ASWAJA MOBILIZATION AND INTOLERANCE: Sub-state ideology, religious vigilantism in Aceh, Indonesia

Abstract

This article examines the attack on a mosque in Samalanga, Aceh, Indonesia, by showing the relations between religious ideology, the state, and paramilitary groups. Intolerance studies in the Muslim world pay less attention to the ideology in the sectarian state, and its influence on attacking houses of worship. Using the state-parallel theory to look at the case of the attack on the Muhammadiyah Mosque in Samalanga, Aceh, this article argues that attacking the house of worship cannot be separated from state ideology. Based on the case study, data are collected by interviewing actors, such as the Aswaja group, staff government in Sangso, and Muhammadiyah members in Sangso. In the end, the article concluded that intolerance in the Muslim world can be seen from the parallel relation between religious ideology, state, and religious paramilitary.

Keywords

• state ideology
• paramilitary group
• intolerance
• Aceh
• Indonesia