TRANSFORMATION OF THE ABANGAN GROUP TOWARDS RADICAL STUDENTS (Study of the Dynamics of Islamic Radicalism in abangan society in Solo, Central Java)

Abstract

Since the New Order until now, Solo has had a reputation as a base for religious radicalism. In fact, the people of Solo tend to abangan culture based on Javanese ethics rather than students. In fact, Islamic radicalism can emerge and exist in this region. In addition, there was also a transformation of abangan groups and groups of thugs into radical students. For this reason, the purpose of this study is to analyze and describe in depth the emergence and existence of Islamic radicalism in abangan society and the transformation of the abangan group into radical students. The type of research used is a qualitative method with a descriptive phenomenological approach. The results showed that the emergence of radical Islamic movements in Solo began during the New Order regime which was repressive towards its people. The presence of ustaz figures Abdullah Sungkar and Abu Bakr Ba'asyir is a symbol of local resistance to the regime. Some people, who are disappointed with the government, consider the two figures as patrons.  Islamic radicalism in Solo is able to exist because of its supporters. Supporters of this movement are not only from the student group, but also the abangan group. The occurrence of this transformation is a paradoxical thing, because the relationship between abangan and santri is a dichotomy. In fact, there are abangan groups who are interested in being part of the radical students due to the local political situation.

Keywords Islamic Radicalism; Abangan; Laskar

DOI: 10.7176/JPCR/55-04

Publication date:July 31^st 2022