The Politics of the Sunni-Shiite Conflict in Indonesia

• In Event: Growing Religious Intolerance in Indonesia: A Multi-Disciplinary Perspective

Abstract

The Sunni-Shiite conflict is one of the most serious issues that represents increasing intolerance in contemporary Indonesia. Incidents in Sampang, East Java, in 2011-12, are the worst case, which resulted in hundreds of Shiite refugees. This study explores politics behind the Sunni-Shiite conflict and identifies reasons of the tangled conflict. First, by comparing with similar issues on the Ahmadiyah sect and Christian churches, I aim to find distinct characteristics of the Shiite problem in the development of general discourse. For this part, I argue that the Sunni-Shiite conflict is more susceptible to international settings than the others. Second, by showcasing several Sunni-Shiite conflicts in East Java, I will propose importance of local politico-religious structure in order to understand the conflict.

Generally, the cases started as common rivalry between religious schools but the conflict developed severely violent as the local politico-religious elites intervened. In Sampang’s case, involvement of kiai, religious leaders, led the serious escalation in the area. Political actors were incapable to prevent the conflict because of superiority of the religious authority in terms of the organizing the mass and political mobilization. Third, I suggest that the outside efforts are vitally important to salvage the victims. The efforts to rescue the Shiite refugees and to reach reconciliation ultimately depends on outside actors, such as governmental bodies and civil society actors. Here also, I emphasize that involvement of local politico-religious network in order to proceed effective negotiation with the parties concerned.

Author

• Ken Miichi, Iwate Prefectural University