The Appeal of Islamist Movements in Local Muslim Contexts: Exploring the Acceptance of the Islamic Defender Front (FPI) among Traditional Muslim Community in Pamekasan Madura
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Published:
Sep 1, 2024
Keywords:
FPI, Religious Capital, Kyai and Habib Influence, Social Identity, Pamekasan
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Abstract
This paper explores the Islamic Defender Front (FPI) in Pamekasan, Madura, analyzing its appeal and organizational dynamics within the local Muslim community. The research aims to uncover the motivations for FPI membership and the strategies FPI uses to strengthen solidarity among its members. The study employs religious capital and social identity theories, drawing on the works of Iannaccone and Klick, Maselko, Hughes, and Cheney, Stark and Finke, and Bourdieu’s cultural capital. Findings indicate that FPI’s appeal is rooted in its alignment with traditional Muslim values, its commitment to ‘enjoining good and prohibiting evil,’ the significant role of kyai and habib in legitimizing its activities, and its collaboration with local religious organizations. Key events, including religious studies, public ṣalawāt councils, and large-scale tablīghs, strengthen internal cohesion and extend its influence. The paper argues that FPI’s success in Pamekasan is due to its effective use of religious and social capital, fostering strong religious identity and community solidarity, which are crucial for its organizational effectiveness and legitimacy.
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Syaie, Akhmad Najibul Khairi, Achmad Zaini, and Syamsul Arif Galib. “The Appeal of Islamist Movements in Local Muslim Contexts: Exploring the Acceptance of the Islamic Defender Front (FPI) Among Traditional Muslim Community in Pamekasan Madura”. Islamica: Jurnal Studi Keislaman 19, no. 1 (September 1, 2024): 1-30. Accessed February 20, 2026. https://islamica.uinsa.ac.id/index.php/islamica/article/view/1159.
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References
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Bourdieu, Pierre. “The Forms of Capital.” In Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education, edited by J. G. Richardson. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 1986.
Budiyanti, Syamsu, Hotman M. Siahaan and Kris Nugroho. “Social Communication Relation of Madurese People in Max Weber Rationality Perspective.” Jurnal Studi Komunikasi 4, no. 2 (2020): 389-409. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25139/jsk.v4i2.2447
Burhani, Ahmad Najib. “Al-tawassuṭ wa-l I’tidāl: The NU and Mod-eratism in Indonesian Islam.” Asian Journal of Social Science 40, no. 5-6 (2012): 564-581. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/15685314-12341262
Burhani, Ahmad Najib. “Lessons from Madura: NU, Conservatism and the 2019 Presidential Election.” Perspective, no. 72 (2019).
Depeyrot, Georges. “Economy and Society.” In The Cambridge Com-panion to the Age of Constantine, edited by Noel Lenski. Cam-bridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CCOL0521818389.011
Dhofier, Zamakhstari. The Pesantren Tradition: A Study of the Role of the Kyai in the Maintenance of the Traditional Ideology of Islam in Java. Canberra: The Australian National University, 1980.
Esposito, John L. Unholy War: Terror in the Name of Islam. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.
Facal, Gabriel. “Islamic Defenders Front Militia (Front Pembela Is-lam) and Its Impact on Growing Religious Intolerance in Indo-nesia.” TRaNS: Trans-Regional and -National Studies of Southeast Asia 8, no. 1 (2020): 1-22. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/trn.2018.15
Fealy, Greg. “Islamic Radicalism in Indonesia: The Faltering Reviv-al?” Southeast Asian Affairs, edited by Daljit Singh and Kin Wah Chin. Singapore: ISEAS Publishing, 2004. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1355/9789812306944-010
Haidar, M. Ali. Nahdatul Ulama dan Islam di Indonesia: Pendekatan Fikih dalam Politik. Jakarta: PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama, 1994.
Hamdi, Ahmad Zainul. “Radicalising the Traditionalist: A Contempo¬rary Dynamic of Islamic Traditionalism in Madura-Indonesia.” Epistemé: Jurnal Pengembangan Ilmu Keislaman 15, no. 1 (2020): 1-21. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21274/epis.2020.15.1.1-21
Hamdi, Ahmad Zainul. “Radicalizing Indonesian Moderate Islam from within: The NU-FPI Relationship in Bangkalan, Madura.” Journal of Indonesian Islam 7, no. 1 (2013): 71-95. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15642/JIIS.2013.7.1.71-95
Hilmy, Masdar. Islamism and Democracy in Indonesia: Piety and Pragmatism. Singapore: ISEAS Publishing, 2010. DOI: https://doi.org/10.135-5/9789812309730
Iannaccone, Laurence R., and Jonathan Klick. “Spiritual Capital: An Introduction and Literature Review.” Paper presented at the The Spiritual Capital Planning Meeting (2003).
Jahroni, Jajang. Defending the Majesty of Islam: Indonesia’s Front Pembela Islam, 1998-2003. Chiang Mai, Bangkok: Asian Muslim Action Network, 2008.
Jamhari and Jajang Jahroni. Gerakan Salafi Radikal di Indonesia. Jakarta: PT Raja Grafindo Persada, 2004.
Kuntowijoyo. Perubahan Sosial dalam Masyarakat Agraris: Madura, 1850-1940. Yogyakarta: Matabangsa, 2002.
Lucking, Mirjam. “Beyond Islam Nusantara and ‘Arabization’: Capi-talizing ‘Arabness’ in Madura, East Java.” ASIEN: The German Journal on Contemporary Asia 4, no. 137 (2016): 5-24.
Madinier, Remy. “L’État indonésien face à l’extrémisme religieux: ges¬tion de la violence et de l’intolérance.” Report for the Déléga¬tion aux Affaires Stratégiques. Paris: Ministère de la Défense, 2011.
Meri, Josef W. “Aspects of Baraka (Blessings) and Ritual Devotion among Medieval Muslims and Jews.” Medieval Encounters 5, no. 1 (1999): 46-69. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/157006799X00259
Pribadi, Yanwar. “Religious Networks in Madura: Pesantren, Nahdlatul Ulama, and Kiai as the Core of Santri Culture.” Al-Jami’ah: Journal of Islamic Studies 51, no. 1 (2013): 1-32. DOI: https://doi.org/10.14421/ajis.2013.511.1-32
Pribadi, Yanwar. Islam, State and Society in Indonesia: Local Politics in Ma-dura. New York: Routledge, 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/97813154-73697
Rey, Terry. “Marketing the Goods of Salvation: Bourdieu on Reli-gion.” Religion 34, no. 4 (2004): 331-343. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.religion.2004.09.008
Rijal, Syamsul. “Following Arab Saints: Urban Muslim Youth and Traditional Piety in Indonesia.” Indonesia and the Malay World 48, no. 141 (2020): 145-168. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13639811.2020.1729-540
Rosadi, Andri. Hitan Putih FPI: Mengungkap Rahasia- rahasia Men-cengangkan Ormas Keagamaan Paling Kntroversial. Jakarta: Nun, 2008.
Ryan, Michael. “Authority.” In Encyclopedia of Social Theory, edited by George Ritzer. California: Sage Publications, 2005.
Scott, James C. “Patron-client Politics and Political Change in South-east Asia.” The American Political Science Review 66, no. 1 (1972): 91-113. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1959280
Stark, Rodney, and Roger Finke. Acts of faith: Explaining the Human Side of Religion. California: Univ of California Press, 2000.
Swartz, David. “Bridging the Study of Culture and Religion: Pierre Bourdieu’s Political Economy of Symbolic Power.” Sociology of Religion 57, no. 1 (1996): 71-85. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/3712005
Syarif, Zainuddin. “Mitos Nilai-nilai Kepatuhan Santri.” TADRIS: Jurnal Pendidikan Islam 7, no. 1 (2013): 19-30.
Shihab, Muhammad Rizieq. Dialog FPI Amar Ma’ruf Nahi Munkar: Menjawab Berbagai Tuduhan terhadap Gerakan Nasional anti Ma’siat di Indonesia. Jakarta: Pustaka Ibnu Sidah, 2008.
Takim, Liyakat N. The heirs of the Prophet: Charisma and Religious Authori-ty in Shi’ite Islam. Albany: SUNY Press, 2012.
Warman, A. “Habib Muhammad Rizieq bin Husein bin Syihab.” In 27 Habaib Berpengaruh di Betawi; Kajian Intelektual dan Karya Sosial Habaib Betawi dari Abad ke-17 hingga Abad ke-21, edited by R. Z. Kiki. Jakarta: Jakarta Islamic Center, 2020.
Woodward, Mark, Inayah Rohmaniyah, Ali Amin, Samsul Ma’arif, Diana Coleman, and Muhammad Sani Umar. “Ordering What is Right, Forbidding What is Wrong: Two Faces of Hadhrami Dakwah in Contemporary Indonesia.” RIMA: Review of Indone-sian and Malaysian Affairs 46, no. 2 (2012): 105-146.
Woodward, Mark, Mariani Yahya, Inayah Rohmaniyah, Diana M. Coleman, Chris Lundry, and Ali Amin. “The Islamic Defenders Front: Demonization, Violence and the State in Indonesia.” Cont Islam 8, no. 2 (2014): 153-171. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11562-013-0288-1
Yilmaz, Ihsan, and Greg Barton. “Populism, Violence, and Vigilan-tism in Indonesia: Rizieq Shihab and His Far-right Islamist Populism.” Eurpean Center for Populism Studies (May 14, 2021), available online: https://www.populismstudies.org/populism-violence-and-vigilantism-in-indonesia-rizieqshihab-and-his-far-right-islamist-populism (accessed May 07, 2021). DOI: https://doi.org/10.55271/lp0009