Situating anti-LGBT moral panics in Indonesia

On 13 July 2019, four scholars, whose research focuses on issues of gender and sexuality in Indonesia, convened for a one-day symposium hosted by SOAS University of London. Entitled ‘Gender, Sexuality, Religion: Thinking Beyond LGBT Moral Panics in Indonesia’, the event aimed to examine the emergence of sexual and moral panics in the archipelago. The sessions included papers by Ferdiansyah Thajib (Freie Universität Berlin), who explored the affective dimensions of anti-queer sentiments in Indonesia; Saskia Wieringa (University of Amsterdam), who examined the linkages between ‘Communistphobia’ and homophobia in Indonesia and discussed sexual moral panics as a political project; and the two co-editors of this special issue of Indonesia and the Malay Word. Ben Murtagh (SOAS University of London) presented his research on imagined queer worlds in Indonesian cinema, whilst Diego García Rodríguez (University College London) analysed emerging contestations to heterosexism and homophobia through progressive Islam in Indonesia. The event was generously funded by the UCL, Bloomsbury and East London Doctoral Training Partnership. Following the conclusion of the symposium, and in light of the vibrant discussions emerging during the sessions, we felt that it was important to materialise the ideas explored that day into a series of articles where the results could be shared more widely. Almost three years after the event took place, and despite the challenges of the pandemic, this special issue brings together articles by six interdisciplinary scholars critically engaging with themes around gender and sexuality in contemporary Indonesia. While our gathering in 2019 put the focus on the events taking place in Indonesia after the 2016 anti-LGBT moral panics, this special issue expands its scope to engage with wider debates on homophobia, the criminalisation of minorities, notions of acceptance, and religiosity.