Salafism and the State: Islamic Activism and National Identity in Contemporary Indonesia

Abstract

space of boundless freedom and unbridled opportunity. After an initial period marked by suspicion, notes Gary R. Bunt, established authorities and institutions changed course and began engaging in internet-based activities, often by embedding themselves in existing web sites. This trend is not limited to Sunni Islam. In his contribution, Babak Rahimi documents the internet presence of Shia clerics, many of whom, following the lead of the Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, have established their own web sites and Instagram accounts. Such gatekeepers raise barriers that restrict the agency of new entrants. Neither should cyberspace be considered independently from physical space. In his study of Habib Luthfi Bin Yahya, Ismail Fajrie Alatas shows how the Indonesian Sufi shaykh uses his web site to attract new participants to the monthly gatherings held at his congregational centre where his disciples fulfil the requirement of ‘companionship’ (suh ba) with their master. Other contributions, such as Andrea Stanton’s study of pilgrimage apps and Rosemary Pennington’s survey of Eid alAdha videos on Instagram, suppose a relationship between the digital and analogue worlds. Although the authors register the popularity of these media, they make no attempt to link digital use to behaviour in real life (IRL). How many Cyber Muslims will make the journey to Mecca or attend a celebration at their local mosque? The question is of empirical and theoretical importance, for, if Durkheim is right that religion is always a collective phenomenon, we can expect communal ritual practice to increase with the use of Islamic digital media—a trend that, if confirmed, would belie more widely received notions which associate internet use and social isolation. The web sites, apps, and social media accounts detailed in this volume represent a small fraction of Islamic cyberspace. Wisely, Rozehnal makes no claims to exhaustivity. Rather, he and his contributors have produced an original work that opens up new lines of inquiry in an ever-expanding field.