Moderate Muslim Research Articles

Exemplifying the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) in Fostering Peaceful Co-Existence among Christians and Muslims in Nigeria

In the last three decades, most of the major conflicts in Nigeria are centered on ethnicity and religion. Fundamental Muslims and Christians or moderate (liberal) Muslims and adherents of African Indigenous Religions have wrecked a lot of havoc in Nigeria. In many cases, religious leaders and politicians have manipulated these conflicts for political and economic gains. These conflicts have resulted in the death of several thousands of people and loss of unquantifiable amount of money and property. Various attempts by government, individuals, religious and other interest groups on resolving the lingering and hydra-headed crisis have not yielded holistic and desirable result. Some scholarly articles have been written to proffer solutions to Nigeria's ethno-religious crisis; these include research on interfaith dialogue, social integration, sustainable communal developments, the impact of ethno- religious crisis on the security, economy and sociopolitical stability of the country. However, the exemplary nature of loving, empathizing, accepting, accommodating and living with one’s known or perceived enemies have not been adequately explored with religious hindsight. This paper therefore considers the exemplary character of the “Good Samaritan” in the parable of Jesus Christ (Luke 10:25-37) as a spring board for peaceful co-existence between Christians and people of other faiths in Nigerian multicultural contexts, particularly the Muslims. Exegetical and historical methods are used; the Theoretical Framework is premised on Eisenberg Pro-social Behaviour theory, which is defined as voluntary behaviour intended to benefit another (Eisenberg, 1986). Findings reveal that Nigeria has been wracked by periodic violent clashes between political, ethnic and religious groups since the second half of the 20th century. Reasons for these clashes vary from one locality to another but they are mostly motivated by religious, social, economic and political disputes. Conclusively, exemplifying the teaching of Jesus Christ on love for one's neighbour in the parable of the "Good Samaritan" here proposed first to the Christian community gives a new hope on the quest for peace in Nigeria and re-orientation for Christians and their Muslim neighbours. It is recommended therefore that both Christians and Muslims in Nigeria should leverage on the “Good Samaritan’s” peace accord to one’s neghbour proposed by Jesus Christ without prejudice or stereotyping one another.

Character Education Values in the Sufism Book of Nuzhah al-Majalis wa Muntakhab an-Nafa’is: Enhancing the Akhlak Tasawuf Course to Foster Moderate Muslim Character at PTKIN

The purpose of this study was to determine the content of character education values in the Sufism book of Nuzhah al-Majalis wa Muntakhab an-Nafa’is and their effects on reconstructing the morals of Sufism courses for the cultivation of moderate Muslim character values (religious moderation) on the PTKIN campus. The research design uses literature research (library study). Data collection techniques used by researchers include (1) Documentation studies; (2) Interviews; (3) Observation—data analysis using content analysis. The study results reveal that the presence of the department/study program of Sufism can be used as the right solution for modern humans, especially among university students, because Islamic Sufism has all the elements needed by students in the development of their lives. The results of the study found that the values of character education in Sufism moral courses included (1) the nature of repentance, (2) the nature of asceticism, (3) The nature of trustworthiness, (4) The nature of gratitude, (5) The nature of patience; (6) The nature of pleasure; (7) The nature of shidiq; (8) The nature of wara; (9) The nature of reflection; (10) The nature of faqir; (11) The nature of the king; (12) The nature of khauf; (13) The nature of syauq; (14) The nature of confidence; (15) The nature of love; (16) The nature of muraqabah. These character values are based on the Quran and Sunnah in their function to add depth to religious spirituality and become a means of fostering noble character. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui isi kandungan nilai-nilai pendidikan karakter dalam kitab tasawuf Nuzhah al-Majalis wa Muntakhab an-Nafa’is dan pengaruhnya sebagai upaya upaya rekontsruksi mata kuliah akhlak tasawuf untuk penanaman nilai-nilai karakter muslim yang moderat (moderasi beragama) di kampus PTKIN. Rancangan penelitian menggunakan penelitian literatur (studi pustaka). Teknik pengumpulan data yang digunakan peneliti meliputi (1) Studi dokumentas; (2) Wawancara; (3) Observasi. Analisis data menggunakan analisis isi. Hasil penelitian mengungkap kehadiran jurusan/program studi ilmu tasawuf dapat dijadikan sebagai solusi yang tepat bagi manusia modern khususnya di kalangan mahasiswa di perguruan tinggi, karena tasawuf Islam memiliki semua unsur yang dibutuhkan oleh mahasiswa dalam perkembangan hidupnya. Hasil penelitian diperoleh temuan nilai-nilai pendidikan karakter pada mata kuliah akhlak tasawuf anatar lain (1) Sifat taubat; (2) Sifat zuhud; (3) Sifat tawakal; (4) Sifat syukur; (5) Sifat sabar; (6) Sifat ridha; (7) Sifat shidiq; (8) Sifat wara; (9) Sifat muhasabah; (10) Sifat faqir; (11) Sifar raja; (12) Sifat khauf; (13) Sifat syauq; (14) Sifat yakin; (15) Sifat cinta; (16) Sifat muraqabah. Nilai-nilai karakter tersebut berdasarkan Alquran dan Sunnah dalam fungsinya menambah dalamnya spiritualitas agama dan menjadi sarana pembinaan akhlak mulia.

From Politics of Islam to Terrorism: Discovering the Roots of Islamophobia in Indonesia

Islamophobia is an issue that has affected both minority and majority Muslim communities in many countries, including Indonesia. To gain a deeper understanding of Islamophobia in Indonesia, this study focuses on two of eight components of Islamophobia identified by Sabri Ciftci (2012), namely, Islam is perceived as a political ideology and is associated with violence. Through a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, including historical-comparative and survey, the authors explore how the Indonesian government has dealt with Islamophobia since the Old and New Order periods. This research also delves into how Islamophobia has impacted minority Christians and moderate Muslims during the Reform Era, where Islam is often associated with religious intolerance and terrorism. The results indicate that Islamophobia in Indonesia has three primary root causes linked to certain Islamic societal behaviour: political tensions between Islamic fundamentalists and nationalists regarding the state ideology, religious tensions between radical Muslims and Christians resulting in intolerance, and acts of terrorism using Islamic symbols. This research concludes Islamophobia in Indonesia has switched from the government to the community level, requiring the government policy to eliminate Islamophobia in a pluralistic society.

Transforming of Moderate Character Education in Islamic Educational Institutions

The study focuses on moderate character education in Islamic educational institutions, especially those based on Islamic organizations such as Nahdlatul Ulama, Muhammadiyah, and Syarikat Islam. The study aims to reveal the moderate values of Islamic education institutions and their implementation in educational activities. The research uses a qualitative multisite approach, with data collection techniques through field observations, interviews, and documentation. This study includes Islamic educational institutions based on religious organizations, namely Nahdlatul Ulama, Muhammadiyah, and Syarikat Islam. Research locations are 1) Education and Social Foundation, Khadijah High School, East Java, as an Islamic educational institution based in Nahdlatul Ulama; 2) Muhammadiyah Boarding School, Yogyakarta; and 3) Cokroaminoto School, Surakarta, Central Java. The researchers performed data analysis using modified analytic induction analysis. Data analysis follows the stages of condensation, data display, verification, and conclusion. The results of this study show that each educational institution has moderate character values: 1) tawasuth; 2) tawazun; and 3) ta'addul/I'tidal. These values are embodied in learning to form a moderate Muslim character and become the mercy to the whole world (rahmatan lil alamin).

Challenges of Religious Moderation in The Context of Radicalism

The global dissemination of religious radicalism has evolved into a worldwide issue, prompting intellectuals to engage in discussions and express their concerns. Data for this research were meticulously gathered from reliable sources utilizing a qualitative analytical approach. The focus of the analysis is on countering the escalating trend of radicalism through the lens of religious moderation. The study's findings highlight that a moderate Muslim is characterized by adherence to an acceptable interpretation of Islam. This interpretation incorporates principles of non-violence and moderation, aligned with a belief in democratic and pluralistic approaches, coupled with a spirit of tolerance. This research contributes to the scholarly discourse on the role of literary-based instruction in promoting religious moderation, offering valuable insights for policymakers, educators, and scholars engaged in the global dialogue on countering radicalism and fostering peaceful coexistence.

The Women ‘Behind’ the Mujahidin Eastern Indonesia: Negotiating Agency and Gender Dynamics

Since 2015, the Mujahidin of Eastern Indonesia (Mujahidin Indonesia Timur, MIT), a Poso-based terrorist group, has had active female members. By July 2020, a total of seven women were convicted on terrorism charges. These include the country’s first three female fighters, the wives of MIT’s top leaders, who were trained to use guns and run guerrillas in Gunung Biru, a forested mountainous area above Poso City. By using the biographical narratives of four female MIT members, this article discusses how female jihadis negotiated their agency and navigated life pathways before and after joining the MIT group. This study employs an ethnographic approach, including participant observation and in-depth interviews with informants conducted in Poso (2019 and 2021) and Bima (2021). Our fieldwork found that most women grew up in moderate Muslim families, then turned to adopt extremist ideology in their late adolescence, and subsequently intensified their ideology before and after marriage. Although their ‘active role’ within the MIT group was a consequence of their engagement with male jihadists through marriage, it does not mean the absence of agency. We argue that these women were not just passive ‘extensions’ of their husbands but exercised their own agency by negotiating gender relations. They actively embraced a more radical Islamism, chose to get involved with MIT, and, after serving time in prison, they reshaped their own life trajectories. Two of them eventually started a new life by leaving Poso’s extremist network, while the other two opted to stay but repositioned their roles within the group.

Study of Moderation Verses in the Perspective of Nusantara Tafsir

This study provides an understanding and interpretation of the verses of moderation in the opinion of the commentator or commentator in the archipelago. The Qur’an is not a final product, it is necessary to carry out the activities of intellectual diligence in the form of “interpretation” because the lip of the Qur’an cures me all my time to eat. Social interaction as the basic capital and characteristics of the social humanity of Muslims through understanding the verses contained in the Qur’an is a solution to the hope of divine pleasure and the achievement of correct understanding. The difference is the flavor of understanding, because some interpretations of the verses of the Qur’an tend not to be moderate in interpretation. As a moderate Muslim discussing verses of moderation, he will generate a moderate character in personality and personality that mediates the two tensions in the epistemology of interpretation between the text and the liberal. ntolerant beliefs and attitudes in the world and views of life began to emerge at the primary and secondary levels. The emergence of intolerance in religion as one of the factors is the lack of understanding and practice on the largest possible scale in the content, meaning, and context of the Qur’an itself and in matters related to the interpretation of the verses of moderation and moderation.

Халил Рахимов. Фрагменты из «Защиты избранников Аллаха от поношений заблудших людей» (Химайат ал-авлийа’ мин иханат ал-агвийа’)

The present article reveals insufficiently studied aspects of Islamic Mysticism (Sufism) in Russia’s Volga-Ural region at the end of the 19th – beginning of the 20th century in the context of modernization in late imperial Russia. A special attention is paid to the analysis of the contribution made by pedagogue, Sufi and scholar Khalil Rahimov to moderate Muslim reformism. He led extramural polemic with outstanding Russian Muslim reformists on the ways of development of the Muslim community, the role of Islamic Mystical tradition (Sufism) in the life of Muslims. He criticized their religious and philosophical teachings and views on the issues of faith and reason, the adaptation of scientific achievements and cultural models of advanced countries. Khalil Rahimov believed that Muslim education, culture and society should be developed without undermining the foundations of religion. Alongside the research, the article provides a Russian annotated translation of excerpts from Khalil Rahimov’s book “Himayat al-awliya’ min ihanat al-agwiya’” [The Protection of the Saints from the abuse of erring men].

Moderate Muslim in Indonesia: Views of Muslim Elite toward Religious and Socio-political Issues

This article explores the views of Muslim elites regarding religious and socio-political issues as a means of explaining moderate Islam in Indonesia. Specifically, its aim is to shed light on this matter by mapping the ideological spectrum of Muslim elites’ perspectives on significant religious and political issues. A solid understanding of the socio-political context and the viewpoints of the elite is a crucial step towards comprehending the development of religious and political attitudes among the general population and the resulting impact on the social and political progress of the country. Based on fieldwork, this article argues that the majority of Muslim elites lean towards a moderate stance when it comes to perceiving ideological matters. Nevertheless, some still exhibit a tendency towards conservatism. It is important to note that this study is limited in its geographical scope. Consequently, further research should encompass various regions of Indonesia to provide a more comprehensive and holistic perspective.

Religious Fundamentalism and Violence in the Name of Religion

This article aims to reveal the strengthening of the tendency of Islamic fundamentalism in Indonesia in the Action to Defend Islam that occurred during the period 2016 to 2018. In its implementation, this action always voices Islamic symbols in a textual and rigid manner, for example “non-Muslims who disbelieve” and the prohibition on making disbelievers as leaders. Uniquely, these actions were not carried out with any violence, neither did they trigger violence in the name of religion. Why did this action not lead to religious violence even though this action was clearly in the name of religion? This study finds that there are at least three factors that prevent this action of Islamic fundamentalism from acts of religious violence, namely: first, moderate Muslim infiltration in carrying out the actions, second, there is support from great scholars such as Ustadz Arifin Ilham and Ustad AA Gym who are known to be gentle and polite to all parties, and the third is the content of the Islamic Defense Action activity which is dominated by dhikr which is ritual prayer or a litany practiced by Muslims for the purpose of glorifying God and attaining spiritual excellence and general prayer.

Islamic feminism as an alternative strategy for preventing and countering violent extremism among Muslim women in Kenya

Islamic feminism is a budding ideology in Kenya that conservative Muslims perceive as a distortion of pure Islam. Despite its prospects for empowering Muslim women, its utility for preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE) is largely unexplored, and security agencies and non-governmental organisations prefer to engage with mainstream patriarchal Islamic ideologies that reinforce the gender vulnerabilities Al-Shabaab successfully exploits to engage women in violent extremism. This study draws on research conducted with Muslim clerics, scholars, women’s associations, feminists, government officials, and female returnees in Nairobi and Mombasa counties to demonstrate that Al-Shabaab is exploiting traditional gender constructions including marriage, sisterhood, motherhood and women’s religious obligations to recruit, radicalise and exploit women. While Islamic feminism exposes and contests gender inequalities, it remains unpopular, is often dismissed as secular, and meets resistance from both extremists and moderate Muslims, and therefore further studies are needed to validate its rightful role within Islam.

Building Peace Through Qur’anic Interpretation in Muslim Communities in the Post-Conflict West Kalimantan

This study explores building peace in post-conflict areas in the West Kalimantan area, Indonesia, especially among Muslim communities that had experienced ethnic conflict in 1999. This qualitative research with a phenomenological approach observes and conducts in-depth interviews with the Muslim community, both ethnic Malay Sambas and ethnic Madurese. In addition, the author also conducted interviews with several religious leaders in West Kalimantan. This study found that there are still few religious leaders who carry out conflict resolution through contextual interpretation of the Qur’an in accordance with social conditions in West Kalimantan. In principle, West Kalimantan has an opportunity to become an area of tolerance, especially in the post-ethnic conflict area of Sambas. With the characteristics of a moderate Muslim society, social interaction between ethnicities, and genealogically the Ulama in West Kalimantan conveying moderate Islamic messages, the West Kalimantan area has the potential to become a peaceful area following the conflict. However, all elements of government, education, and religious leaders must synergize with each other in building peace in West Kalimantan. The role of religious leaders in ethnic conflicts is indispensable, especially since religious leaders have charismatic authority that is easy for their followers to follow. Therefore, religious leaders must deliver messages of peace through their charismatic authority.

Islamic Movements and the Future of Democracy in Post-Suharto Indonesia Era

Since 1998, Indonesia, as the biggest Muslim country in the world, has transformed from an authoritarian to a democratic regime. However, violence and terrorism associated with the Islamic movement, especially the movement of political Islam, are considered to threaten the future of Indonesian democracy. The purpose of the study is to describe the Political Islam Movement and its impact on the post-Suharto democratic system. This study uses qualitative research methods with descriptive analysis research, while the data is obtained through literature review and document analysis. This study found that acts of violence and terrorism were carried out by fundamentalist Muslims who aspired to realize an Islamic state. However, these acts of violence and terrorism triggered the development of moderate Muslims. The consequences of the development of moderate Muslims are the changing of Muslim political behavior, starting from not participating in elections, changing political choices, and up to pragmatic politics. The political violence that has occurred has encouraged the development of Islamic moderation, thus harming Islamic parties because Muslim voters have diverted their political choices to the nationalist-religious parties.

Development of Islamic Religious Education Learning in Forming Moderate Muslims

This study aims to examine the implementation of moderate Islamic values ​​in PAI learning amidst the COVID-19 pandemic at Islamic universities. The implementation of moderate Islamic values ​​in PAI learning during the covid-19 pandemic was carried out online using WhatsApp group media, YouTube. Online media is one of the forums used by lecturers and students to implement moderate Islamic values ​​in PAI learning. The method used in this research is qualitative method. Data was collected through observation, interviews, and documentation with descriptive-analytic analysis techniques. Research informants are PAI Lecturers, Students. The study was conducted in the even semester of 2020/2021 in January-June 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of the study are that: (1) during the covid-19 pandemic the process of implementing moderate Islamic values ​​(wasathiyah) about al-adl (justice), al-tawazun (balance), and al-tasamuh (tolerance) has been good and stable. takes place in PAI learning by using online, 2) Implementation of PAI learning by using online learning media WhatsApp, youtube increases the cognitive, affective aspects of students about Islamic moderation values. (3) the success of inculcating moderate Islamic values ​​is reflected in the results of the evaluation of student learning and behavior in the good category in the Department of Islamic Education, Faculty of Tarbiyah Sciences (FITK) State Islamic University of Malang.

SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF LEADERS AT INTEGRATED MADRASAH ALIYAH (MA) OF DARUL AMAL KARANGANYAR CONCERNING RELIGIOUS MODERATION POLICIES

This study aims to analyze the leadership's understanding of religious moderation and the way madrasah leaders construct their students to become moderate Muslims. This research was phenomenological qualitative research. The results of this study are that the leadership's thinking greatly influences the character of the santri. If the leader has a radical understanding, then the santri (students) will have a radical character, while the leader who has a moderate understanding will also become a moderate Muslim. The leadership of the Darul Amal Integrated Supreme Court has a good understanding of religious moderation. From this understanding, madrasa leaders implement indicators of religious moderation through habituation, curricula, and extracurricular learning. So that students have moderate character and become a habit in everyday life.

Quranic-based Moderate Islam in Pesantren against Radicalism

This article investigates counter-radicalism practices through the development of wasathiyah Islamic teachings at the Raudlotul Huffadz Pondok Pesantren (PPRH) in Tabanan, Bali. The competition between radical and moderate Muslims (wasathiyah) is intensifying. In this instance, the existence of radical extremist groups is the reason moderate Islam (wasathiyah) exists. This article explains that the practice of counterradicalism through the construction of Al-Quran-based Wasathiyah Islamic teachings in the PPRH takes the form of constructing and developing moderate, tolerant, anti-radicalization, and rahmatan lil alamin Islamic teachings to combat radicalism movements that are frequently attributed to the Quran. At PPRH, the tahfidz al-Quran assembly is created, in which Islamic values of wasathiyah and anti-religious radicalism are taught. This program is a countermeasure against non-Sanad tahfidz al-Quran houses, which tend to teach religious values with radical overtones. In fact, the Al-Qur’an, as the primary source of Islamic teachings, must be investigated in terms of wasathi narratives and Islamic movements as part of peaceful and rahmatan lil'alamin Islamic teachings.

Kosmopolitanisme Islam Dalam Indikator Moderasi Beragama Di Indonesia

The mainstreaming of religious moderation is not always responded positively by religious people in Indonesia. For example, there is a bad stigma that views the mainstreaming as religious liberalization. This research aims to identify the existence of cosmopolitan Islamic values in the indicators of religious moderation formulated by the Ministry of Religion of the Republic of Indonesia. This qualitative research in the form of a literature study uses a normative-philosophical approach. The cosmopolitan Islamic paradigm initiated by Abdurrahman Wahid became an analytical theory in the core discussion. This research shows that there are dimensions of cosmopolitan Islamic values in four indicators of religious moderation in Indonesia. First, the value of Islamic universalism in indicators of tolerance and anti-radicalism. This can be seen from the mainstreaming of religious moderation which emphasizes the formation of moderate Muslim religious understandings and attitudes in respecting social plurality and human values. Second, the value of Islamic pribumization in indicators of national commitment and accommodating to local wisdom. This can be seen from the mainstreaming of religious moderation which emphasizes the formation of moderate Islamic religious understanding and social attitudes in maintaining nationalism and wisdom of local traditions that do not violate Islamic teachings. The theoretical implications of this study show that there is a need for moderate understanding and social attitudes of Muslim diversity in the life of a cosmopolitan society. The limitations of this research have not examined the strategy of Pesantren as a subculture in the cosmopolitan Islamic paradigm initiated by Abdurrahman Wahid, namely related to the internalization of cosmopolitan Islamic values in order to form understanding and social attitudes of moderate diversity for Muslims in Indonesia.

“ISLAMIC STATE” IN KHORASAN - THE NEW CHALLENGE FOR AFGHANISTAN

The article analyzes so called Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP) in Afghanistan and the challenges, which Taliban faced after they had come to the power. So, the article is a research of ISKP’s founding history, its activity and strategy, competition with the Taliban and relationship with IS central office. So called Islamic State in Khorasan Province was founded in 2015. It gathered the ex-members of Pakistani Taliban, Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) and Afghan Taliban. In 2016, the group had about 6000 members. The aim of the group was the same of the IS central office - to restore the Islamic Caliphate on the territory including Afghanistan too. The name was taken from the historical region of Khorasan which included Afghanistan, Pakistan and part of Iran. IS central office saw Afghanistan as the main part of its influence. Therefore the organization decided to form its network in this country. It is very interesting to analyze the term Khorasan: Why the IS decided to use it as the name of the group? As some scholars think, Khorasan is connected to the geographical area and includes Afghanistan, Pakistan, Eastern parts of Iran, Western parts of India and former central Asian republics of the Soviet Union. Therefore, the name of ISKP points to its aim to create the Islamic State on this territory. But if we consider IS as the group, which tries to use all historical symbols for creating the Islamic Caliphate, it would be less reasonable to connect the term only to the geographical area. For Islamists Khorasan is linked to Islamic saying that Mahdi and Muslim army would come from Khorasan carrying black flags during the final apocalyptic struggle in Islam. This version is supported by Al-Qaeda and the so called Islamic State but not by moderate Muslims. By Iranian and Afghan narratives, the importance of Khorasan is connected to the historical figure Abd Ar-Rahman Ibn Muslim also known as Abu Muslim al-Khorasani who resisted against Arab dominated Umayyad dynasty. So for Afghanistan, the term Khorasan has the political meaning. Since 1747 the country has been positioning as the successor state of Khorasan sharing its glory. During Taliban time non-Pashtuns began to use this term to oppose the Pashtun domination of Taliban in Afghanistan. The history of the relationship between IS and Afghanistan has not begun with ISKP. In 2012 the information about participating Afghan fighters in Syria against Bashar Al-Assad regime was widespread. In 2014 IS leader Abu Umar al-Shishani appointed Qari Wali Rahman as IS representative in Afghanistan and Pakistan. So Qari was running the training camp in Qunar. A year later, in 2015 ISKP was founded in Afghanistan. Nowadays, ISKP includes 2000 fighters in Afghanistan, but according to several researchers the number is much higher. The group communicates with the central office via As-Siddiq which covers the Khorasan region including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Maldives a the Central African Republic. The finances are given from different sources. The main source of the income comes from natural minerals extracted on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan in the Nangarhar province. But in 2019 after the serious attacks on ISKP from Taliban and Afghan government, the group left this province. So ISKP lost this part of income, but it has also other sources such as financial support from IS central office and donations. There is no bank system in Afghanistan. So ISKP uses Hawala system for money transfer in the country. The Hawala network is very useful way for the fundraising which supports to fund terrorism. ISKP uses Nejaat social service organization in Kabul and Jalalabad for fundraising. Since US forces withdrawal from Afghanistan, Taliban has been controlling the Hawala system. Therefore ISKP has no longer ability to use it for fundraising. ISKP still remains as the main challenge for Taliban regime in Afghanistan. It is true, that after the repressions from Taliban and Afghanistan government, the number of ISKP members decreased, but the group has enough strength to organize different terrorist attacks in the country. During 2020-2021 ISKP organized 115 terrorist attacks, although the number is less than attacks organized in 2019-2020. The opinion that ISKP is the main threat for Afghanistan and Taliban was declared in UN Security Council report in 2022. According to the report, ISKP operated in Qunar and Nangahar provinces but its small cells and groups are widespread across the whole country. So Taliban needs the defined strategy to solve the challenges connected to ISKP activity in Afghanistan.

Catholic youth and nationalist identity in Java, Indonesia

ABSTRACT With a focus on contemporary religion, this article considers Catholic youth in Muslim-majority Indonesia who are active in the public sphere and committed to the cause of nationalist unity. A current push by Islamist extremists threatens and excludes those of other faiths. Young Catholics are sometimes made to feel as though they do not belong in the modern imaginings of caliphate and enforced Shari’a law. They find the marginalisation deeply disturbing since they feel strong loyalty to the nation. Some turn inward, focusing on Catholic orthopraxy and service to the diocese. Others direct their energies to interfaith dialogue and alliance, seeking political influence through solidarity with moderate Muslims. A lived religion approach based on the work of Ammerman (2014) and Laksana and Wood (2019) allows us to understand the imbrication of Catholic and nationalist identities through the analysis of interview data.

Islam and politics: A latent class analysis of Indonesian Muslims based on political attitudes and psychological determinants

This study explored the diversity of Muslim political attitudes by conducting a latent class analysis in the rarely investigated context of Indonesia—the largest Muslim country in the world. We surveyed a total of 1208 Indonesian Muslim participants from eight out of 33 Indonesian provinces. The latent class analysis revealed that there are six clusters of Muslim Individuals based on their political attitudes: Fundamentalist Muslim, Nationalist Muslim, Apolitical Muslim, Hijrah Muslim, Moderate Muslim, and Progressive Muslim. Moreover, we also found several meaningful differences in psychological correlates (right-wing authoritarianism, social dominance orientation, and need for cognitive closure) across the six clusters. Taken together, this study sheds some light upon the diversity of Muslim political attitudes and the psychological tendencies that correspond with such attitudes.