ABSTRACT
Between the Islamist political parties, which for now remain committed to the existing political-legal system, and radical terrorists such as Jemaah Islamiyah lies an eclectic category of Islamist groups that have “limited” political goals, and which range from student action groups and criminal gangs to organized militias such as Laskar Jihad. These sub-state actors have a long history in Indonesian politics. Kevin O’Rourke notes that groups have acted as “assistants” to the government doing “regime maintenance” chores.1 The difference is that in the post-Suharto period, many of these new actors are Islamic in nature, and have some commitment to creating an Islamic state and antipathy toward democracy. This chapter will focus on groups that, by and large, believe Indonesia should
be governed by Islamic law and that democracy may be anathema to their goals, but are not yet ready to engage in extra-constitutional means to bring about social and economic change. These groups range from those that are unwilling to use violence to those that will use violence for a limited and defined political outcome. These groups are not homogenous, often differing from one another in their goals, the sophistication and articulation of their vision of an Islamic state, and the degree to which they will resort to violence. This chapter will look at what these groups have in common, how they differ, how they use religion to justify their actions, and most importantly, what they are trying to achieve. It will also examine their connections to Islamist political parties and JI. These groups exist, in large part, because of the weakness of the Indonesian state as well as the lack of political will to crack down on such groups, even when they perpetrate mass violence. One question worth noting from the outset is whether these groups are even
truly Islamist organizations, or whether they combine militant Islam with nationalism in order to justify their actions. One Islamist group, the FPI, received criticism that “it was little more than a band of criminal extortionists in religious garb.”2 Nonetheless, these groups form an essential part of the spectrum of radical Islam in Indonesia, and in some ways serve as a nexus between Islamist political parties and terrorist groups such as JI. Ultimately, they share some of the same goals, if not the means.
