INVESTIGATING MEDIA DISCOURSE OF RADICALIZATION AMONG INDONESIAN YOUTH: A PRELIMINARY RESEARCH

Abstract

Indonesia has the biggest Muslim population in the world. Indonesian Muslims see themselves as 'moderate Muslims' compared to the others in the world. Some Indonesianists shared this view almost without sufficient criticism especially during the New Order era in 1960s-1990's. However, things have changed over time and it has turned out that recently some experts in the field have shown their disapproval on this issue. After elect President Joko Widodo is in power, Indonesians have been divided into two broad opposing positions as claimed by moderate Muslims. The administration of President Joko Widodo and his political party, Indonesia Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) hold the claim of moderate Muslims who keep loyal to the present secular political system while their political rivals who mainly come from what Indonesian mainstream media have constructed as 'intolerant and radical Muslims' with the diametrically opposing position. According to the last party, Indonesian Muslims have to be more hostile to any non-Muslim countries and moreover, they require the change of secular political system in Indonesia to Islamic political system (Khilafah Islamiyah).The present study aims at researching the current debate and news media discourse between what it is called Muslim Nusantara particularly represented by two Indonesian largest non-government Islamic organizations, Nahdhatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah and those constructed as 'intolerant and radical Muslims'. Particularly this study will focus on the mainstream media discourse on the engagement of young Muslim students with some perceived radical organizations. The findings of a public survey published recently state that around 25% of Indonesian Muslim students support the change of Indonesia's political system from the existing secular political system to Islamic political system (Khilafah). In this matter, this study will use Critical Discourse Analysis as the research method. The qualitative data will apply ethnographic methods particularly in-depth interviews and participant observation in some big cities in Java, the most populated island in Indonesia where Muslim students are greatly seen in great number. Prominent public figures from Islamic and other religious communities, political scientists and the government officials will be interviewed. Moreover, the secondary data in a kind of archive data will be gathered as well. Finally, the documentary film of the aforementioned research will be presented to supplement the textual analysis.