Religious and Pro-Violence Populism in Indonesia: The Rise and Fall of a Far-Right Islamist Civilisationist Movement

The first quarter of the twenty-first century has witnessed rise populism around world. While it is widespread manifests in its own unique ways each society, nation, and region. Religious populism, once rarely discussed, come to take a more prominent role politics diverse range societies countries, as religious discourse increasingly used by mainstream peripheral populist actors alike. This paper examines Indonesia through study widely talked about, but little understood, Islamic Defenders Front (FPI—Front Pembela Islam). case method examine FPI provides insight into liminal organization which, pro-violence Islamist political lobbying, had an outsized impact on Indonesian politics. In this paper, we identify civilizationist group show how frames domestic events within larger cosmic battle between faithful righteous Muslims forces that stand against Islam, whether they be “unfaithful Muslims” or non-Muslims. We also demonstrates manner which smaller, liminal, can instrumentalise religion leverage rhetoric reshape discourse, doing so, drive demand for populism. makes two arguments: First, example movement instrumentalises order create solutions. Second, groups organisations rely religio-civilizational concepts national identity, become transnational outlook, rhetoric, organisation closely aligned with developments Middle East.