ABSTRACT

On August 2007, an estimated 80,000 to 90,000 people gathered in the Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia to call for the re-establishment of the caliphate. Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI), a chapter of the transnational movement Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT), whose key aim is the revival of the caliphate, organized the event. In a theatrical performance during the event, two groups of Indonesian Muslim boys ran into the stadium. One group carried flags of Islamic countries, while the other carried flags of ‘oppressor states’ (United States, Britain, France and Israel). The boys carrying the flags of the oppressor states started attacking the boys carrying the flags of Muslim countries. In a dramatic turn of events, a different group of boys carrying the black-and-white flags, bearing the Muslim proclamation “There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his Messenger” (the flag of HT) drove the boys carrying the flags of the oppressor states out of the stadium. The performance sought to convey that Muslims are currently being oppressed by villainous Western imperialist powers and that it is only with the re-establishment of the caliphate that the Muslim world will be free. HT members are thus seen to be heroes who are out to emancipate the Muslim world. The message that the caliphate is a necessity for the Muslim world was repeated by most of the speakers invited to the event, including Mahmud Atchay, a leader of HT in the United Kingdom. While the revival of the caliphate has been a call made by many Islamic thinkers and reformers since its abolishment in 1924, HT and HTI have taken this concept to a new level by making it an obligation for all Muslims. Evidence from several surveys indicates that few Indonesians aspire to the establishment of an Islamic state and even fewer believe in the revival of the caliphate. This is but one of the reasons that makes HTI a paradox and an interesting case study.