Islamic Radicalism and the Crisis of the Nation-State

Abstract

A young student wearing ripped jeans, with long hair and an earring, was called on by a group of people wearing long flowing robes while he was having dinner at a food stall in a street of Yogyakarta. The group of people harassed him and forced him to leave his food. They accused him of being the troublemaker of the crisis and disaster facing Indonesia today. This situation occurred at the beginning of August 2000, when the first national congress of mujahidin was to be held on the re-establishment of the sharica in Indonesia.