Santri with attitude: support for terrorism and negative attitudes to non-Muslims among Indonesian observant Muslims

ABSTRACT Scholars continue to wrestle with determining the extent and ways in which religiosity – and particularly more strict religious views and practices – provides fertile ground for the emergence and growth of terrorism. Using large samples of Muslim respondents from across the Indonesian archipelago, we find that: (1) higher levels of orthodox religiosity are associated with more negative attitudes to non-Muslims, and (2) higher levels of orthodox religiosity are associated with lower support for terrorist groups. We propose that this finding is consistent with the type of orthodox religiosity of Indonesian santri – that is, observant Muslims – which is usually characterised by collective religious practices, affiliation with religious mass organisations and religious education. In the Indonesian context, orthodox religiosity might provide vehicles but not motives of terrorist mobilisation, and – although it can foster negative views of out-groups – it can actually constitute a barrier to broader support for terrorism.