Incubators for Extremists? Radicalism and Moderation in Indonesia's Islamic Education System

Abstract

Islamic schools and universities in Indonesia have been accused of producing militant Islamist extremists. The Bali bombers, for example, attended ‘hard-line’ (garis keras) schools and a recent spate of book-bombs targeting champions of Islamic moderation were sent by a student at the State Islamic University. But is this perception actually correct? This paper looks at the struggle between moderate and extremist ideas in Indonesia’s madrasahs and Islamic tertiary institutions and its implications for Australian policy. It asks whether Islamic thought in Southeast Asia is becoming more or less radical; whether education in Islamic societies should be reformed to counter extremist ideas; and if so, how.