Volume V: Economy, Politics, and Environmental Governance

The State, Religious Communities, and the Limits of Freedom: Applying the Risk-Resource Framework

  • Fatkhuri UPN Veteran, Jakarta, Indonesia
  • Ahmad Ali Nurdin UIN Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung, Indonesia
  • Fauzan Ali Rasyid UIN Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung, Indonesia
  • Asep Abdul Sahid UIN Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung, Indonesia

Keywords

State-religion relations, Resource-Risk Framework, Islam, Indonesia.

Abstract

This study critically examines Indonesia’s state strategy in managing religious organisations after the Reformasi, utilising Lundgren’s (2022) risk-resource theoretical lens. In the complex Indonesian context, where state-religion relations are symbiotic rather than fully secular, the state actively frames and regulates religious communities by weighing their perceived social contributions against potential threats to Pancasila and national stability. Through qualitative comparative analysis on the disbandment of Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI) and the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), alongside partnerships with Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah, this research finds HTI and FPI are constructed as risks due to opposition to state ideology, involvement in public disorder, and challenges to the legitimacy of the national framework. Conversely, NU and Muhammadiyah are embraced as resources, owing to their roles in social services, promotion of moderate Islam, and reinforcement of state authority. This research concludes that such state policies have profound implications for religious freedom and Indonesia’s democracy, recasting religious liberty as a negotiated and conditional space. While these policies may curb radicalism, they risk shrinking the space for civil society and blurring the boundaries between civil society and the state, thereby presenting significant challenges to democratic vitality and the protection of fundamental rights in the Indonesian context.

References

  1. Arifianto; Alexander R. (2024). Clerics to coal miners: the decline of Indonesia’s Islamic civil society. New Mandala.
  2. Arifianto, A. R. (2020). The State of Political Islam in Indonesia : The Historical Antecedent and Future Prospects. 15(4), 111–132.
  3. Arifianto, A. R. (2021a). From ideological to political sectarianism : Nahdlatul Ulama , Muhammadiyah , and the state in Indonesia Muhammadiyah , and the state in Indonesia. Religion, State & Society, 00(00), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/09637494.2021.1902247
  4. Arifianto, A. R. (2021b). NAHDLATUL ULAMA AND ITS COMMITMENT TOWARDS MODERATE POLITICAL NORMS : A COMPARISON BETWEEN THE ABDURRAHMAN WAHID. Journal of Global Strategic Studies, 1(1), 77–114.
  5. Arifianto, A. R. (2024). Moderate Islamic Organisations and Contestation Over Political Theology: The Responses by Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah Towards Islamism in Indonesia. In Gabriel Facal (Ed.), NilssonThe Palgrave Handbook of Political Norms in Southeast Asia (pp. 337–356). PALGRAVE MACMILLAN.
  6. Asad, T. (2003). Formations of the Secular: Christianity, Islam, Modernity. Stanford University Press.
  7. Attar, H. (2025). Gus Yahya Sebut Lembaga Pendidikan di NU Lahir karena Khidmah dan Inisiatif Independen Warga Nahdliyin. NUOnline.Com.
  8. Bagir, Zainal Abidin and Fachrudin, A. A. (2020). Democracy and the “Conservative Turn” in Indonesia. In Norshahril Saat & Azhar Ibrahim (Ed.), Alternative voices in Muslim Southeast Asia : discourse & struggles (pp. 139–155). ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute.
  9. Barton, G. (2014). The Gülen Movement , Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama : Progressive Islamic Thought , Religious Philanthropy and Civil Society in Turkey and Indonesia. Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations, 25(3), 287–301. https://doi.org/10.1080/09596410.2014.916124
  10. Bruinessen, M. van. (2013a). 1. Introduction: Contemporary Developments in Indonesian Islam and the “Conservative Turn” of the Early Twenty-first Century. In M. van Bruinessen (Ed.), Contemporary Developments in Indonesian Islam Explaining the “Conservative Turn” (1st ed., pp. 1–20). ISEAS Publishing.
  11. Bruinessen, M. van. (2013b). Overview of Muslim Organisations, Associations and Movements in Indonesia (M. van Bruinessen, Ed.; pp. 21–59). ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute.
  12. Cesari, J. (2018). What is Political Islam? Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc.
  13. Farisa, Fitria Chusna & Prabowo, D. (2020, December). 6 Alasan Pemerintah Bubarkan dan Larang Kegiatan FPI. Kompas.Com.
  14. Fealy, Greg and White, S. (2008). Introduction. In Greg Fealy & Sally White (Ed.), Expressing Islam: religious life and politics in Indonesia (1). ISEAS Publishing.
  15. Feillard, A., & Madinier, R. (2011). The End of Innocence? Indonesian Islam and the Temptations of Radicalism. Institut de recherche sur l’Asie du Sud-Est contemporaine.
  16. Herdiansah et.all. (2023). BEYOND DISBANDMENT OF ISLAMIST ORGANIZATION: EXAMINING THE ADAPTIVE RESISTANCE OF HIZBUT TAHRIR INDONESIA (HTI). Jurnal Wacana Politik, 8(2), 235–246. https://doi.org/10.24198/jwp.v8i2.49870
  17. Herlius, F., & Sitorus, D. (2022). Perkembangan Relasi Negara dan Agama Paska Reformasi Konstitusi. 5(3), 429–448. https://doi.org/10.20473/mi.v5i3.36810
  18. Husain, M. Z. (2025). Religious Moderation and the Development of Multicultural Societies in Indonesia : A Normative-Islamic Legal Study. ASEAN Journal of Islamic Studies and Civilization (AJISC), 02(1), 27–60. https://doi.org/10.62976/ajisc.v2i1.1368
  19. Jamhari & Testriono. (2021). The Roots of Indonesia’s Resilience Against Violent Extremism. Studi Islamika, 28(3), 517–545.
  20. Lundgren, L. (2023). The State and Religious Minorities in Sweden (Firsth). Springer International Publishing.
  21. Millie, J. (2008). Spiritual Meal’ or Ongoing Project? The Dilemma of Dakwah Oratory. In S. Fealy, Greg and White (Ed.), Expressing Islam: religious life and politics in Indonesia (pp. 80–94). ISEAS Publishing.
  22. Ricklefs, M. C. (2008). Religion, Politics and Social Dynamics in Java: Historical and Contemporary Rhymes. In Expressing Islam: Religious Life and Politics in Indonesia (pp. 115–136). ISEAS Publishing.
  23. Rochmawati, N. A. (2024). Nahdlatul Ulama dan Program Moderasi Beragama. International Conference on Muslim Society and Thought: “Re-Centering Islamic Studies: Contemporary Discourses between Revealed Knowledge and Social Sciences.” https://doi.org/10.15642/ICMUST.2024.4.1750
  24. Saat, N. (2020). Mainstreaming Alternative Islamic Voices in Malaysia. In Norshahril Saat & Azhar Ibrahim (Ed.), Alternative voices in Muslim Southeast Asia : discourse & struggles (pp. 118–138). ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute.
  25. Sebastian, L. C. A. N. (2019). The " Conservative Turn " in Indonesian Islam Implications for the 2019 Presidential Elections. In Center For Asian Studies (Number March). Center for Asian Studies.
  26. Tempo.co. (2023, December). Sebagian Benar, Aset Muhammadiyah Diperkirakan Senilai Rp 400 Triliun Berupa Tanah dan Bangunan. Tempo.Co.
  27. Ubaidillah, Nizam &Syalafiyah, N. (2025). Pembubaran Organisasi Kemasyarakatan Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia Perspektif Fiqh Siyasah Dusturiyah. Islamic Law: Jurnal Siyasah, 10(1), 139–154.
  28. White, Sally & Anshor, M. U. (2008). Islam and Gender in Contemporary Indonesia: Public Discourses on Duties, Rights and Morality. In Greg Fealy & Sally White (Ed.), Expressing Islam: Religious Life and Politics in Indonesia (pp. 137–158). ISEAS Publishing.
Scroll to Top