Follow us on Telegram for the latest updates: https://t.me/mothershipsg
Indonesian Muslim preacher Abdul Somad Batubara, who was denied entry into Singapore, is just one voice out of many within Indonesia and does not represent everybody in the country, said Associate Professor Kumar Ramakrishna.
Ramakrishna is the head of the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS).
Speaking to Mothership after the launch of his book, Extremist Islam: Recognition and Response in Southeast Asia on May 27, Ramakrishna highlighted,
"In the Indonesian context, he's just one voice. It's just that this voice tried to get into Singapore and we did not let him in."
He added that Abdul Somad does not represent the views of everyone in Indonesia.
Indonesia's counterterrorism agency and largest Muslim organisation have spoken out against Somad
Ramakrishna added that while Somad does have support from some quarters in the country, including a few parliamentarians and religious figures, there are also others who have spoken out against him, including Indonesia's National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT).
Ramakrishna noted that there was a senior figure within the agency who said that "we should learn from Singapore to be more proactive like this".
CNA quoted BNPT's director of terror prevention, Brigadier-General Ahmad Nurwahid, as saying:
"I see this (Singapore's decision to deny Somad entry) as an important lesson for Indonesia to also take precautions from upstream by prohibiting radical views, understandings and ideologies that can lead to acts of terror and violence."
In addition, Indonesia's largest Muslim organisation, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), has also "mildly rebuked" Somad to cool the rhetoric in his lectures and not preach divisive rhetoric, Ramakrishna pointed out.
Writing for TODAY, Ramakrishna said that the rebuke was issued by the chairman of NU's executive board, Ahmad Fahrur Rozi, who observed that while Somad was "young" and "pious" with a good following, his teachings should have no "hate, extremist or radical teachings".
Ramakrishna added,
"If somebody from Nadhlatul Ulama, which is the biggest and most important traditional religious Muslim organisation in Indonesia, says that, it tells you ultimately, Abdul Somad's views even in Indonesia do not necessarily go unchallenged."
Not unique, other non-radical preachers also use social media
As for Somad's following, Ramakrishna noted that this includes 6.5 million followers on Instagram.
Part of Somad's appeal lies in his social-media savviness and "folksy" style of preaching which attracts many young people, Ramakrishna pointed out, as Indonesia's youth are increasingly getting online and being connected.
However, Somad is not unique with regard to his skill in using social media to reach out to his audience, as there are many other non-radical social media savvy preachers and religious figures as well.
One example is another Indonesian, Abdullah Gymnastiar, who has around 80 million followers in total, a much larger following than Somad's.
Ramakrishna observed that Indonesia is a "very open society", and said there is a "marketplace" of "religious contestation". He pointed out that Somad is not universally supported within his own country.
Somad's radical views are also considered a minority in Indonesia, which is largely dominated by NU and Muhammadiyah, Indonesia's second-largest Muslim organisation.
These two organisations help to keep a balance in the country, thereby making it unlikely for Indonesia to become polarised along religious lines like India in the next ten years.
Related stories:
Follow and listen to our podcast here
Top collage left photo via Ustaz Abdul Somad/Facebook, right photo via Ustaz Abdul Somad/Twitter