Secondary URL Description: journal home page
Access Model: Subscription
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Contemporary Islam
Publisher: Springer

Tariqah Naqshbandi Bayanullah (TNB): Localization of a Global Sufi Order in Lombok, Indonesia (Article)
Title: Tariqah Naqshbandi Bayanullah (TNB): Localization of a Global Sufi Order in Lombok, Indonesia
Author: Woodward, Mark R.
Abstract: Tariqah Naqshabandi Bayanullah (TNB) is a local branch of the global Naqshabandi order centered in Padamara, East Lombok, Indonesia. It has branches in cities on other Indonesian islands: Surabaya in East Java, and Makassar, Pare Pare, and Gowa in Sulawesi and on Sumbawa. This article focuses on TNB's origins and history, the life story of Syekh Syiril Fakra?, TNB's religious orientation, views of other Islamic groups and non-Islamic religions, and its socio-political orientation. It is based on interviews with the Syekh (Syiril Fakra?, the current leader of the tariqah (Sufi Order), members of his family, and followers from Lombok, Sulawesi and Java; observation of his reception of a group of pilgrims; a religious talk (pengajian) in a village; and on an informal lesson delivered to several of his sons.
Year: 2017
Primary URL: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/review-of-middle-east-studies
Primary URL Description: link to journal home page
Access Model: Subscription
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Review of Middle East Studies
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Quo Vadis FPI Dalam Aksi Bela Islam (Article)
Title: Quo Vadis FPI Dalam Aksi Bela Islam
Author: Nurish, Amanah
Author: Woodward, Mark R.
Abstract: There have been numerous demonstrations described as "Action Supporting Islam." In this article we show that these were what Turner termed multi-vocal symbolic movements. At one level they were directed at Ahok for alledgedly "insulting Islam." At another they are an expression of the emergence of a new conservative coalition of Salafi and traditionalist Muslims based on a shared commitment to Shariah implementation.
Year: 2016
Primary URL: http://maarifinstitute.org/product-category/jurnal/
Primary URL Description: Link to journal home page
Access Model: Subscription Only
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Jurnal Maarif
Publisher: Maarif Institute

Reform: Southeast Asia (Article)
Title: Reform: Southeast Asia
Author: Woodward, Mark R.
Abstract: In Muslim Southeast Asia the concept of reform is the subject of a highly contested discourse. Self-proclaimed reformers include feminists, democratic socialists, Sufi pietists, Salafists and others. While there has long been a consensus among reform-minded scholars and activists that Muslim societies must adapt to the ever-changing conditions of modernity, there is strident disagreement on what a reformed Islam might be. This article explores the history of these debates in South East Asia.
Year: 2016
Primary URL: https://www.cengage.com/search/productOverview.do;jsessionid=EFC697914C0DD8D2A74C46C42F527FEF?N=197+4294886478&Ntk=P_EPI&Ntt=124251449414443707853911363401314527056&Ntx=mode%2Bmatchallpartial
Primary URL Description: link to product page
Access Model: Subscription or Book for Purchase
Format: Other
Periodical Title: ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ISLAM AND THE MUSLIM WORLD, 2ND EDITION
Publisher: Gale, A Cengage Company

Monarchism, National Identity and Social Representations of History in Indonesia: Intersections of the Local and National in Yogyakarta and Surakarta (Article)
Title: Monarchism, National Identity and Social Representations of History in Indonesia: Intersections of the Local and National in Yogyakarta and Surakarta
Author: Isler, Laina
Author: Woodward, Mark R.
Author: Hakim, Moh Abdul
Author: Liu, James H. (corresponding author)
Abstract: In the young state of Indonesia, old local authorities like sultanates have reasserted themselves. This reemergence of localized authority does not necessarily conflict with nation building. Survey research among adult samples (N?=?399) in the neighbouring sultanates of Yogyakarta and Surakarta found that social representations of history were implicated in the relationship between monarchism and national identity. In Yogyakarta (but not Surakarta), a positive intersection between local and national representations of history was found: events and people associated with the sultanate were also regarded as instrumental to the birth of the nation. In Yogyakarta, support for the sultanate was higher than in Surakarta: respondents argued that Yogyakarta had the culture and history required to justify status as a special autonomous region. In Yogyakarta but not Surakarta, monarchism was positively related to national identity and trust in national democratic political institutions. The intersection between local and national representations of history, especially concerning the instrumentality of the local monarchy in giving birth to the nation in Yogyakarta, created historical continuity/positive intersectionality where the superordinate nation and the local monarchy are networked in a system of power and meaning that lends trust in democratic institutions from monarchism, and strengthens national identity.
Year: 2015
Primary URL: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/1467839x
Primary URL Description: link to journal home page
Access Model: Subscription
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Asian Journal of Social Psychology
Publisher: Wiley OnLine Library

On Hate Speech, Dehumanization, Demonization and Violence: The Indonesia Islamic Defenders Front (Article)
Title: On Hate Speech, Dehumanization, Demonization and Violence: The Indonesia Islamic Defenders Front
Author: Woodward, Mark R.
Abstract: Hate speech is a common, but incompletely understood kind of contentious discourse. The term hate speech is most commonly used to describe disparaging remarks about ethnic, racial and religious minorities and LGBT communities. Basically, hate speech applies extremely negative stereotypes to individuals and groups not because of what they do or say, but because of who they are. It contributes to and is used to justify, racism, sectarianism, discrimination, social ostrasization,violence and even genocide. This article explores the ways in which the Islamic Defenders Front of Indonesia uses hate speech to demonize and dehumanize its opponents, setting the stage for violence.
Year: 2014
Primary URL: http://www.projekdialog.com/featured/on-hate-speech-dehumanization-demonization-and-violence-the-indonesia-islamic-defenders-front/#sthash.xpFVYKZN.dpuf
Primary URL Description: direct link to article
Secondary URL: http://www.projekdialog.com
Secondary URL Description: link to publisher homepage
Access Model: Open Access
Format: Newspaper
Periodical Title: Projek Dialogue
Publisher: Project Dialog (Malaysia)

An Achilles Heel for Saudi Wahhabis? (Article)
Title: An Achilles Heel for Saudi Wahhabis?
Author: Woodward, Mark R.
Abstract: This article examines Saudi Arabian claims to have demolished the Tomb of the Prophet in their effort to purify Islam and the responses by various Muslim communities in Indonesian to it.
Year: 2014
Primary URL: http://csc.asu.edu/2014/12/17/an-achilles-heel-for-saudi-wahhabis/
Primary URL Description: direct link to article
Secondary URL: https://csc.asu.edu
Secondary URL Description: link to publisher homepage
Access Model: Open Access
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: COMOPS Journal
Publisher: Arizona State University Center for Strategic Communication

ISIL Influence is Fueling Sectarianism in Indonesia (Article)
Title: ISIL Influence is Fueling Sectarianism in Indonesia
Author: Woodward, Mark R.
Abstract: Iraq and Syria have become magnets for Indonesian jihadists in much the same way that Afghanistan was in the 1990s. Over the past five years support of Salafi jihadi causes has steadily declined. But lately the exploits of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) have injected new energy into the movement. How many Indonesians have joined in the fighting is unclear, but whatever the number, the conflict in the Middle East has given Indonesian jihadists a new cause célèbre and a powerful symbol to use in recruitment efforts. This article focuses on the uses of anti-Shia discourse to promote sectarianism and further Salafi inroads in Indonesia.
Year: 2014
Primary URL: http://csc.asu.edu/2014/08/22/isil-influence-is-fueling-sectarianism-in-indonesia/
Primary URL Description: direct link to article
Secondary URL: https://csc.asu.edu
Secondary URL Description: link to publisher homepage
Access Model: Open Access
Format: Other
Periodical Title: COMOPS Journal
Publisher: Arizona State University Center for Strategic Communication

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