Homogenizing Indonesian Islam: Persecution of the Shia group in Yogyakarta

Given the pluralism and dynamism of Indonesian Islam, one can perhaps argue that there are at least two opposing movements which are often involved in public battles

in the aftermath of Soeharto’s fall, marking the reform era (Makin 2016a; Makin 2015b; Makin 2009). The first movement seeks to understand the pluralistic character of Islam contextualized in Indonesian society. This understanding can be seen in the works of many Muslim intellectuals (Kersten 2009), such as Nurcholish Madjid (Kull 2005), Abdurrachman Wahid (Wahid 2006; Barton 1999), and Harun Nasution (Nasution 1989; Ishak 2010). They sought to formulate a unique Indonesian Islamic identity that incorporates the plural cultures and traditions of the Indonesian archipelago, which are diﬀerent from the practices of Islam found in other Muslim countries. For Wahid, the practices and manifestations of Islam in Indonesian culture never showed only one form or school, but rather they revealed the many faces of Islam practiced diﬀerently according to local contexts. In Indonesia, the movement of pluralization, which also competed with the movement of orthodoxy and conservatism, coincided with the New Order’s political strategy to curb Islamist sentiment suspected to threaten the integrity of the state. The movement of pluralizing Islam was therefore supported by the New Order. What is more, many elite intellectuals, such as Mukti Ali (Munhanif 1996; Makin 2012) and Munawir Sjadzali, entered government and were entrusted with high bureaucratic positions (Makin 2012). Others, such as Harun Nasution (Nasution 1995; Nasution 1982; Nasution 1989), Amin Abdullah (Abdullah 1996), Azyumardi Azra (Azra 2006), Djohan Eﬀendy, Dawam Rahardjo, and others developed pluralist intellectual thought on campuses and in NGOs (Makin 2016a, 137–141; Kersten 2009).

The second movement is composed of conservative and radical groups that try to ‘homogenize’ Islam and establish a Sunni orthodoxy (Bruinessen 2013; Makin 2016a). The homogenizing movement, like its pluralist counterparts, is never monolithic, but it consists of many groups with diﬀerent agendas, goals, and schools of thoughts. However, all of these share a common aim of establishing Islamic orthodox authority by which to condemn those who show a diﬀerent interpretation of Islam from theirs.1 Conservatives and radicals are, in fact, a minority in number, but their voice is louder particularly during the reformasi era. This movement, however, was suppressed by the New Order. To briefly touch upon the history of Indonesia in the period, President Soeharto simplified Islamic political parties into a single Development Unity Party (PPP) (Ropi 2008, 80). Islamic authority was channeled oﬃcially through the Ministry of Religious Aﬀairs and the MUI under government control (Bruinessen 2013; Woodward M et al. 2014; Schafer S 2015). Whereas the Ministry was dominated by pluralist Muslim intellectuals, the MUI often demonstrated conservative ideology with the goal of homogenizing Islam in order to establish the authority of Islamic orthodoxy under the council’s flag. It can be said, however, that during the New Order period, the intellectual movement of pluralization prevailed due to, among other things, the political support of the regime (Nasir 2014, 12; Hefner 2000; Assyaukanie 2009; Barton 1999).

However, after Soeharto’s fall, in a freer public domain and amidst the euphoria of democratization, some conservative groups seized their opportunity. Conservatism and orthodoxy surged in both Indonesian politics and in the public sphere (Bruinessen 2013; Makin 2016a; Makin 2016b; Makin 2015b; Makin 2009). On the other hand, although pluralist thought flourished, New Order government policy still oﬃcially guarded the oﬃcial five religions of Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, Hinduism, and Buddhism, whereas marginal and minority groups—be they outside or within Islam—did not gain the state’s recognition. The government also tended to homogenize the Indonesian Muslim community by recognizing only a single Sunni denomination, whereas minority Islamic groups such as Shia, Ahmadiyah (Burhani 2014), and other groups, had neither oﬃcial recognition nor protection. The minority groups were easily persecuted by radicals and prosecuted in the courts. Indeed, some group leaders were arrested and jailed. For the government, the variety of groups and schools within Islam seemed too complicated, and this was understood as posing problems for the stability of the Islamic community. Rivalry between the pluralist and homogenization movements, however, had roots in the early history of the country. In the post-Suharto reform era (1998-), in the battle between the two factions and through the authority of the MUI, conservatives and radicals have branded their rivals as deviants, liberals, and apostates (Woodward M et al. 2014; Makin 2016a; Sodik 2015; Hasyim 2011).

This article shows one of the cases in which the homogenizing movement showed force in public by persecuting a Shia group in Yogyakarta. This article argues that this case should not be treated as an isolated incident, but it should be viewed as a part of the broader trends of the homogenizing movement in the country. However, new actors, the FJI and MIUMI, took major roles in this anti-Shia campaign. This article seeks to contribute to the discussion of anti-Shia sentiment by relating the local case in Yogyakarta to the grand scheme of the homogenizing movement at the national level. To do this, the paper will discuss in turn: anti-Shia sentiment in Indonesia, narrating the incident from the victims’ point of view, the roles of the FJI and MIUMI in the persecution, and the position and attitude of the MUI and those of the local authorities.

Anti-Shia Sentiment

In the history of Islamic theology, the major division between Sunni and Shia emerged in the seventh and eighth centuries, mainly due to political conflict following the death of the Prophet Muhammad over the succession of his leadership. But in Indonesia, the division between the two Islamic schools was blurred in the early period of the penetration of Islam into the archipelago. The practices of both schools intermingled with various local traditions, as Islam in the archipelago consisted of mixed teachings and practices of Shia and Sunni, particularly on Sumatra, Java, and Sulawesi. Although traditionally associated with Shi’ism, the celebration of ‘Āshūrā’ on the 10th of Muharram to commemorate the martyrdom of Husain, a son of Ali and grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, can still be found in various places in Indonesia (Formichi 2014b; Zulkifli 2013; Feener 1999; Alatas 1999; Hasim 2012). Given this, the identity of Shia, particularly vis-à-vis that of the Sunni majority, in the history of the archipelago was rather fluid (Formichi 2014a). It can also be said that the identity formation of both Shia and Sunni groups in Indonesia, and thus clear diﬀerentiation between the two in public, only began during the late New Order and reform periods. Prior to this period, the Shia mingled with the Sunni majority, and their appearance, which was not significantly diﬀerent from that of Sunni Muslims, was barely noticed (Jones 1980). What is more, the largest Muslim organization, NU, claimed to contain Shia elements in their religiosity and piety,

The members of the organization highly venerated the Prophet Muhammad and his family, including his son-in-law, Ali b. Abi Talib. For many NU leaders, the differences between Sunni and Shia should not be exaggerated (Siradj 2013). Muhammadiyah also shows a rather lenient attitude toward Shi’ism. Of the leaders of the organization, Amien Rais was sympathetic toward the Iranian revolution and its intellectuals (Zulkifli 2013). However, lately, some younger-generation Muhammadiyah figures have exhibited a stern attitude towards the minority. Nonetheless, by the end of the New Order and reform periods, the role of Shia in public began to receive attention from the Sunni majority, particularly after the Iranian revolution, whose impact upon both the growth of Shia adherents, groups, and activities and orthodox Sunni responses to them began to emerge in the public arena (Marcinkowski 2008). The literature on Shi’ism, not limited to the works translated from Iranian writers but also the works penned by Indonesians, increased. This served as an impulse for the growth of Shia’sympathizers’ who read Shia works for the purpose of intellectual endeavors and for the development of Shia religious practices. What is more, some Indonesians have started to embrace Shia theology and fiqh (Islamic law). In fact, during the New Order period some pesantren and yayasan (foundations) with Shia aﬃliations were established across Java. Many young Indonesian Muslims also went to Qum, Iran, to further their knowledge of Shi’ism (Zulkifli 2009a), and Shia centers were also built in Indonesia. In short, Shia intellectuals became more prominent. In this critical period, Shia adherents and sympathizers realized their minority status among the Indonesian Sunni majority and began to search for a clearer identity, whereas Sunni conservatives and radicals became increasingly alarmed at the Shia’s increasing role in the public domain. The warning about the danger posed by the Shia towards the Sunni delivered by the Indonesian Council for Islamic Preaching (Dewan Dakwah Islamiyah Indonesia/DDII) influenced the MUI to discredit the minority. As a result, the MUI issued a fatwa on the danger of the Shia for the Sunni majority (Latief 2008).

Indeed, the DDI was incredibly influential and vocal in expressing anti-Shia sentiment in Indonesia. According to Zulkifli, the DDI, founded by the former leader Masyumi M. Natsir (1908-1993) in 1967, had genealogical links to Persis (founded in 1923) which spread anti-Shia sentiment towards the end of the Dutch colonial period.

Natsir was a student of A. Hassan (1887-1958), a Persis leader (Zulkifli 2013). Indeed, since its establishment Persis had the vital mission of purification of Islam. It is not surprising that the DDI inherited the Persis ideology, due to which during the New Order and reform periods the DDI served as a pulpit for conservative Muslim activists to voice their ideology of homogenization (Makin 2009; Makin 2015b). In addition, the DDI had links to Wahhabism in Saudi Arabia through the Rabitah Alam Islami (Muslim World League), an international organization through which Arab Wahhabism marked with anti-Shia feeling has been promoted throughout the world. It is important to note that Natsir was an activist of the League.

On the other hand, the two largest organizations, NU and Muhammadiyah, do not show a monolithic attitude toward Shia. Within each of these organizations there are diﬀerences in political attitude and ideology. NU, for example, exhibits at least two diﬀerent faces: Abdurrachman Wahid’s liberal and pluralist attitude, and those of conservative leaders such as Ma’ruf Amin who also served as the MUI’s chairman. Likewise, Muhammadiyah is the home to both Amin Rais, who showed sympathy to Shia, and Yunahar Ilyas, who has not (discussed below).

In the discourse of the anti-Shia movement, the diﬀerences between Sunni and Shia are stressed. The MUI’s tawṣiyah (religious advice) on Shia in 1984 highlights the diﬀerences between the two on the matters of leadership and succession in the aftermath of the death of the Prophet (Shi’ism rejects the classical caliphates of Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman); in the criteria of accepting the hadiths as a source of Islamic jurisprudence (the Shia reject prophetic traditions not from their own group); in ijmā‘ (Muslim scholars’ consensus); and the doctrine of the infallibility of imām (aiming at establishing its own leadership in Indonesia) (Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI) 2011, 46–47). In 1996, the issue of contract marriage (mut‘ah) was also raised in the council. During the New Order period anti-Shia propaganda was limited to meeting rooms and books (Formichi 2014b; Zulkifli 2013; Zulkifli 2009b), while in the reform period this was transformed into action by radical Sunni groups which attacked or intimidated their Shia counterparts (Formichi 2014b; Hasim 2012).

It is true that the movement of homogenization of Islam can be traced back to the New Order or earlier in the spirit of purification.

Sunni orthodoxy and radicalization, which since the 1980s have contributed to diminishing the uniquely syncretic practices of Islam in Indonesia (Ricklefs 2012; Hefner 2000),. Furthermore, after the fall of Soeharto’s New Order regime in 1998, a period marked by robust growth of radicalized groups ensued in which the homogenization movement gained momentum (Bruinessen 2013; Hefner 2010; Makin 2009; Makin 2015b). Radical groups emerged and terrorized the public into propagating their ideology and standard of morality (Makin 2015b). During the reform era, minorities, such as Shia, Ahmadiyah, Christian minorities (Makin 2016b), and local religions, were often attacked by radicals (Makin 2016a). Ironically, whenever radicals attacked certain weak minorities, the police arrested the victims and allowed the perpetrators to walk free. In short, the government tended to criminalize the victims (Hasani and Naipospos 2012).

This article attempts to contribute to the discussion of anti-Shia sentiment in Indonesia in two respects. Firstly, this work reveals the role of the local radical group FJI in Yogyakarta, which was directly responsible for terrorizing victims on the ground. Secondly, this article is the first study to shed light on the conservative think-tank group MIUMI, which propagated anti-Shia sentiment on their websites and sponsored meetings among many conservative and radical groups to consolidate the force. This study thus oﬀers fresh accounts of new actors and factors in the anti-Shia propaganda during the reform period not taken into account in previous research (Feener and Formichi 2015; Formichi 2014b; Formichi 2014a; Zulkifli 2013; Schafer S 2015; Zulkifli 2009a). The next section will focus on the narratives of the attack.

Narrating the Persecution

This study will further delve into the existing studies of the Shia group Rausyan Fikr in Yogyakarta (Takwin et al. 2016, 66–72; Ajuba 2009). My writing focuses on the victims of the 2013 anti-Shia campaign executed by the local radical group FJI and is based mostly on the interviews of the victims. To briefly present the history of the group, the Rausyan Fikr was founded in 1995 (Ajuba 2009, 22) and is currently led by Safwan. The main activities of the group are holding regular discussions, which attracted several students from Gadjah Mada University (UGM) and the State Institute of Islamic Studies (IAIN), which later became the State Islamic University (UIN Sunan Kalijaga). The themes of their discussion were the thoughts of select Iranian thinkers, such as Ali Shariati or Murtadho Muthohari. From the beginning, the Rausyan centered its activities in a rented house on Kaliurang Street in the northern part of Yogyakarta. Students from other towns lived in the house while studying in Yogyakarta, and the house is still used as the Rausyan headquarters. Now, the Rausyan has about 500 members and welcomes new students to join their regular discussions. The current head of the forum, Safwan, joined the Rausyans in 1995. Safwan told me that the group attracts two kinds of members: those who retain Sunni theology but are interested in Shia intellectual ideas, and those who converted to Shia. However, the Rausyan still focuses on intellectual endeavors (Safwan 2014a).

Clearly, the Rausyan was founded during the rise of the intellectual role of Shia in the Indonesian public sphere and the growth of Shia adherents during the New Order (Latief 2008; Zulkifli 2009b). However, the current leader, Safwan, has never been to Qum to study Shia but has learned about Shia from the many Iranian teachers available in Indonesia since 1992. Safwan went to the University of Hasanuddin (UNHAS) in Makassar, Sulawesi, to study oceanography in the same year, though he did not graduate. He then studied communication studies at UGM from 1994 to 1997 and at Diponegoro University (UNDIP) in Semarang, though again he did not complete his studies. Safwan and his family are adherents of Shia. His wife, Andayani, finished her BA at UGM and her Masters’ degree at the School of Social Work at McGill University in Canada. She is currently a lecturer at UIN Sunan Kalijaga. It is important to note that neither of them ever felt they were members of a minority, as they felt integrated into the majority Sunni neighborhood in which they live and in their workplaces.

As occurs every year, on November 14, 2013, the Shia intellectual group held the 10th Muharram sermon, which was attended by 70 people.

The sermon was planned for between 1.30 and 5 p.m. However, two policemen arrived at the Rausyan headquarters, warning that a Muslim group called the FJI lanned to attack the Rausyan. The policemen suggested Safwan make the sermon shorter, which he followed for safety reasons. Indeed, the sermon went ahead but ended early at 3 p.m. (Safwan 2014a; Safwan 2014b; Andayani 2014).

On November 21, a local government intelligence (Kominda) oﬃcer visited the Rausyan, whose leaders were then asked to present themselves at the district oﬃce of police intelligence (Kabid Intel Polda) to clarify the Rausyan’s activities. Surprisingly, to avoid future threats from the FJI, the intelligence police suggested Safwan remove the Rausyan Fikr sign on public display in front of the oﬃce.

Rather than arresting the perpetrators, the police and the local government initiated a meeting between the perpetrators and the victims. On November 25, 2013, a meeting was held in the oﬃce of the Ministry of Religious Aﬀairs of Yogyakarta on Sukonanadi Street, attended by representatives from the Yogyakarta police (Polda), the local prosecutor’s oﬃce (Kejaksaan Tinggi), the Regional Intelligence Board (Badan Intelejen Daerah), the local MUI, the Department of Welfare Development and Social Protection (Kesbanglinmas), the local Ministry of Religious Aﬀairs (Kemenag), NU, the FJI, the Jihadi Council of Indonesia (MMI), the Rausyan Fikr, and the Indonesian Shia Community (Ahlu Bait Indonesia/ABI) (Kementrian Agama, Kantor Wilayah Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta 2013). However, the meeting, intended to promote dialogue between Shia and anti-Shia groups, became a means by which to further intimidate the victims.

The MMI and the FJI forcefully demanded both that the government disband the Rausyan Fikr and that the MUI pronounce an edict on the deviant teachings of the Shia. During the meeting, the two radical organizations shouted obscenities and threatened to kill the representatives of the two Shia organizations: the ABI and Rausyan Fikr (Safwan 2014a).

In the aftermath of the meeting, the FJI continued to pose threats against the targeted group, spreading the following text message through cellphones:

In the name of God, attend and show your real actions and attention to the deviant Shia group. Come to the MUI in Yogyakarta to demand the closure of the Rausyan Fikr. Come on Thursday, December 19, 2013, at 8 o’clock, marching from the mosque of Dipowinatan. Show your courage. Ask your friends to join and spread this news.

Upon receiving the threatening messages (see also Frontjihad Islam or ID 2014c), the Rausyan Fikr reported the case to the police, who, however, asked the victims to minimize their response. On December 19, 25 FJI went to the MUI oﬃce repeating the demand to pronounce the fatwa on the deviance of the teachings of the Shia (Majelis Ulama Indonesia, Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta, 2013).

Prior to the terrorizing, the police visited the Rausyans to warn them (Andayani 2014; see also Safwan 2014b). The news of the first terror attack in mid-November attracted the local media, as the Shia community in Yogyakarta, like other minority groups, had not previously been disturbed. The second terror event at the end of November was more dramatic, as a group of anti-Shia radicals gathered in Kridosono Square after congregational Friday prayers and prepared to march ten kilometers to the Rausyan headquarters on Kaliurang Street. The police once again suggested the Rausyan Fikr stop their activities. Safwan heeded their advice, evacuating his family to a safe place.

Broader National Context: Homogenizing Indonesian Sunni Islam

This article argues that the anti-Shia movement in Yogyakarta should not be seen as a single incident but should be put in the broader context of a national-level movemen in which anti-Shia sentiment was exploited elsewhere in the country during the reform period, such as in Batang, Central Java, in 2000 and 2006, and in Bondowoso and Bangil in East Java in 2007, and through the spread of anti-Shia propaganda in Jember, East Java, in 2012 (Formichi 2014b; Hasim 2012). The tragedy that occurred in Sampang on Madura, in which a Shia group under the leadership of Tajul Muluk was attacked by Sunni neighbors, is another salient illustration. Their houses were burned; they were expelled from their villages and moved to a shelter in Sidoarjo. In response to this tragedy, the MUI in East Java issued a fatwa branding the Shia as deviant. It is also not surprising that an anti-Shia organization, ANNAS, was also founded in Bandung in 2014 (Takwin et al. 2016, 63). Furthermore, this paper also argues that the anti-Shia sentiment in the country was part of a bigger scenario of homogenizing Sunni Islam in Indonesia, in which many Islamic minorities, such as Ahmadiyah groups in many provinces in Indonesia, were attacked by radicals and branded as deviant by the MUI (Formichi 2014b; Burhani 2014; Makin 2016a; Sodik 2015; Schafer S 2015). In short, the radical and conservative groups attempted to homogenize Sunni Indonesian Islam, by which they tried to ‘annihilate’ those who are considered ‘deviant’ (Makin 2016a, 11). The Shia are one of the targeted groups.

As mentioned earlier, anti-Shia sentiment was nurtured by the DDI and the MUI since the New Order period (Formichi 2014b) and gained momentum in the reform era in both the political and public domains, so much so that the sentiment often became a political tool for Islamist politicians to attract sympathy from conservative groups. For example, Suryadharma Ali, the Minister of Religious Aﬀairs from the Islamist Unity and Development Party (PPP), publicly denounced Shia victims in Sampang by branding them as ‘deviant’ and thereby justifying the attack (Badudu 2013). Thus, during the reform era, the ‘homogenization’ movement has penetrated the political domain, whereas during the New Order the regime maintained distance between Islam and politics.

One of the contributions of this paper in the discussion of discriminating minorities in Indonesia is in revealing the roles of new conservative activists—such as Hamid Fahmy Zarkasyi, Bachtiar Nasir, Syamsuddin Arif, Adian Husaini, and Adnin Armas2, who founded the MIUMI—in propagating the anti-Shia feeling. Most of these activists had links to Malaysian universities and the modern Islamic boarding school in Gontor, East Java. Some MIUMI activists are also activists of the INSISTS and Hidayatullah.com, a conservative website dedicated to fighting liberalism, pluralism, and westernization.3 Other Muhammadiyah activists such as Syamsul Hidayat, Fahmi Salim, and Adian Husaini also joined the MIUMI, which also recruited other Islamic conservative organizations such as DDI, Al-Irsyad, and Wahdah Islamiyah (Ilyas 2014). At the national level, these Islamist activists played a vital role in nurturing public sentiment (Kadir 2013; Hasib 2013; Hasib 2014) and establishing relations with Islamist political parties and radical organizations (Miumipusat.org 2013b). In relation to the Islamist political parties, Bachtiar Nasir, for instance, had a close relationship with Hasyim Ning (from the PPP), who hosted a meeting of several Islamic political parties prior to the 2014 presidential election (Safwan 2014a). In its relationships with radical groups, MIUMI consolidated a meeting with the MMI on anti-Shia sentiment prior to the attack on the Rausyan (explained below). In addition, the MIUMI claimed to support the activities of the MUI in guarding the faith of the ‘ummah (Muslim community). However, the MIUMI seems dissatisfied with the MUI’s moderate attitude and demands a more conservative ideology in the council.4 On the other hand, current MIUMI activists have links to

the previous anti-Shia movement in Indonesia, such as with LDII/DDI, Hidayatullah.com, and other conservative groups. From their online postings shared through social networks, we can see that these Islamist activists are Muslim intellectuals who harbor an anti-moderate stance that opposes westernization, anti-secularization, pluralism, and feminism. On various occasions, these conservatives have attacked progressive Muslim intellectuals (Humas Miumi 2014; Zarkasyi 2014; Miumipusat.org 2013a; Hadi 2014; Makin 2009; Makin 2015b).

Local Perpetrators: The FJI

This study further elaborates on a previous NGO report of the local radical group FJI in Yogyakarta, which was responsible for terrorizing the victims in Rausyan Fikr (Takwin et al. 2016). From the FJI’s websites and newspapers covering their activities, we can learn about the group.

The FJI was founded in 2011, and their base was located at 43 Bibis Street, Padokan Lor Tirtomolo, Kasihan, Bantul, Yogyakarta. Its website, www.frontjihadislam.or.id, explains that the FJI’s mission is to support the establishment of sharia (taṭbīq sharī‘ah) and to build an awareness of Islam kāﬀah (totality in embracing Islam) in Indonesian society (DPP, Front Jihad Islam 2013). The FJI’s agenda to implement sharia covers not only Front members but the whole Indonesian society. Like the FPI (Islamic Defenders Front) based in Jakarta under the leadership of Rizieq Shihab (Jahroni 2008; Jamhari 2003, 10; Woodward M et al. 2014), the FJI in Yogyakarta also promotes the principle of amar makruf nahi mungkar (promoting good and prohibiting evil) with ‘stern’ (tegas) means. Many letters and public statements released by the FJI were signed by Wahyu Abdullah and Abu Muhammad who serve as its chairman and general secretary respectively. However, the two names seem to be pseudonyms, as in many public gatherings persons with these names were not in attendance. Instead, Abu Jibril (a prominent leader of the MMI/Majelis Mujahidin Indonesia, who was once arrested in Indonesia on a terrorism charge and who often appears on the VOI/Voice of Islam and Arrahmah.com websites) and Irfan Awwas (another leader of the MMI) came into the public realm. On other occasions, Abdurrahman and Harris Damawan were also mentioned as the FJI’s leaders. It seems that the FJI is part of the MMI, a fact verified by Muhsin (secretary of the Yogyakarta MUI who will be discussed below) (Kamaludiningrat 2014).

The FJI’s activities, like those of the FPI (Jahroni 2008), focused on fighting ‘un-Islamic’ behaviors and promoting public piety. In the name of eradicating sinful deeds (ma’ṣīyah), the FJI conducted raids on stores selling alcoholic beverages. For instance, in Kulonprogo, the FJI sent three members to investigate two karaoke premises that were suspected of selling alcohol. The FJI then forced them to shut down (Frontjihadislam.or.id 2014a; Frontjihadislam.or.id 2014b). Another attempt to promote public piety and prevent sinful deeds in public took place in September 2013, when the FJI protested against the Miss Universe contest in Bali, which it argued exhibits or displays the nakedness of women (Khalifah 2013a), and which, in the eyes of the FJI, promoted nothing but sinful deeds. On another occasion, the FJI called for war against the pecalangs (traditional Balinese village security), which were the main supporters of the Miss Universe contest (Khalifah 2013b).

The FJI also targeted a Christian group in Gunung Kidul, Yogyakarta (Takwin et al., 2016). A priest called Sujarno, leader of a church in Girisubo, was threatened and asked to stop the plan to celebrate Easter at the end of March 2014. A rumor was spread that the church had no legal permit (Frontjihadislam.or.id 2014d; Frontjihadislam.or.id 2014e; Frontjihadislam.or.id 2014f). Additionally, another rumor spread that the Easter ceremony was intended to convert Muslims to Christianity. Not only did the FJI recruit supporters to protest the plan, but the Front also asked people to sign a petition rejecting the Easter celebration. The police sided with the FJI and suggested the church cancel the planned celebration. Despite this, the Easter mass was celebrated modestly in another church. After the FJI’s success in cancelling the Easter celebration, it then pursued the issue that the church had no government permit and demanded the church be closed. The church was closed down. Furthermore, the FJI also attacked Aminuddin Aziz, an activist of Lintas Iman, an NGO that promotes inter-religious dialogue and who helped the victims of Girisubo Church (Frontjihadislam.or.id 2014d).

Although the FJI and the FPI share the same mission of establishing Islamic morality in public, the two are in competition in Yogyakarta, so much so that conflicts between them are unavoidable (Vivanews 2012b; Vivanews 2012a). In Yogyakarta, the FJI prevailed and was dominant in propagating anti-Shia sentiment. The FJI distributed brochures and posted billboards with anti-Shia content, for example, stating that Shia is not part of Islam (Frontjihadislam.or.id 2014c). Another public anti-Shia campaign waged by the FJI involved the circulation of a video on nikah mut‘ah (contract marriage), which, for the FJI, is a form of prostitution. The FJI also sent letters to various Islamic organizations about the danger of spreading Shia with clandestine support from the Islamic Republic of Iran. The FJI also recalled the MUI’s 1984 edict about Shia rafiḍah, a sect of Shia that truly deviates from Sunni Islam (Front Jihad Islam 2014b). The radical groups also spread rumors that Shias are agents of Israel and friends of the Jews. They also said that Shia followers are not honest, as they practice the doctrine of taqīyah, hiding their faith and religious teachings among the Sunni majority (Front Jihad Islam 2014b; Frontjihadislam.or.id 2014c). The FJI also warned some Islamic organizations to beware of the Shia’s intention to turn some places into Shia centers. Finally, the FJI sent a letter to the Iranian embassy in Jakarta asking them to stop spreading Shia (Front Jihad Islam 2014a). Sending letters, publicly campaigning, distributing brochures, and posting billboards were not suﬃcient for the FJI, who then put their anti-Shia sentiment into action. In doing so, 30 members of the group halted an Islamic sermon held on May 18, 2014, in Kasihan, Bantul, because the sermon was attended by Omar Shihab, a preacher and member of the MUI Jakarta, whom the FJI accused of being a Shia adherent. Again, the Bantul police sided with the perpetrators, forcing the sermon to halt and the committee to make a public apology for their indiﬀerence in choosing a preacher with Shia aﬃliation (Frontjihadislam.or.id 2014g).

According to Kamaludiningrat (2014), the FJI is the youth wing of the MMI, whose leaders met with those of the MIUMI on June 11, 2013, in order to consolidate their common anti-Shia feeling before launching the threat to attack the Rausyan. The meeting between the MMI leaders, Muhammad Thalib (the Amir/MMI President), Abu Jibril and Irfan S. Awwas (members of the Lajnah Tanfidziyah, or executive board), Muhammad Syawal (the commander in the field) and those of the MIUMI (Bachtiar Nasir, the Secretary-General) and Fahmi Salim (the Vice Secretary-General) took place at the MIUMI’s oﬃce in Tebet, Jakarta. Both organizations agreed that their most urgent agenda was to fight the Shia. The MIUMI focused their fight on “Shia, liberalism, and secularism, by rejecting the spread of Shia and the Miss World

contest in Bali.” In the forum, Abu Jibril also branded Shias as infidels.

They hoped that together, MIUMI and the MMI could work hand-in-hand to eradicate Shia in Indonesia, a jihad that should be performed by both intellectuals and warriors. These Islamist leaders also realized that the two organizations are diﬀerent in nature: the MIUMI has intellectual endeavors, whereas the FJI stresses a real ‘jihad’ in society. Despite this, there was consensus that the two should join forces to eradicate the ‘enemy’ (Desastian 2013).

The next sections will further clarify the roles of the conservative think tank MIUMI in spreading anti-Shia propaganda and those of the FJI, which was responsible for carrying out the persecution.

The New Conservativeink Tank Miumi

The new think tank conservative group MIUMI, which carries on the DDI’s anti-Shia work, has not attracted scholarly attention yet. However, its role in the attempt at homogenizing Indonesian Sunni Islam is clear, particularly in propagating the supposedly deviant status of minorities (Takwin et al. 2016). We can also learn about this group from its website, where the writings of its activists are published. On the MIUMI’s website, www.miumipusat.org/wp, the group explains that the organization is mainly concerned with the weak Muslim leadership in Indonesia (Miumipusat.org 2013b). Like the FPI, FJI, and MMI, the MIUMI also publicizes amar makruf nahi mungkar as its slogan in the struggle for public order and piety. The MIUMI also focuses on the moral decadence of Indonesian Muslims. Unlike the abovementioned radical groups, which use force and intimidation to establish public piety, the MIUMI urges Muslims to perform intellectual endeavors, such as engaging in research, to improve the level of education of the ‘ummah. In this regard, the MIUMI harbors a better vision than the mere practical and pragmatic orientation of other radical groups, as the MIUMI tries to encourage leadership with Islamic values, through which the institution should be a place where activists and ulama build solidarity in the struggle to promote Islamic values (Miumipusat.org 2013a; Muttaqin 2014).

One may say that the MIUMI is the elite wing of conservative and radical groups in Indonesia. Whereas the radicals act mainly at the street level, the MIUMI uses reasoned arguments to justify what the FPI, FJI, and MMI have done. Ideologically, the MIUMI offers nothing different from the other radical groups, but the MIUMI’s methods and means are different from theirs. On its oﬃcial website, the MIUMI’s declaration is written in three languages: Arabic, (poor) English, and Bahasa Indonesia. One important point in the declaration states that the MIUMI is concerned with the “crisis in ‘aqīdah (faith) and akhlāq (morality), lack of knowledge, confusion in thinking, and weak leadership” in the Muslim community. Like the FPI, FJI, and MMI, the MIUMI is anxious about the “strong wind of liberalization and deviant religious teachings which have threatened the ‘aqīdah and unity of the ummah”. Thus, the MIUMI’s mission to “strengthen the ‘aqīdah and knowledge to establish the unity among the ‘ummah” (Miumipusat.org 2013a).

However, in response to several cases, the MIUMI’s stance is no diﬀerent from that of the FJI. In Aceh, for instance, the MIUMI defends the implementation of sharia and has attacked those whom they consider to be the enemies of sharia (Hadi 2014). Further, the MIUMI has opposed feminism and the recent campaign for gender equity (Zarkasyi 2014b; Humas miumi 2014). Like the FPI, FJI, and MMI, the MIUMI also suspects that non-Muslims want to destroy Islam in Indonesia (Miumipusat.org 2013c). The MIUMI also protested the policy of gender equity in 2012 before the House of Representatives arguing that gender equity is part of liberalization, humanism, pluralism, materialism, and secularism which should all be rejected. In a meeting on September 29, 2014, led by Hamid Fahmy Zarkasyi (chairman), Bachtiar Nasir, Farid Okbah, Adian Husaini, Syamsuddin Arif, and Adnin Armas, the conservative position of women in the family was defended according to their interpretation of Islam (Humas MIUMI 2014). On another occasion, MIUMI chairman, Zarkasyi demonized the concept of postmodernism which in his view means rejecting all values and definitions, including sex and gender (Zarkasyi 2014b).

All in all, the anti-Shia campaign became the main agenda of the MIUMI in 2013 and 2014. To begin with, the council supported the MUI’s East Java fatwa on Shia (MIUMI 2012). The council’s website also published many papers and several news items about the way in which the Shia have deviated from true (Sunni) Islam. For instance, the writing of Kholili Hasib (a board member of the MIUMI for East Java) drew attention to the misleading ritual of the Shia excessively honoring Husain. Hasib described how the morning ritual of ‘Āshūrā’, which is mixed with Persian beliefs and consists of beating the body, has deviated from true Islam (Hasib 2014). Ilham Kadir, an activist from the Central Institute of Islamic Studies (Lembaga Pusat Pengkajian Islam/LPPI), also wrote an article on the MIUMI’s website. In the article, Kadir denied the role of Shia in bringing Islam to the Indonesian archipelago. But Kadir wrote apologetically that Islam came to Indonesia from Saudi Arabia in the seventh century, directly under the knowledge and by order of the Prophet and his companion Muadh bin Jabal. In the article, Kadir’s aim is to show that Islam in Indonesia is a genuine product of seventh-century Islam and comes directly from the Prophet Muhammad (Kadir 2013). Kholili Hasib also wrote another article examining the way in which the Shia have become deviant. The teachings of Shia, for Hasib, are misleading in assuming that Ali b. Abi Talib is the sole inheritor of the Prophet’s political power in Medina and that they condemn and insult other companions of the Prophet (Hasib 2014). Hasib wrote another article about the clandestine spread of Shia teachings in Indonesia through two primary means: ukhūwah (brotherhood and solidarity among Muslims) and taqīyah (hiding faith). He also reports on the Shia founding many organizations, chief among which are ABI (Ahlu Bait Indonesia) and IJABI (Ikatan Jamaah Ahlul Bait Indonesia/The Indonesian Association of the Family of the Prophet) (Hasib 2013).

The Role of the MUI

Serving as a bridge connecting the government’s legitimacy to rule and the Muslim community’s interests since the New Order, MUI has undergone various transformations and contestations inside the body. However, after the reform period, the conservative tone has prevailed (Ichwan 2013). In the case of Rausyan Fikr, one cannot ignore the role of the MUI’s conservative wing in nurturing anti-Shia sentiment. To begin with, in 1984, the central MUI released the tawṣīyah warning about the danger of the Shia (Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI) 2011, 46–47; Formichi 2014b). The deviant status of Shia is mentioned in the fatwa issued in 2012 by the East Java MUI. The East Java MUI also went further to say that the Shia doubt the authenticity of the Qur’an, allow contract marriage (mut‘ah) and bloodshed of the Sunni Muslims, insult the Prophet’s wife Aishah, and believe that the Shia people were created by God from white soil, whereas non-Shias were created from black soil. For these reasons, Shi’ism is considered “sesat dan menyesatkan” (misguided and misguiding). (Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI) Propinsi Jawa Timur 2012). In a similar vein, the central MUI published a book that further elaborates on the dangers of Shi’ism to Sunnis in Indonesia (Tim Penulis MUI Pusat 2014). The book also provides information about the development of Shi’ism in Indonesia and its centers in Jakarta (ICC/Islamic Cultural Center), Pekalongan (Al Hadi Islamic Boarding School), Yogyakarta (about fourteen institutions, one of which is Rausyan Fikr), Pasuruan (Yayasan Pendidikan Islam/Foundation of Islamic Education YAPI), Bandung (IJABI), Makassar, Lombok, Lampung, Aceh, Riau, and Bali. The book presents a list of websites, institutions, foundations, schools, publishers (including the famous Mizan), radio and television stations, and other groups. For the radicals who want to attack the Shia, the book is a useful guide. For the Shia groups, however, the list contained in the book is frightening.

In light of the MIUMI’s recent anti-Shia propaganda and the MUI’s 1984 fatwa, the recent threat to attack the Rausyan in Yogyakarta is not surprising. Both the MUIMI publication and the MUI fatwa are clearly useful as theological justifications for the terror. Whereas radical groups such as the FJI were responsible for the execution of the terror, both the MIUMI and the MUI are responsible for laying the foundational ideology for the homogenization of Indonesian Sunni Islam.

For the writing of this paper, I also interviewed three leaders of the MUI Yogyakarta. Their views on the spread of anti-Shia sentiment demonstrate conservatism and thus support the grand scenario of homogenizing Islam in the country. M. Thoha Abdurrahman, chairman of the MUI Yogyakarta since 2001 (Abdurrahman 2014), believes that Shi’ism is indeed deviant, recalling the arguments in the MUI fatwa. However, he disagrees with the FJI’s plan to threaten the Shia with violence. Thoha’s attitude is thus ambiguous. All the same, he tried to serve as a mediator between the two factions. He also claimed to have communicated with the two, with both visiting his house for consultation.

Thoha explained that the FJI is a new radical group, consisting of both MMI and FPI members. He also said that the MUI Yogyakarta has accommodated the MII and FPI but not the FJI on its board.

Thoha proudly said that Habib Rizieq, the top leader in Jakarta, is also often called Thoha. A communicative person, Thoha has held talks with all factions within Islam; he used to communicate with Abu Bakr Baasyir, currently imprisoned on terrorism charges on the island of Nusa Kambangan.

Thoha had also heard that the Indonesian Shia were waging an anti- Qur’an campaign, claiming that the Muslim scripture is an inauthentic document. However, when Thoha met with the Shia group on the issue he concluded that this suspicion was unfounded. As he tries to maintain a position of neutrality between the two factions, Thoha’s position is often diﬃcult. During the reconciliation meeting at the local oﬃce of the Ministry of Religious Aﬀairs in Yogyakarta, the FJI threatened to burn the oﬃce. During the meeting, the FJI aggressively attacked the Shia with harsh and vulgar words. The FJI was indeed offensive, an attitude that, for Thoha, is wrong.

Thoha tried to convince me that the MUI always tried to mediate between the two factions and to ease the tension. However, on December 12, 2013, the council released a letter which clearly sided with the FJI, further cornering the Shia. The letter says that many Shia groups in Indonesia have created disorder in society, such as in Bangil, Jember, and Sampang. The letter also underscores that the Shia is truly a deviant group. Not only does the letter call upon the government and police to monitor the Shia, it also summons the authority to prosecute the Shia based on the 1965 blasphemy law (Majelis Ulama Indonesia, Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta 2013; Front Jihad Islam 2013). Given this, it is reasonable to conclude that the letter posted on the FJI website serves as justification for the radical group to further terrorize the minority.

Upon hearing that several FJI members planned to attack the Shia group on Kaliurang Street, Muhsin Kamaludiningrat,6 currently the secretary of the MUI Yogyakarta, contacted the police and Syukri Fadholi,7 a politician who controlled many conservative groups with links to the PPP (Kamaludiningrat 2014). Muhsin also followed the development of the case, particularly when the FJI, the MUI, the police, the MMI, and the local Religious Aﬀairs oﬃce, planned a meeting. On this occasion, Muhsin reminded the FJI not to harm the Shia group, but to call upon them to use their wisdom and return to the true Islam. Muhsin, like Thoha, highlighted the misleading teachings of the Shia to me by reiterating the MUI fatwa. Muhsin also underscored that if the Shia indeed injured Sunni Muslims and insulted the true teachings of Islam—these were blasphemous deeds which should be brought to trial.

However, Muhsin refused to follow the edict of the MUI of East Java which branded the Shia deviant as demanded by the FJI, of which his nephew was an active member. Like Thoha, Muhsin asked police and local intelligence to monitor the Shia.

Once Yunahar Ilyas8 received a phone enquiry from the Sleman police about the FJI, which planned to attack the Rausyan Fikr on Kaliurang Street to expel the Shia from the city. Yunahar suggested the police contact Muhsin, the secretary of the MUI of Yogyakarta. Yunahar, as a board member of the national MUI in Jakarta, did not know much about aﬀairs in Yogyakarta. In fact, the MUI has written a book explaining the danger of Shia in Indonesia (Tim Penulis MUI Pusat 2014). Yunahar, however, stressed that violence should be avoided and that Shia Zaidiyah, whose teachings are similar to those of the Sunni, came to the archipelago centuries ago. Yunahar also mentioned that some of the Zaidiyah ulama’s books, such as the compilation of hadiths by al-Shawkānī (1759–1834M) (e.g., Shawkānī 2002), are accepted by Sunnis. However, Yunahar is concerned about the recent converts from Indonesian Sunni to Shia, some of whom travelled to Qum to deepen their knowledge of Shi’ism and, upon their return, spread Shia teachings. Reiterating the MUI’s fatwa, Yunahar warned of the danger of Shia Rafidah, which rejects the caliphates of Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman, whom the denomination also condemns for depriving Ali of his right to the caliphate. This denomination also often holds rituals on Karbala Day and Id Ala Ghadir Khum, a ceremony to memorialize when Ali b. Abi Talib was appointed as the Prophet’s successor. In Jakarta, a Shia group once celebrated the Ghadir Khum by holding a seminar in which former president Susilo Bambang Yudoyono (SBY) was invited to open the ceremony. The Jakarta police issued the permit. However, when the police consulted the MUI, Yunahar responded that the MUI rejects the Shia celebration. The police then planned something else. During the seminar, the leader of IJABI, Jalaludin Rakhmat, announced that the ceremony would be made shorter. Outside the building, a FPI crowd besieged the building. It seems that the police invited the FPI and allowed the radicals to besiege the place (Ilyas 2014). In this vein, Yunahar believes the police acted unwisely in playing a political game by using the FPI to stop the ceremony.

For Yunahar, Shia only created problems in Indonesia. Its presence in the country resulted in many anti-Shia reactions often involving violence. For Yunahar, the MIUMI also played a role in curtailing the Shia movement in Indonesia and preventing the denomination from spreading, and in defending Sunni theology. Yunahar was invited to speak at a MUI book launch at the end of 2013 at UGM, attended by the district head (Bupati), Sri Purnomo. Yunahar admitted that during the seminar he warned against the use of violence.

We cannot condemn them [Shia] either and brand them as infidels, but we can just explain the true reality. We, including Sri Purnomo, prevented people from hunting out Shia followers in Yogyakarta. Our job is to explain; whether individuals heed our advice is not our issue anymore. What we have done is to guard the people’s faith. The forum discussing the Shia groups, like Ahmadiyah, was the way in which the MUI warned the public about their dangerous teachings. Many followers of Ahmadiyah then converted back to Islam. Many questions were posed about the diﬀerences between Muhammadiyah and Ahmadiyah, and we explained them (Ilyas 2014).

Local Authorities

Local authorities contributed to the worsening persecution of the Shia group in their inaction not to enforce law by siding with the victims. Nor did the police make any eﬀort to deter, much less to arrest, the FJI, but rather put pressure on the victims. It seems that the police communicated with both the perpetrators and the victims. However, they avoided direct confrontation with the perpetrators. Rather, the police acted as ‘mediator’ between perpetrators and victims. In short, the police did not protect or defend the weak minority group, neither did they punish the perpetrators.

Compared to the case of the Shia community of Sampang in Madura, who were attacked and expelled from their villages, the case of Yogyakarta was diﬀerent. In Sampang it is likely that the district head was afraid of losing people’s votes in the next election if he opposed the Sunni majority. The local government in Sampang did not dare protect the minority, which was therefore branded deviant by the MUI of East Java (Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI) Propinsi Jawa Timur 2012). The FJI in Yogyakarta also pursued the same direction and failed. The stance of Sultan Hamengkubuwono X of Yogyakarta may be significance in influencing how the police engage in religious conflict in Yogyakarta. He proposed an initiative to hold a dialogue between the two conflicting parties. The Sultan was seen as a protector of the religious harmony and diversity in Yogyakarta, a town known for its tolerance and plurality. However, the case of Rausyan Fikr seems to give a diﬀerent image of the Sultan. Despite his role in inviting all diﬀerent factions to dialogue, he, like the local government of Yogyakarta, did not pursue enforcing the law by punishing the perpetrators and protecting the victims. Instead, rumors circulated in the town that the Sultan had built special relations with certain conservative groups, or at least he took advantage of the instable situation to suppress various issues of sultanate succession, economic imbalance, and the growth of his wealth.

On the other hand, the local Ministry of Religious Aﬀairs in Sleman also refused to publicly name the Shia as a deviant group. However, Andayani (Andayani 2014) heard that the threat to do so was supported by several local politicians. For instance, she heard a rumor that Syukri Fadoli, the former mayor of Yogyakarta and former politician of the National Mandate Party (PAN), who was running for a parliamentary seat under the banner of the PPP (Development Unity Party) at the time, controlled some conservative groups in Yogyakarta. She also heard that Durohman and Puji Hartono, the leaders of the FJI, had aﬃliations with Fadoli.

Conclusion

There are several things that the attack on Rausyan Fikr in Yogyakarta can reveal about violence, regulation of religion, and homogenization of Islam in Indonesia more widely. Firstly, this paper sees the incident of the attack on the Rausyan Fikr in Yogyakarta not as a mere isolated incident: rather it should be put into a broader context of the national trend of a homogenizing movement within Indonesian Sunni Islam to establish orthodoxy. Secondly, this paper finds new local perpetrators (FJI) which were directly responsible in attacking the victims, and additionally actors at the national level (MIUMI) who spread anti- Shia sentiments. The three groups—the victims (Rausyan), FJI, and MIUMI—have not received the attention of scholarly discussion yet.

This study is the first attempt to document them. Thirdly, this paper relates the local incident in Yogyakarta to a national trend of persecuting minorities considered deviant by conservative and radical groups. In doing so, this paper explains the roles of the FJI, MIUMI, MUI, and local authorities in the incident and sees the coordination among them in both attacking the victims and spreading the anti-Shia sentiments.

This study finds that the MIUMI played a vital role in propagating anti-Shia sentiment through information posted on their websites and in their support for the ideologies of radical groups. Their ideas and propaganda served as legitimizing forces in support of radicals in spreading violence. In addition, the MIUMI pushed the direction of the MUI towards increasingly conservative—if not radical—ideology.

Thus, the MIUMI has contributed to the homogenization of Sunni Islam in Indonesia through the strengthening the MUI’s agenda of establishing orthodox authority in the country (see also Makin 2016a).

Rhetorically, the MUI leaders in Yogyakarta and Jakarta advocated a non-violent approach to dealing with minority Shia groups and prevention of attacks by radical groups, but in practice, the MUI leaders, as interviewed above, have failed to conceal their support for the persecution of Shia groups. Those I interviewed see the diﬀerences between Sunni and Shia in theology, political leadership, and ritual are problematic and should be fixed through religious intervention. Clearly, the agenda of MUI is to homogenize Indonesian Islam and strengthen Sunni orthodoxy, as my previous studies have suggested (Makin 2016a; Makin 2015b; Makin 2009).

The police and local authorities, for their part, did not enforce the law. Rather the weaker minority was suppressed, while the perpetrators’ demands were fulfilled. Local and national Islamist politicians supported the agenda of homogenizing Sunni Islam and strengthening orthodoxy as they wanted to keep the votes of conservative and radical constituents particularly as the general election drew nearer. Thus, the terror on the Rausyan Fikr by the local actors FJI should be put in the broader context of homogenizing Indonesian Sunni Islam in which both national and local level players contributed to the persecution.

The case of Rausyan is a test for religious tolerance not only in Yogyakarta but also in Indonesia, showing to what extent a vocal minority group, like the FJI or MIUMI with the goal of homogenizing Islam, can sway the moderate Muslim majority. It seems that the majority is not easily influenced by the radical minority. In fact, the Rausyan still survives carrying on their intellectual activities among Sunni majority Muslims in Yogyakarta.

Endnotes

During the reform period, many conservative and radical groups, such as the FPI (Islamic Defenders Front), HTI (Indonesian Hizbut Tahrir), MMI (Indonesian Council for Jihadists), FUI (Islamic Community Forum), and FAPB (Anti-Apostasy Front of Bekasi), appear to support the agenda of combating deviant sects, and liberal interpretation of Islam, which are seen as obstacles to the ‘homogenizing agenda’ and establishing Islamic orthodoxy (Makin 2016a, 16). I would like to argue that despite diﬀerences and fragmentation in various radical and conservative groups in Indonesia in the aftermath of Soeharto’s fall, they share the common belief that those who show diﬀerences from them should be condemned as ‘deviant’. In this vein, they often show solidarity among them and struggle to uphold the true version of Islam.
These conservative activists propagated their conservative ideas through popular writings: Adian Husaini, for instance, wrote many popular articles and books propagating anti- liberalism ideology (Husaini 2010; Husaini 2003; Makin 2015a). Zarkasyi also shows his stance of anti-Shia feeling in many works (Zarkasyi 2014a).
The INSISTS (Institute for the Study of Islamic ought and Civilizations) was founded in 2003 in Kuala Lumpur by conservative activists, such as Adian Husaini, Adnin Armas, Fahmi Zarkasyi, and others who also founded the MIUMI later (see below discussion). e goal of the INSISTS is to defend Islamist ideology and fight liberalism and moderate Islamic ideology in Indonesia (Husaini 2015); see also n. 2 above.
In this vein, the MIUMI supported the East Java MUI fatwa on Shia (MIUMI 2012).
He was born in 1936 in Wonosobo and moved to Yogyakata in 1960 to study at the PTAIN (Higher School for Islamic Studies) which later became IAIN and UIN. He went to several pesantren in Wonosobo, Tegalrejo, and Krapyak, Yogyakarta. He was an NU activist and joined the IPNU (Young NU Association) in Magelang, during his time at PGAN (High School for Teachers of Islamic Education). After graduating from PTAIN in 1965 he became a lecturer. In 1967 he also became member of local parliament (DPRD DIY) from the NU faction. In 1969 he was appointed as the head of the provincial oﬃce of the Ministry of Religious Aﬀairs (Kakanwil). Since its establishment in 1975, he joined the MUI in Yogyakarta, and served as a member of ukhuwah (solidarity). In 1996 he was appointed as vice-chairman, and in 2001 he became chairman.
Muhsin was born in Gunung Kidul in 1941, finishing Sekolah Rakyat (People’s School) and going to PGA (Religious Teachers’ College) in Solo. In 1958 he went to PHIN (Pendidikan Hakim Islam Negeri/State Islamic Judicial Education) and later worked at the local oﬃce of Religious Aﬀairs in Palu, Sulawesi. In 1964 he moved to Yogyakarta and studied at the Syariah (Islamic law) faculty of IAIN Sunan Kalijaga, graduating in 1971. He then worked at the oﬃce of Religious Aﬀairs in Gunung Kidul and Kulon Progo respectively. In 1998 he returned to Yogyakarta to work at IAIN Sunan Kalijaga. He joined the MUI in 1980 and currently serves as secretary.
Fadholi, born in 1951, is a Muhammadiyah activist and a PPP (Unity Development Party). Politician. He served as the deputy mayor of Yogyakarta (2001-2006).
Yunahar Ilyas was born in Bukittinggi, West Sumatera in 1956 and went to PGA there. He moved to Yogyakarta to study at the IAIN Sunan Kalijaga in 1975-1979. He then studied law at Ibn Saud University in Riyadh until 1983. In 1983 he returned to Yogyakarta to teach at the Mualimin, Muhammadiyah Senior High School. In 1984 he finished his BA in Padang. In 1987 he taught at the Muhamadiyah University in Yogyakarta (UMY). His MA and PhD were obtained from UIN-Sunan Kalijaga, Yogyakarta. He finished his dissertation in 2004 on Qur’anic exegesis. Yunahar was active in the Muhammadiyah Student Association (IPM). At university he also joined IMM (University-level Muhammadiyah Student Association). From 1980-1985 he became a central Muhammadiyah board member and in 2005 served as a chairman.

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Source of the article: https://journal.uinjkt.ac.id/index.php/studia-islamika/article/view/3354/3583

Al Makin, Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies; Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University (UIN) of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Email: almakin3@gmail.com.