ABSTRACT
The term radical comes from the Latin radix, meaning 'root', used in the sense of 'from the roots up' or 'through'.1 In politics, radical has been used to describe those 'who advocate fundamental or extreme measures to challenge an established order'.z The meaning of radical has been shifting, imprecise, and inflammatory.3 In the late eighteenth century, after the French Revolution, the term radical reformer was used to describe respectable leaders and right wing agendas.4 Since the end of the Cold War and the resurgence of international terrorism, 'radicals' has been used to describe the terrorists. Since many terrorist suspects are Muslims, the term radical tends to be associated with Islam, such as 'radical Muslims', 'Islamic extremism', 'Islamic fundamentalism', or 'radical mosques,.5 After 9111, Robyn Blummer observes, 'the "radical Islamist" has become the bogeyman of academe'. 6 Radical is often synonymous with fanatic, a term that refers to 'the irrationality of religious or political feeling'.7 'For most Americans', said Herbst, 'Muslim radicalism bristles with images of cruel violence'. 8
Irrespective of its shifting, imprecise, and inflammatory use, radicalism has been an important part of Islamic history. Radical Islamism has grown rapidly as the ideology of Islamic intellectual, social, and political movements at local, national, and international levels. Contemporary radical Islamism can be traced back to the works of Abul ai-Ala Mawdudi (d. 1979),9 Sayyid Qutb (d. 1966),10 and Imam Khomeini (d. 1989).11 These radical Islamists claim that 'Islam is for all aspects of social as well as personal life ... that Islam is flexible and that unIslamic "superstitions" must be eliminated,.12 They accept 'the need for absolute ijtihad,13 but they are likely to grant it less scope and they emphasize that it must be done in an authentically Islamic way and not as a covert means of copying the West' .14 Radical Islamists 'tend to accept more of the past ijtihad of the scholars and to emphasize somewhat less the failings of the community in pre-modern times
and somewhat more the distortions caused by Western colonialism'. 15 They strongly emphasize 'the distinctiveness of Islam' and distinguish Islam from 'democracy', 'communism', or 'dictatorship'. They tend to reject modified terms, such as 'Islamic socialism'. 16 For them, 'Islam as a whole is a distinct and integrated system [way of life], so that even if individual elements do not seem distinctive, their place in the Islamic system makes them different'. I7
In order to assure the authenticity and distinctiveness of Islam, radical Islamists avoid being apologetics and emphasize the importance of adopting and implementing the Sharf'ah at individual, community, and state level. 18 For them, Sharf'ah 'is not only an ideal to be known and revered, but a law to be put into effect and obeyed'. 19 For these purposes, some of them adopt a 'gradualist approach' by emphasizing negotiation, cooperation, and persuasion towards Islamic law. Some others, however, prefer to adopt a 'revolutionary' approach to Islamic law. They legitimize violence, terrorism, and repression for the sake of implementing Sharf' ah. 20
Although anti-West and anti-modernity in character, radical Islamists accept and apply some western and modern ideas. As in the name of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Khomeini rejects the word 'democratic' because of its close connection with modernity, but accepts the word 'republic' which is equally close to modernity. Mawdudi describes jihad as a 'revolutionary struggle', and Sayyid Qutb describes Islam as 'a universal proclamation of the liberation of man'. 21 Although emphasizing the importance of following the Islamic way of life adopted by Prophet Muhammad and his companions in seventh century Arabia, radical Islamists accept the idea of 'progress' and insist that Islam is the way to get 'progress'.22 Khomeini describes Islam as a 'progressive' religion and Mawdudi believes that adopting the moral values of Islam will allow Muslims to accelerate the onward march to progress.23 Although strongly emphasizing the importance of preparing for life in the hereafter (akhirah), radical Islamists do not ignore the worldly orientation (dunya) of Muslim life. Their thoughts and activities are characterized by what Weber described as 'inner worldly asceticism'. 24 'They [radical Islamists] are not unconcerned for otherworldly things, and to some extent their emphasis on this-worldly things is a function of the fact that it is mainly in this-worldly sphere that secularism has called Islam into question'. 25
Indonesia has always been a fertile ground for the development of radical Islamism despite the secularization policies adopted by the government and a majority moderate Muslim population. Radical Islamists have played a role in the dynamics of social, religious, and political changes in the country. The rise of reform and democratization movement after the fall of Suharto government in 1998 paved the way for the resurgence of radical Islamism. The reform movement allows radical Islamists to organize their activities, develop their networks, and consolidate their power. One leading figure in the resurgence of radical Islamism in contemporary Indonesia is Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, better known as Ustadz Abu.26
