Subnational sectarianisation: clientelism, religious authority, and intra-religious rivalry in Aceh

ABSTRACT

This contribution investigates the link between clientelism and intra-religious rivalry in post-conflict Aceh, Indonesia, through a sectarianisation thesis lens. Instead of utilising a theological approach or a primordialist perspective, this contribution analyses how contextual political drivers such as clientelism can serve as an alternative approach to comprehending intra-religious rivalry. I examine how the practices associated with clientelism contribute to sectarian rivalry by focusing on religious authority contestation in Aceh. This contribution argues that in Aceh’s sharia (Islamic law) ecosystem, dominance within the official council of ulama (Islamic religious leaders) conveys the status of religious authority that, critically, confers access to state resources in both the political and economic spheres. In this context, discriminatory fatwas (legal opinion) and intolerant actions by the traditionalists directed against minority religious groups such as the Salafi community serve as essential tools in maintaining the status of religious authority. These actions are intertwined with state-based clientelism, as is seen in the allocation of funds for traditionalist-based Islamic boarding schools (dayah). The traditionalist ulama therefore have a keen interest in defending their status as religious authorities, as it secures their privileged access to state patronage.

KEYWORDS:

• Sectarianism
• clientelism
• intra-religious rivalry
• religious authority
• conflict

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author

Notes

1. The informants in this study willingly agreed to participate on the condition of full anonymity. The informants were not asked to sign consent forms as this was judged impractical because it could be perceived by the informants as a breach of this anonymity. The data from interviews with the informants included in this contribution are fully anonymised, with no identifying information about the informants’ identity or affiliation given. There is no IRB or equivalent at the institution where I conducted the research and therefore I was unable to seek ethical approval.

2. See Van Klinken (2007); Tajima (2014); Varshney, Tadjoeddin, and Panggabean (2008); Wilson (2008; 2013), Sidel (2006); Duncan (2014), Berenschot (2020).

3. Interview with an anonymous informant, 26 May 2018. All interview translations are the author’s own.

4. FPI Aceh was founded by two dayah alumni, Yusuf Qardhawy and Muslim At-Tahiri in 2005. The alliance between HUDA and FPI was established in 2008 when the leader of the Aswaja movement, Tengku Bulqaini, met with At Tahiry. They met during an FPI protest against a school which was accused of having pornographic materials in the library. The school asked Bulqaini to negotiate with At Atahiry. However, at the meeting Bulqaini invited At Tahiry and his fellow members to join forces with the Aswaja movement. Since then, FPI works in partnership with HUDA (Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict 2016, 13).

5. Interview with an anonymous informant, 22 May 2018.

6. Interview with an anonymous informant, 26 May 2018.

7. Interview with an anonymous informant, 22 May 2018.

8. Interview with an anonymous informant, 28 May 2018.

9. Interview with an anonymous informant, 28 May 2018.

10. Interview with an anonymous informant, 21 May 2018.

Additional information

Funding

This paper was part of the project ‘Intolerance and Political Identity in 9 (Nine) Provinces of Indonesia: A Strategic Assessment’, which was funded by LIPI and National Development Planning Agency in 2018.

Notes on contributors

Yogi Setya Permana

Yogi Setya Permana is a researcher in LIPI (Indonesia Institute of Science). He is currently pursuing his PhD in the Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (KITLV) – University of Leiden.