Indonesia: Poll shows support for radical Islamic views

As related by UCA News on 4 August 2016, the Wahid Institute published a report entitled "The potential for radicalization and socio-religious intolerance among Indonesia Muslims". It shows some worrying trends. Thomas Muller, persecution analyst at World Watch Research, explains: "The fact that 8.1% of adult Indonesian Muslims hold hardline beliefs or show an inclination to commit extremist acts, speaks for itself. In absolute numbers, this means that Indonesia faces the challenge of 12 million of the country"s 150 adult Muslims supporting radical Islamic views, tainting its image of being a country with its own particular interpretation of Islam ("˜Islam Nusantara") that takes into account local Indonesian customs. It would be interesting to see data on the spread of this radical Islamic attitude among different age groups, whether it is evident across all provinces and whether certain hotbeds can be identified." Thomas Muller continues: "Shortly after the report was published, Vice-President Yusuf Kalla opened a Muslim World League seminar on 4 August 2016 and was quoted by The Jakarta Globe as saying that radicalism and violence should not be seen solely in relation to religion. Nevertheless, this radicalization in Islamic views remains worrying for Indonesian Christians (particularly for converts from a Muslim background) and the government will need to develop strategies to counter this - especially at universities."