Redefining the Islamic Defenders Front’s (FPI) identity after its dissolution by the Indonesian government

Abstract

This research aims to understand how identity redefinition occurs and what cultural variables result in identity redefinition. The Indonesian government has disbanded several mass organizations throughout the years. To ensure its survival, the group hid among the crowds. Meanwhile, the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), which the government had disbanded in 2020, was renamed the Islamic United Front, and it maintained a milder stance toward the government to survive. Several research studies have examined the government’s rationale for abolishment. However, research on how organizational actors react to their organizations’ dissolution is still scarce. The research examined the former Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) members’ perceptions of their organization’s dissolution by the government in 2020. The study utilized a qualitative research design. The data analysis was performed inductively to ascertain the former FPI members’ subjective opinions of the organizational redefinition. The findings indicated that former FPI members reinvented their identity after the government’s disbandment as a means of survival by adopting more lenient, accommodating, and inclusive views toward the government and other mass groups. Also, the disintegration of radical religious groups may catalyze a new relationship between radical Islamic organizations and the state.