Ken Miichi is Associate Professor, Faculty of Policy Studies, Iwate Prefectural University, Japan. Miichi has conducted extensive research into Islamic political movements and social phenomena in Indonesia. He has published many articles and books including Southeast Asian Muslims in the Era of Globalization (co-edited with Omar Farouk, published by Palgrave Macmillan, 2015).
Minority Shi‘a Groups as a Part of Civil Society in Indonesia
Offenses committed against religious minorities has been one of the most serious human rights issues in Indonesia since its democratization in 1998. Shi‘a are the second-most frequently attacked groups, next to Ahmadiyah. The violent attacks on Shi‘a communities in Sampang, Madura in 2011-12 were the most destructive incidents. This essay discusses how Shi‘a groups, as a part of civil society organizations (CSOs), have responded to the Sampang incidents and articulated their political will in the Indonesian political configuration.
Democratization and the Changing Role of Civil Society in Indonesia
This essay discusses some of the contradictions and difficulties that Indonesian democracy faces. Focusing on the political zigzag around the law used for the direct election of regional heads, the author demonstrates that it is elite competition rather than the ability of a fragmented civil society that occasioned the triumph of “people power”.
