The State and Religious Violence in Indonesia: Minority Faiths and Vigilantism (Routledge Contemporary Southeast Asia Series)

La p. de garde indique : "This book analyses the response of the Indonesian state to violence against Ahmadiyah and Shi'a minority communities by foregrounding the close connections between state officials and vigilante groups, which influenced the way the post-Soeharto democratic Indonesian governments addressed the problem of violence against religious minorities. Arguing that the violence stemmed in part from the state officials' close connection with vigilante groups, and a general tendency for the authorities to forge mutual and material interests with such groups, the author demonstrates that vigilante groups were able to perpetrate violence against the minority congregations with a significant degree of impunity. While the Indonesian state has become far more democratic, accountable and decentralized since 1998, the violence against Ahmadiyah and Shi'a communities shows a state that is still unwilling in assisting or allowing minority groups to practice their religion. The research undertaken for this book draws upon a lengthy period of ethnographic fieldwork in the communities of West Java and East Java. Research material includes in-depth interviews with community and religious leaders, state officials and security forces, and other prominent politicians. A novel approach to the problem of Islam, violence and the state in Indonesia, the book will be of interest to researchers studying Southeast Asian Politics, Islam and Politics, Conflict Resolution, State and Violence, and Terrorism and Political Violence." Cover Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents List of figures List of maps Acknowledgements Glossary and abbreviations Terminology 1 Introduction Introduction State capacity and the weak state Indonesia is a weak state? The state The Indonesian state and the role of vigilante groups State complicity in communal violence Argumentation, research method, and the organization of this book Notes References 2 Escalating heresy campaigns against Ahmadiyah and Shi’a communities Introduction Sunnism, Shi’ism, and Ahmadiyah teachings Ahmadiyah village in Manislor Anti-Ahmadiyahviolence in Manislor The Shi’a of Sampang Violence against Shi’a communities Conclusion: comparing and analysing the violence in the Ahmadiyah and Shi’a communities Notes References 3 State officials’ entanglement with vigilante groups Introduction Security officials’ entanglement with vigilante groups in Kuningan regency The state officials and the role of kiais in Sampang vigilantism Vigilantism and the question of state authority Conclusion Notes References 4 The judiciary and the law Introduction Legal ambiguity and state practice The constitution, Pancasila, minority rights, and state practice Legal ambiguity and violence against Ahmadiyah Legal ambiguity and violence against Shi’a Legal ambiguities and state strategies Conclusion Notes References 5 Local bureaucrats Introduction Indonesian bureaucracy practices and human rights Kuningan regency’s bureaucracy practice Sampang regency’s bureaucracy practice Bureaucracy’s role in Bakorpakem Democracy infrastructure and minority rights Conclusion: bureaucracy capacity and human rights Notes References 6 The president Introduction The president’s declining power in the post-New Order era Cultural values: the preservation of a majoritarian social order Belief in One God President Joko Widodo’s administration Conclusion Notes References 7 Conclusion: state capacity and communal violence against minority faiths Introduction Key findings of this book Lessons learned from the (in)capacity of the state to address violence Future research Conclusion References Index "This book analyses the response of the Indonesian state to violence against Ahmadiyah and Shi'a minority communities by foregrounding the close connections between state officials and vigilante groups, which influenced the way the post-Soeharto democratic Indonesian governments addressed the problem of violence against religious minorities. Arguing that the violence stemmed in part from the state officials' close connection with vigilante groups, and a general tendency for the authorities to forge mutual and material interests with such groups, the author demonstrates that vigilante groups were able to perpetrate violence against the minority congregations with a significant degree of impunity. While the Indonesian state has become far more democratic, accountable and decentralized since 1998, the violence against Ahmadiyah and Shi'a communities shows a state that is still unwilling in assisting or allowing minority groups to practice their religion. The research undertaken for this book draws upon a lengthy period of ethnographic fieldwork in the communities of West Java and East Java. Research material includes in-depth interviews with community and religious leaders, state officials and security forces, and other prominent politicians. A novel approach to the problem of Islam, violence and the state in Indonesia, the book will be of interest to researchers studying Southeast Asian Politics, Islam and Politics, Conflict Resolution, State and Violence, and Terrorism and Political Violence"-- Provided by publisher