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Chris Chaplin is an LSE Fellow in Qualitative Methodology. He received his PhD from the Department of Sociology, University in Cambridge. Chris has lived in Indonesia for over seven years, and his research explores Islamic activism, social movements, and citizenship within the country. He is especially interested in investigating the relationship between global Islamic doctrines and local understandings of piety and social activism, and the ways in which this comes to influence national and religious identities.
Political Protests, Global Islam and National Activism: Deciphering the Motivations behind Indonesia’s “Conservative Turn”
This article shows through the examination of the Majelis Intelektual dan Ulama Muda Indonesia (Council for Young and Intellectual Ulama of Indonesia, MIUMI) that the success of Middle Eastern Islamic doctrines has less to do with undermining an “Indonesian” Islam, than adapting their basic tenets to the democratic environment and building bridges to established Indonesian religious institutions. Accordingly, “Indonesian” and “Middle Eastern” Islam are distinctions that are more malleable than they may first appear.
