Between Transnational Interest and Domestic Politics: Understanding Middle Eastern Fatwās on Jihad in the Moluccas

Abstract

AbstractIn 2000 muftīs from the Arabian Peninsula issued seven fatwās in response to requests from the Forum Komunikasi Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jama'ah (FKASWJ), a Salafist movement in Indonesia seeking justification for jihad in the Moluccas. In this essay I analyze these fatwās against the background of the Moluccan conflict and the emergence of FKASWJ.The Arabian muftīs, who participate in a global Salafī discourse on jihad, serve as transnational sources of legitimacy for FKASWJ; and this discourse has important implications for the contestation of the Indonesian public sphere. I argue that FKASWJ and similar communities that have emerged in various parts of the Muslim world are now demanding greater acceptance within the political landscape of their respective countries; and that launching jihad is a means of enhancing their self-proclaimed identity as the most committed defenders of Islam in the nation.